DOCTOR WHO, MY HERO and CANNIBAL CAMPOUT.> Send to a friend

EDITOR'S NOTE: So many movies, TV shows and indie films are released on DVD each week, we don't have the time or manpower to cover each and every one of them. Hence, we've created a new column called "THE WHAT iF PICKS" which will give you the skinny every Tuesday of what iF picks as the Top 5 DVDs to spend your money on.

 

I’ve been seriously unimpressed with the 2007 DVD season so far, with piss-poor offerings almost across the board. Last week there was some decent stuff but nothing ground breaking. And the first week was so pathetic there wasn’t anything I felt comfortably recommending. This week is OK but nothing Earth shattering with one exception, DOCTOR WHO, which is an awesome DVD with a ton of content on it. As far as movies go, GRIDIRON GANG is a good rental, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE – THE BEGINNING never should have been made and EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH makes me want to quit all jobs, ever. But if you are interested check those out, but if you really want the good stuff, keep reading.

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1) DOCTOR WHO – THE COMPLETE SECOND SERIES

Could the resurrection of the DOCTOR WHO empire withstand a regeneration so quickly into its latest incarnation? Not only could it withstand it, it made the most of it with David Tennant turning in an awesome addition of The Doctor far different from Christopher Eccleston’s brooding, serious Doctor. Tennant’s version is far more humorous and fun loving (and not to mention lustful) which is a nice departure and gives Rose Tyler (played by hot British bird Billie Piper) a nice new outlet to express herself and to once again fall for. With the return of the Cybermen so heavily focused on in season two and the Daleks the main villain in season one, can the Master not be far behind? As I said, the Cybermen really were prominent in season two with more than one story arc the focus of the machines with a human brain but there was also the introduction of Torchwood – which would go on to be a new series from the BBC – the return of Sarah Jane (along with K9) and much more. As with the first blow out, top shelf DVD, the SECOND SERIES is also a great pick up with audio commentaries on all 15 episodes, picture in picture commentary on certain episodes, Tennant’s video diaries and some great behind-the-scenes footage on the making of the show.

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2) CANNIBAL CAMPOUT

Great zombie Jesus! CANNIBAL CAMPOUT is so bad it is awesome, you can’t help but laugh at the terrible acting, C-grade effects and rocking out to the Southern tunes playing in the background. And did I forget to mention the terrible, canned acting? Oh wait, I already said that. This cult classic, über-cheap horror film from the late 1980s has finally made its way to DVD featuring plenty of over-the-top gore, gratuitous nudity (of unattractive women) and sheer stupidity from the characters involved – everything that is expected from our intentionally hilarious horror films. As far as the production values, it makes Troma Productions seem like LucasArts but it is still worthwhile checking out again if only to see the numerous amounts of houses in the background despite supposedly being in “the backwoods.” The DVD includes a new audio commentary from the crew with one dude on the phone -- classy -- and the other guy in the studio. But the commentary is great if just for some (unintentionally) hilarious info about how cheaply made the film was (no night scenes because the crew had no lights) and getting thrown out of different locales they were filming as well as filming in someone's backyard. The commentary is equally hilarious as the film itself. There are also some deleted scenes, a music video based on the content of the film, trailers and the usual fare. Ah, I long for the day when society returns to those awesome '80s hairdos!

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3) THE PROTECTOR

Tony Jaa could kick Steven Seagal’s ass. Twice. The dude is amazing breaking more bones in a single movement than there are probably bones in an appendage. THE PROTECTOR is the follow up to Jaa’s awesome turn in ONG-BAK, a great martial arts film focused on recovering a village’s holy statue. Here, Jaa is on the search to find two elephants that were stolen by illegal animal traders. But if you are expecting a sweet story about a boy and his elephants with emotional acting and an organized storyline, well think again as this is replaced with neck snapping, bone popping, eye gauging, non-stop action. Jaa must track down these illegal bad guys through the Asian mafia and the means fighting hordes of cronies, long periods of extended fighting in less than ideal circumstances (a whorehouse being one) and fighting rejects from the WWE. Great stuff and this is not to be missed.

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4) MY HERO – SEASON ONE

Take one part GREATEST AMERICAN HERO and one part MORK AND MINDY and you have MY HERO – a hilarious British comedy about an ordinary Earthwoman who marries a hero from another planet who owns a health food store while doing all the saving the Earth stuff. But this is only the beginning as his wife’s parents hate him, their neighbor knows his identity and his cousin was thrown out of the ranks of the superheroes for charging people for saving them. The DVD includes behind the scenes featurettes and interviews with the cast. If you are looking for funny that doesn’t need a laugh track, check out KNIGHTS OF PROSPERITY, but also check this out as well.

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5) SPACE ACADEMY: THE COMPLETE SERIES

Brentwood Home Video has done it again, taking a classic, crappy and cheeseball Saturday morning cartoon from the 1970s and giving it a facelift with great special features to a show that didn’t make it past just one season. The series was based on a group of kids and some adults who had special powers and traveled the universe basically finding ways to teach them morality – or at least that’s how the episodes ended up turning out. The special effects are terrible (and considering the original STAR WARS came out about the same time, it makes it even worse). The DVD includes all 15 episodes of the series with two audio commentaries from the cast and crew, one modern featurette on the show, plus photo galleries, original promo materials, Easter eggs, original trailers and some decent DVD-ROM features.

11148-11168

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