This Week in DVD and Instant Watching

Kind of a slow week, but that doesn't stop the longest running continuous feature on this blog from coming at'cha again!



THE HEAT: Who says two women can't headline a buddy action comedy and make money? Seriously, who does? Because Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy did, but it seems like everyone was talking about people saying it couldn't be done but nobody was actually saying it. I think this looks pretty funny, but as far as I'm concerned, no pooping in the sink scene=no sale.




PACIFIC RIM: One could make the argument that we're due for an influx of monster movies in the wake of tension created by the recent nuclear plant disasters in Japan. But in this case, I think Guillermo del Toro just really wanted to make a monster movie.



KEVIN HART: LET ME EXPLAIN: And to think that we all thought Tom Arnold would be the standup whose career would soar after "Soul Plane."



THE COLONY: It's somehow reassuring that, regardless of the changing realities of the movie business, whenever a movie hits video 3 weeks after its theatrical debut, we can pretty much assume it's crap.



GENTLE BEN SEASON 1: Do you remember from back in the day this warm family show about the love between a little boy and his adorable bear pal. I hope so because in the wake of "Grizzly Man," watching this program is now a half-hour exercise in managing the anxiety of inevitable impending doom.



AND IN STREAMING...



A lot of Mario Bava appeared on Netflix Instant Watching this week, and while I could barely distinguish the guy from the dude who played Slater, genre fans should be overjoyed...unless this stuff has already been on and is just recycling through again, in which case...sorry for getting your hopes up. But at least several of these movies star Telly Savalas, so, jeez, at least be grateful for that.



Also new: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4 and more Russell Peters. If Netflix is any indication, Russell Peters must be the biggest standup comedian in the world. And he wasn't even in "Soul Plane!"



The B/W continues to stream along. I still haven't seen any information about who is behind this outfit, nor even a programming schedule, but it looks like perhaps the same lineup runs all week, including weekdays. Some other shows I noticed this week: PETER GUNN, DENNIS THE MENACE, TALES OF TOMORROW...

Hey, Let's see what's on right now, especially since the baseball game is a blowout.



Uh, oh, I'm getting an error message. Well, it was fun while it lasted! I'll continue to monitor this developing, but possibly stifled, situation. I guess it isn't streaming along.



Warner Archive Instant added a fun Joan Crawford/Bette Davis showcase category, not to mention the short-lived James Arness series MCLAIN'S LAW. The TV part of this is great, I'm telling you. WAI also pleased me by adding some more 1930s and 1940s movies after a few weeks of what seemed to me like more "modern"-centric updates. The service is in a pretty good rhythm of adding new titles each Friday afternoon or so.
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