Lost: The Complete Second Season (Extended Experience)
BUENA VISTA HOME ENTERTAINMENT
SHOW A-
SPECIAL FEATURES B+
DVD GEEK FACTOR 6.5 (OUT OF 10)
Here's yet another good show I don't watch on television. I'm far too impatient with those cliffhanger endings, so much so that I wait for the DVD and watch the whole damn thing in a few days. Yes, DVD has killed original-run broadcasts for me.
This one starts off with some of the Lost castaways dealing with the aftermath of a kidnapping. Michelle Rodriguez makes an appearance (she would later get in trouble for drunken driving and--mysteriously--get written off the show). Meanwhile, the rest of the castaways have entered the mysterious hatch from Season One and made some baffling discoveries.
The second season managed to kill off a few, and it got snubbed by the Emmys after winning last year. It's a strange snubbing, because the second season was as good as the first, and deserved a nomination at the least.
Every episode of this show is like an excellent Twilight Zone segment: always engaging and never predictable. It will be interesting to see how long writers and producers can maintain this level of quality.
SPECIAL FEATURES: A seven-disc set, with one of them dedicated completely to bonus features. The features are split up into three phases, with all sorts of fun featurettes, including never-before-seen flashbacks, as well as The Official Lost Connections (which examines the bizarre character connections) and behind-the-scenes footage. Producers discuss the various theories and mysteries that have swirled around the show, even showing rabid fans who've gotten more than a little carried away with the program. There's even some DJ who has made Lost discussions a major part of his radio show. It all makes you sort of wish you didn't give a damn about the show, because these guys are way too obsessed, and it's creepy.
Pretty in Pink: Everything's Duckie Edition
PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO
MOVIE B
SPECIAL FEATURES B+
DVD GEEK FACTOR 6 (OUT OF 10)
This film is 20 years old. TWENTY YEARS OLD! To celebrate, and to make the class of '86 (which I was in) feel super ancient, we get a new and superior edition of the film on DVD.
Most of you fine readers probably think John Hughes directed this, but that is not true. It was, in fact, directed by Howard Deutch from a Hughes script. Hughes helped pick music and produced, but he did no directing. Deutch made a film that definitely has a Hughes vibe, something that would not exist in their other collaborations, Some Kind of Wonderful and The Great Outdoors.
Molly Ringwald plays Andie, a high school outcast who is relatively poor and has eyes for rich boy Blane (Andrew McCarthy). The two try to overcome their backdrops and make out often, but rich Blane friend Steff (James Spader--too old to be a high school student) is acting like a major dick about it. Will Blane choose Andie, or stay loyal to his asshole friends? It's surprising how much of a dilemma this actually is for the character.
The most memorable of the characters would be Duckie, played by Jon Cryer. I remember delighting to Duckie's clever lip-synching and rebellious spirit, but I find him kind of annoying in my old age.
SPECIAL FEATURES: While the DVD box seems to claim the original ending is on the disc, it's not true. The ending is only talked about, with some brief video footage of the filming day. The original ending had Duckie and Andie shunning Blane and dancing the night away. Preview audiences puked, so the cast was called back for reshoots.
Masters of Horror: Homecoming
ANCHOR BAY
MOVIE B
SPECIAL FEATURES A
DVD GEEK FACTOR 7 (OUT OF 10)
Here's another one of the fine Masters of Horror shows, this one focusing more on satire than gore, but it's a fine installment indeed.
Director Joe Dante aired some dirty political laundry with this zombie film. Homecoming has zombies running amok, but they aren't looking to nibble on your calves or suck your eyes out. After a military publicist makes a wish on a TV show regarding dead U.S. soldiers in Iraq, the war dead rise from their graves and head to the nearest voting booths in an effort to eject George W. Bush from office.
Dante doesn't go for the heavy gore in his installment, but that doesn't make Homecoming any less shocking. He's clearly not a Bush fan, taking full-blown shots at his administration. He even takes some blatant jabs at perennial political-show panelist Ann Coulter. It's a rather angry and bold film, not the sort of thing you would see on network television. They get away with so much on those pay channels.
Masters of Horror will be back with a second season on Showtime, and if it's half as good as the first, genre fans have plenty to look forward to.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Anchor Bay gets a gold star for its treatment of this series. Commentaries, extensive documentaries and a lengthy interview with director Joe Dante are just some of the features.
