Like my recent Movie Quick Take column, the same can be said about my DVD viewing. I am sadly way behind in my DVD viewing, and even further behind in my DVD reviewing. To help hold back the tide, here are a couple of quick looks at some recently viewed DVD's.
NASCAR: The IMAX Experience. I am not exactly a NASCAR fan, I don't sit and watch the races, but my folks do. I will catch bits and pieces every now and then. I picked this disk up for my mom, and decided to watch it with her. It is relatively short, IMAX films tend to be, at about 48 minutes. It gives a quick down and dirty overview of NASCAR, from the race teams and the building of the cars, right up to some incredible footage from the track. There are interviews with many of the top names, including Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. It is narrated by Kiefer Sutherland, who has a very good speaking voice, it's nice to hear something other than the standard deep voice for these types of things. The video has been slightly modified to fit a television screen, the IMAX frame is slightly wider than a TV, but nothing drastic like a pan and scan of a standard film. The video quality is top notch, filled with vibrant colors, very nice transfer. This is an entertaining film for even the non fan. Recommended as a Rental.
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Dana Carvey. This is one funny disk! Carvey is a master of character creation and mimicry. The disk is over an hour and a half long and is comprised of skit after skit of Carvey either playing his own creations, such as Church Lady and the bodybuilder Hanz, or mimicking political figures like George Bush and Ross Perot. I am not sure if this is truly the best of his skits, but it is very funny, it reminds one of how good the show used to be. There was a time when they really pushed the envelope and had a cast that was truly talented. If you couldn't tell, I am not much of a fan these days. Carvey added a lot of wackiness to the show, and this disk proves it. It is one of a long series of Best of... Collections, and a highly recommended entry. There are a few extras here, among them is Dana's audition tape, where he spoofs Robin Williams and performs the Broccoli song. There are some segments that were excised from the live show, and a couple of very funny talk show appearances with Conan and Leno. Recommended.
Motley Crue: Greatest Video Hits. This was an interesting collection of videos. There are 21 videos that run for about an hour and a half and chronicle their rise to the top of the glam metal world. It is amazing how dated these videos look, the corny smoke effects and goofy outfits, but somehow, as dated as they are, they are still a lot of fun. I found it funny that the band members all pretty much look the same throughout, except for Tommy Lee, who seems to sport a new look in each one. There are also some alternate takes of the videos. The best thing on the disk has to be the nearly hour long interview with Tommy and Nikki, as they trace their video history. One thing that bugged me was that the videos were not in chronological order, I always preferred them that way, much easier to follow the development. The video is hit or miss, as many of the productions were low budget. Audio quality is good and available in 2.0 and 5.1. Recommended.
Steamboy: Sneak Preview Disk. This disk was offered at Media Play as a freebie with the purchase of an anime disk. The disk is almost a half hour long, but only ten minutes is dedicated to Steamboy. It features an interview with Katsuhiro Otomo, the director, and some footage from the film. The film took 9 years to make, with much of that time being used to develop a computer system able of doing what they needed, as the technology didn't exist yet. It looks absolutely stunning. I am eagerly looking forward to checking this out when I get the chance.
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