A lot of last years Oscar bait comes out today, but I would prefer starting out with the more Geek oriented stuff that I usually have more fondness for. First, we have the Batman “Motion Picture” Anthology. I will not be purchasing this since I’ve had a long running boycott of providing any money that might find its way into Joel Schumacher’s pockets over his handling of his two “contributions” to this set. For those of us more discerning Batman fans, you can get import versions of Batman and Batman Returns separately from the Schumacher atrocities and at a savings of at least $20. That is well worth your investment.
Next we have Pinocchio. For all you classic animation nerds, this film is certainly worth owning in this format. And Disney is continuing their incredibly smart practice of packaging the Blu-ray with a copy of the standard def DVD. That way, there’s no excuses about which version you should be buying and you won’t have to trade up again later.
The last geeky curiosity on today’s list worth mentioning is the release of George Lucas’ fatal misfire Howard the Duck. Being a Lucas completist, I’ll certainly pick this up, as the going price is less than $10. I’ve watched it in the last few years and you can see how it might have worked… But didn’t.
As far as Oscar bait this week (both recent and former) we’ll start with Milk. I thought it was pretty good. It had a few flaws, but was worth your viewing time. Next, we have Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married. I wanted to see this, but didn’t. Any opinions? In more distant Oscar history is the Blu-ray release of Brokeback Mountain, Primal Fear, and Seven.
Finally, we have a movie I’ve read a lot about and have been told that it should have been nominated for Best Foreign Film and, in turn, won that award: Let The Right One In. Anyone care to enlighten me about that point as well?