DVD Pick of the Week for 1/17: Lord of War

This week brings with it a a selection of the good, the bad, and the ugly. The film that stands tall amidst the rubble is one that was sadly overlooked in the theater, hopefully it will find an audience on DVD. This week's pick is tale of an arms dealer, Lord of War.

This was one of two Nicolas Cage films that was sadly ignored at the box office, along with Weather Man. Cage plays an arms dealer who tries to keep his work and family separate, while not taking sides in a business that will force you to take a side. It is a well acted and directed film. It deserves an audience, and I urge you to give it a shot.

It was written and directed by Andrew Niccol, who was also behind another excellent and ignored film, Gattaca. He brought the tale of an arms dealer to the big screen which is not far from reality, as it was based on a combination of actual weapons dealers. The bottom line is, it is a very good film, see it.

Also coming out this week:

• Adventures of Superman: The Complete Second Season. The classic televised presence of Superman in the form of George Reeves.
• All Souls Day. If I remember correctly, this was a fun but cheesy horror film that had premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel.
• Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. Wonderful documentary helps to make sense of what these guys did to those of us who may not realize the scope of how awful they were.
• Gantz Vol. 10: Endgame. I think I've missed a couple of volumes, but this has been an entertaining series that I need to catch up on.
• Ju Dou. A drama from Hero director Zhang Yimou, and starring Memoirs of a Geisha's Gong Li. I am not familiar with this, but I would like to check it out.
• Junebug. Another film that has had a lot of positive buzz, including a spot on Roger Ebert's top ten list, yet I am completely unfamiliar with.
• The Man. Minor comedy with Samuel L. Jackson and Eugene Levy. It was funny but insubstantial.
• Samurai Champloo: Vol. 7. Hip Hop and Samurais work well together in this anime series.
• Titus: Season 3. This show got shortchanged when it was on TV, but at least it will live on and hopefully find new fans on DVD.
• Two for the Money. This was a good film for the acting, the plot was too thin for it to be anything else.
• Venom. This is here as a warning. Do not see this movie, it is an awful horror film.

That brings this week to an end.