The DVD/Blu Ray Shed: January 17th

Criterion versions of two great films get to share an article with two of the worst films of last year today! Quick, scroll down and look at the pictures and see if you can guess which ones are which!


Bucky Larson: Born to Be a
Star
(Dir. Tom Brady)

The true lasting impact of the tidal wave of shit that Adam Sandler unleashed on us in 2011 is going to be hard to know in the immediate post-tidal wave of shit phase. We’re too close to the horror, still in the early months of 2012, when echoes of the turd-storm that was still wash up on our battered shores. Not content with just Just Go With It, Jack and Jill and Zookeeper, Sandler also co-wrote the script for this horrific mess, along with would-be star Nick Swardson. It’s one of the worst movies ever made, a depressing nadir for a gang of guys intent on making the worst shit imaginable and doing so like four times in one year.

The Ides of March

(Dir. George Clooney)

Clooney the director is back in serious-mode after his brief diversion to Cohenesque goofiness with Leatherheads, and thank god for that. While his vintage football flick was OK, The Ides of March is great – a handsome man-party made even better by Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood. It’s a smart look at modern American politics and the personalities that work the gears behind the scenes. Highly recommended!

Abduction
(Dir. John Singleton)

Miserable Twilight cash-in action thriller that’s even worse than it sounds. Taylor Lautner stars as a teen on the run from Serbian terrorists and the CIA and stuff and like, Jason Bourne and handsome teen, and it’s actually worse than the Twilight movies somehow. It also tripled its budget in box office takings, thanks to how stupid American teenage girls are, so get ready to see a sequel.

Redline

(Dir. Takeshi Koike)

“Deathrace 3000 on acid!” and “I fell asleep halfway through because the movie is so intense that it wore me out” are two things that Rajo told me about Redline, which he caught this year at the Toronto After Dark Film Fest. “Oh wait” he’s yelling, “also, if you only see one anime every ten years, and ten years ago you saw Akira, then see Redline”. He liked it a lot!

 

Belle de jour
(Dir. Luis Buñuel)

One of legendary surrealist Luis Buñuel’s last great films gets the Criterion treatment today. Lines between reality and daydream are blurred in the story of Catherine Deneuve’s legendary and iconic housewife/hooker, and the Criterion folks as always do right by it with all kinds of supplementary content from really smart folks like Susie Bright.

Traffic
(Dir. Steven Soderbergh)

The other film getting the Criterion treatment this week is the decidedly grittier Traffic, director Steven Soderbergh’s North American adaptation of the Channel 4 miniseries of the almost same name (Traffik). Near enough to a masterpiece, the new definitive version is a great chance to reacquaint yourself with just how good almost everything, from the performances to the cinematography (handled by Soderbergh himself) is in this flick.