Trailer Thursday: “Kumiko the Treasure Hunter”

Every year around this time you hear some art house hipster complaining that the Independent Spirit Awards have somehow “gone Hollywood.” And while I can see how some people might think that — especially considering how much overlap there is these days between the Spirit Awards and the Oscars — actually, many of the films celebrated at the Spirit Awards are as freaking weird and independent as they come.

This year, there were two movies that got me excited enough to think about actually paying (!) to see them in a theatre. I know, shocking, huh? The first one was writer/director Ana Lily Amirpour’s B&W Iranian vampire spaghetti western A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night which, well, kind of had me at B&W Iranian vampire spaghetti western. So cool!

And the second movie was Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter. Starring Academy Award nominee Rinko Kikuchi (Babel) as a young Japanese woman on a quest to find buried treasure in the frozen American heartland, the movie looks just as cool as the concept sounds.

Scoring two Spirit Award nominations this season, one for Best Director (David Zellner) and a Best Actress nod for Kikuchi, Kumiko opens next month in select theatres and I, for one, cannot wait to see it. So, check out the badass trailer below and let me know what you think!

 

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LEGO “Star Wars” – Mos Eisley Cantina Playset

Hard as it may be to believe, I've never been a huge fan of the LEGO “Star Wars” line of playsets. Yes, I have plenty of the minifigures, and even a couple of the sets themselves, but, over the years they've tended to be more gearheady/spaceship driven stuff, which never really thrilled me. But all that's about to change…forever! That's right, amigos, the mad geniuses at LEGO have finally answered my childhood prayers by releasing the amazing “Star Wars” set pictured below.

An incredibly detailed LEGO recreation of the original Mos Eisley cantina scene depicted in the original trilogy's Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the only thing missing from this killer set is that droid-hating bartender. Oh, and a few more creepy alien minifigures would be cool too…I mean, seriously, what's that scene without Walrus Man and Hammerhead?

But hey, the set includes badass minfigures of the cantina band and both Greedo and Han Solo come with blasters — which means we might finally get to figure out “who shot first” — so, I'm not complaining. All I can say is: “Hello, Amazon wish list!” Yee-haw!

 

 

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“Cinderella Diamond Edition”

If you’re a movie geek like me, then you’ve probably bought you fair share of animated Disney films on different formats over the years. Personally, I’ve bought some Disney movies FOUR times over the past twenty years, once on VHS, again on laserdisc, one more time on DVD and finally, once again on Blu-Ray. Crazy, huh? The thing is, I kept thinking: “One day, my child will cherish these films on INSERT FORMAT HERE.” Never in my wildest dreams did I think that the viewing format would change four times before my kid starting watching movies. Yikes…I guess that’s what we get for waiting so long to have kids.

In any case, Mrs. Yeti and I decided last year that we would not re-purchase any of the classic Disney animated films when they were “released from the Disney vault” onto beautiful Blu-Ray editions. Nope. If we had a DVD of the film — which we do, for most of them, at least — then that would have to do. Yes, I know…it’s sad to think of poor Greta watching the lowly Platinum Edition of a Disney film while a sparkly new Diamond Edition was on store shelves. But, come on, how many times does a man have to buy a damn movie?!

That said, all of our best laid plans went out the window last week with Disney’s Diamond Edition release of the movie classic Cinderella. Yep, we fell for the sales pitch. Even bought the movie within days of it’s release and everything, but, we had good reason. See, this Cinderella comes with a DVD, a Blu-Ray and the all-important digital download. Yeah, I know, those sneaky bastards at Disney found a fifth format to make me buy…urgh!

But, trust me, that digital download is a life-saver, especially if you have a iPhone (or iPad!) savvy kid who likes to watch their movies whenever and wherever they want to. And, digital download aside, this is one hell of a Diamond Edition.

The Blu-Ray image is gorgeous, the new menus are beautifully rendered and the extras are truly spectacular. Sure, there are a bunch of hold-over extras from the Platinum DVD release a few years back, but, there are also loads of new extras that really make the movie shine. My favorite two are a new short film about the woman who inspired the design of the Fairy Godmother entitled:  The Real Fairy Godmother, and a quirky little short about shoe designer Christian Louboutin and his efforts to design a modern-era glass slipper. Sweet, oddly-moving and beautifully-shot, the live-action short isn’t even mentioned on the box but Greta loved it and so did I.

And if all those cool extras aren’t enough for you, the Blu-Ray disc also includes the animated short: Tangled Ever After. Picking up where the 2010 feature film left off, the short follows the goofy hijinks that Maximus and Pascal get into at Razpunzel’s wedding to Flynn Ryder. It’s very cute and surprisingly-clever, but, I still think Rapunzel looks better with blonde hair than that dishwater brown she has at the end of the movie. But, hey, who am I to criticize a Disney Princess?

Oh yeah, and best of all, since we bought our Cinderella Diamond Edition at Best Buy, we also scored a free plush Lucifer (the mean cat!) doll as a gift with purchase. I think Greta would have preferred plush helper mice instead, but, hey, free is free.

So, if you haven’t bought Cinderella a hundred times before and are looking for a cool Christmas gift for the little princess on your Christmas list, this is one Diamond Edition that’s well worth buying. And in case you were wondering, I was not paid for this endorsement, I’m just a big old Cinderella geek. I wrote a Cinderella script of my own a few years back and came to really love that plucky blonde orphan. I mean, say you will about the Disney Princesses, but, Cinderella at least had a job and, you know, a strong work ethic and stuff. And if you ask me, Cinderella is the most-modern of the classic Disney Princesses. I’m hoping that’s why she’s Greta’s favorite too. But, something tells me it’s all about those groovy glass slippers for her.

Either way, check out Cinderella on Blu-Ray today!

Cinematic sweating…

Just finished walking in place while watching my gorgeous new Criterion Collection Blu-Ray of “The Darjeeling Limited” and man, am I beat. Yes, I walk in place to exercise these days. Not the best form of weight loss for the modern SAHD of size, but, hey, it’s better than nothing and it does make me feel good. Especially when I’m walking and sweating with a modern cinematic gem like Wes Anderson’s epically beautiful, “Darjeeling”.

Wow, I loved this movie when I first saw it and watching it again tonight, shit! What can I say? It might just be the perfect movie. Funny, sweet, weird, sad, and on top of all that, it’s set entirely in India. G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!  Seriously, I wanna invite the world into my living room to look at the picture quality of this Blu-Ray print. I dare ya not to gasp at the crispness, I dare ya!

Anyway, feeling good, sweaty, happy, and cinematically inspired. Time to write…

Criterion Collection 50% off @ Barnes & Noble

Yep, you read that correctly, Criterion’s entire collection of super-cool, super-expensive DVD’s and Blu-Rays are on sale now through August 1st at Barnes & Noble. Awesome, huh?

Not only does the Criterion Collection offer the finest selection of classic, foreign and cult films anywhere, but they also feature some of the most beautifully-designed artwork ever. Sometimes, I actually go to the store just to look at the boxes…such a geek!

Anyway, if cool movies and artwork are not enough for you, consider this, Criterion Collection DVD’s and Blu-Rays hardly ever go on sale. So, if you or someone you love (hint, hint, Mrs. Yeti) is a fan of truly great films, get thee to a Barnes & Noble pronto.

And, no, I was not paid for this post. But, if someone at Criterion wants to send me a Blu-Ray copy of Nobuhiko Obayashi’s freaky-good “House” as payment. I’ll take it!