Movies Worth Buying!

Hi, everybody!  Did you miss me?  I missed you.  No, really!  Okay, enough of that.  I’m sorry I didn’t post anything last week.  I could lie and say that it was only because there was just one thing that came out last week that was worth mentioning…but it would be mostly a lie.  There were really TWO things.  Also, the holidays caught up with me, and I didn’t realize what day it was until after it was over.  Because my sense of the passage of time has always been funky.

So, just to pass the time before I cut to the jump, did you get any cool movies over the holidays?  Did you SEE any cool movies over the holidays?  Personally, I’ve been making a concerted effort to actually watch all the movies I’ve bought over the years…and then never gotten around to actually putting into the DVD player.  So, I’ve watched a LOT of stuff over the last couple of weeks.  I should do a thing about it, maybe.  Give everyone a peek into my movie collection and see if they can figure out why I’m still single.

Anyway, let’s get into it.  There really were only two titles released last week that I thought were worth mentioning, so I’m going to go ahead and do them first.  As always, I’m including links to the movies on Amazon, but feel free to buy your movies anywhere.

The list begins after the jump:

For 12/27/11 - 1/3/12 

Apollo 18

The first of the “last week” releases, it may also actually be the one I’m the most excited to see on this week’s entire list.  When this movie came out, I really wanted to see it, but it blipped in and  back out of theaters so quickly, that I never got a chance.  Which I’m guessing was a real shame.  The basic idea is that two years after our last manned mission to the moon, which was Apollo 17 in 1972, a SECRET mission was sent to the moon, and the whole thing was hushed up.   It’s done in “found footage” style, much like The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield before it.  We’ve now hit pretty much the end of my knowledge of the project.  But really, it’s a horror movie set in space, and even when those are bad, they’re fun to watch.  This is one I fully intend to buy myself as soon as Mr. Wallet recovers from the holidays.  Also, just because I’m a fanboy and feel like I have to point it out; there IS an album by They Might Be Giants titled Apollo 18.  This movie has nothing to do with that.  I’m just taking an excuse to link the website and the album because it’s awesome.

Archer: Season 2

This is the other of the titles from last week.  I think I have to make a confession here: I’m not sure I “get” Archer.  I saw most of season 1 because my brother kept going on and on about how badass a show it was, and it really is very funny, but I’m just not sure I understand the rabid fan base the show has.  Don’t let this diminish your enjoyment of it, however.  One of the standards I try very hard to live my life by is that “everything is somebody’s favorite”.  This may not be mine, but it could easily be yours.  It doesn’t seem to hit me in the same way that it hits others, but even I recognize that it’s pretty funny.  I will likely eventually see most of season two, because it IS worth seeing.  And let me know if it really is the life-changing experience that so many people have told me it is.  I’m really willing to be told why I’m wrong here.  Also, if you’ve never heard of it, Archer is an animated show about a spy.  To be honest, it’s likely that if it’s something you’re likely to enjoy, you’ve already heard of it from somebody.

Justified:  Season 2

You know, eventually I’m going to put something on this list that I’ve actually seen first.  Justified is not that thing.  It’s once again something I’ve not seen, but I’ve had lots of people tell me they love.  My understanding is that it’s a bit of a western, and Timothy Olyphant is pretty cool.  There’s guns and people getting shot, and how much more do you need?  I’ve heard several people compare it favorably to Deadwood, which lots of people loved.  So I thought it was at least worth bringing up.

Contagion

So this movie stars Matt Damon and, from what I hear, gets rid of an actor I don’t really care for early in the flick.  So it can’t be all bad.  It did really well when it came out in theaters, and people seemed to like it, but it sounds like it may hit the “paranoia over current events” button a little harder than I may personally be comfortable with.  Honestly, the biggest reason I want to see the movie is that apparently my friend Larry is an extra in a scene set on a bus…but he wouldn’t tell me much more than that.  From what I can gather, if you’re a hypochondriac, you might want to skip this one.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents:  Season 5

Hooray! Something I’ve seen at least part of!  I love Hitchcock movies.  Stuff like The Lady Vanishes, The Birds, The39 Steps, brilliant stuff all.  But Alfred Hitchcock Presents is really where I first got a taste for how awesome suspense could be.  The show was dark and creepy, and there was always a surprise hiding at the end.  This season has thirty-eight half-hour episodes, with guest stars like Dick Van Dyke, Steve McQueen, and the one and only William Shatner!  I actually didn’t realize ANY of these were actually out on DVD until I sat down to do today’s list, so I’m going to have to start with Season 1 and work my way up because I actually really want these!

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

What is it about the holiday season that brings the horror out on DVD?  Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark may be the only movie on this week’s list that I want to see more than Apollo 18.  It’s actually a remake of a movie of the same name, made in 1973.  There are some, supposedly including Guillermo del Toro himself, that say it’s one of the scariest movies ever made.  Sadly, I’ve never seen the original.  Nor have I seen this one…but as I just found out, the Warner Archive has fairly recently released the original, so I have a feeling I’ll soon be seeing both.  Because I have no self-control.  This remake, co-scripted by del Toro and starring Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce is about a little girl who hears monsters in the basement…monsters that want her to join them.  Oooooooo…spooky stuff, right?  From what I’m reading, it sounds like it’s a legitimately scary movie, and I think this is probably getting bought this week.   

Shark Night

Well, the rest of the movies are horror-related too, so if you don’t like horror, you might as well stop reading.  Because these are the pure horror-nerd ones.  Shark Night sounds like it’s very much in the way more fun than it should have been awesomeness of last year’s Piranha remake. (which another friend of mine is actually an extra in…because I like to share)  I don’t get the impression that is actually is, however.  The basic idea is that a group of 20-somethings goes to a lake house in Louisiana, and sharks start to eat them.  This is not a new concept.  It’s also only a PG-13 movie, so all the things that make bad horror movies tolerable are probably not in this movie.  Still, my love for bad horror movies really knows no bounds, so I’m sure I’ll eventually at least see this.  I really should learn standards one of these days.

Red: Werewolf Hunter

Okay, I’m going to admit something here.  I am, in fact, one of the legions of Felicia Day fans.  I’m know.  I’m sorry.  What can I say; I’m a sucker for redheads.   Also, Dr. Horrible was awesome, and TheGuild is actually pretty funny.  So yeah…I’m a fan.  That being said, this is a pretty terrible movie.  It was made by the Syfy channel, back before the name change, and is absolutely exactly what you would expect from a Syfy channel original movie.  It’s so cheesy that it actually loops back around into awesome, and is actually kinda fun to just sit there and watch.  I will likely get this, and then do a mini-marathon of it and the Bruce Campbell in Alien Apocalypse.  Because I hate myself.  Oh! Hey! It's also a movie I've actually already seen.  Go me!

Attack of the Vegan Zombies

I’m going to be honest.  I don’t know anything about this at all.  I just love the name.  No, really.  That’s all I’ve got.  Sometimes, the name of your movie is the most important part.  If you can get somebody on board from the name alone, then it’s much easier to get them to believe that your bad horror movie is actually awesome.  Or at least it always seems to work on me.

Okay, that's this week in movies that I thought you should all know about.  Feel free to tell me if I missed anything, and tell me what you think about the stupid crap I say each week.  Also, let me know if you've got a pile of movies that you own but haven't gotten around to watching.  I need to know that I'm not alone.