DAY ONE : DECEMBER 19th 2010

Hey Everybody,

This time of the year for me means constant consuming of movie content all day every day. Now those of you who know me might wonder how this differs from my daily life in any way. Regardless I use the holiday lull to catch up on what I may have missed or re watching my favorite classics, mostly on Blu-Ray this year which is a great joy for me. It’s like re living the first viewing of all my favorites and classics alike. I hope everyone is enjoying the Holiday season and able to get into some good movies on your break.

1. The Criterion Collection NIGHT TRAIN TO MUNICH(1940) director Carol Reed  – Starting the day off with a great English classic from director Carol Reed (The Third Man). A turning and twisting WWII thriller combining action, comedy and drama in a way only Reed can do. A lightning paced thriller spanning across Prague, England and the Swiss Alps sure to impress viewers with its wit and charm. A great film for those that love the action war thriller which Criterion did a great job on, even if it’s only available on DVD.
2. THE WIZARD OF OZ  3 disc Emerald Edition Blu-Ray (1939) director Victor Fleming – For the afternoon I choose a really amazing spectacle of a film. I never particularly liked this film as a kid but re watching it now, I really enjoyed the whole lavish production the likes of which are not seen anymore. The Technicolor film process is brilliantly suited for Blu Ray, even if you don’t dig the films content, you can put your ipod on playing Darkside on the Moon and really get into the visuals.  The most amazing thing about the film is that Victor Fleming directed Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind Back to Back. On February 12, 1939, Fleming hastily replaced George Cukor in directing Gone With The Wind; the next day, King Vidor was assigned as director by the studio to finish the filming of The Wizard of Oz (mainly the sepia Kansas sequences, including Judy Garland’s singing of “Over The Rainbow” ). The fact that Fleming was the main force behind OZ and Wind and shot them in the same year is an incredible feet to say the least. With the 6 hour making of documentary and the plethora of content on these 3 discs, this is a must own for any fan of The Wizard of OZ and classic film of any kind.
3. THE TOWN Blu-Ray (2010) director Ben Affleck – The evening started off with a film  that as much as I want to dislike the director (mostly for personal reasons)  I just can’t. “Gone Baby Gone” was a “punch in the gut” first film really coming out with a bang. I was impressed by what he did with the camera and acting, even if he did stack the cast. Now “The Town” is another tale set in Boston with high dramatic stakes flowing through the whole piece and a stellar cast inhabiting every character in the film. I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would. Without giving anything away,  I would recommend checking this one out ASAP. If you have sometime during the holiday pick it up and take a watch, you won’t regret it. A great great f@$king film.
4. THE TWILIGHT ZONE SEASON 1 Blu-Ray (1959-1960) –  I’ve been ending my evenings lately with a few episodes of the classic Twilight Zone originally airing in 1959-60. I’ve seen quite a few of these on late night TV as a kid but really don’t remember them very well. Seeing them on Blu-Ray is a real treat, the black and white film used on the show really pops on this format.  Last evening I watch episode 11 “And When The Sky Opened”, a trio of astronauts come back from a test flight to soon discover that no one remembers them… as if they never existed. OOOOOOOOOOOO, pretty great stuff. And the last selection of the evening is episode 12 “What You Need”, A small time crook plans to exploit an old street peddler who has the uncanny knack of selling people exactly what they will shortly need. which by coincidence originally aired on December 25th 1959.

TILL TOMORROW. STAY TUNED.

J.