DVD Pick of the Week: The Counterfeiters

Welcome back! Well, to some of you, anyway. To the rest of you, glad you decided to stop by and I hope that this humble column helps you navigate the stacks of new releases each week. My goal is to point you toward titles of interest and warn you away from those films that seek to do nothing but leech away your time and give you nothing in return.

This week brings a rather thin selection of titles. So thin that I found it difficult to choose one to put at the top. It is rare when I find a week with this few titles that I want to right about, but it happens. Perhaps this week would be a good time to go back and pick up some of those titles that you neglected to pick up in recent weeks.

The Counterfeiters. I have not yet seen this film, but in a week that is as slim as this one is, why not pick a film that is well regarded? This film opened to strong reviews that culminated with an Oscar win for Best Foreign Language Film. It is based on a true story of a Nazi counterfeiting program built in the late 1930's and the man who ran it who was eventually arrested and placed in a concentration camp. This should be a good one. (BUY, RENT, SKIP)

Nim's Island. This family friendly adventure stars Abigail Breslin, Jodie Foster, and Gerard Butler. Breslin lives on an island where she is friends with the animals and lets her imagination run wild as she reads about the adventures of a fictional character. A storm passes and her father goes missing, so she turns to the character's author (Foster) for help. I have heard that this was good, but cannot say that I have felt any desire to see it. (BUY, RENT, SKIP)

Starship Troopers 3: Marauder. The trailer I have seen for this one looks terrible. Of course, the first sequel was not that good to begin with, and some could argue the merits of the original film (especially how "closely" it mirrored the source novel by Robert Heinlein). This movie does feature the return of Casper Van Dien to his role as Rico from the original movie. Will this be any good? Eh, could be corny fun. (BUY, RENT, SKIP)

Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2 - Remastered. This release has fans all riled up, so be it. I love Star Trek and would like to pick this up, but I still need to get the first season. This set is comprised of the remastered episodes with the redone effects. Should look good. (BUY, RENT, SKIP)

Masters of Science Fiction: The Complete Series. Spawned from the success of Showtime's Masters of Horror comes this sci-fi series that aired on broadcast television. I saw a couple of episodes and while none seemed to be groundbreaking, but they were quality. The series was hosted by Stephen Hawking and featured a host of writing, directing, and acting talent. (BUY, RENT, SKIP)

Heavy Metal. If I am not mistaken, this has been out of print for some time. It will be nice to see it back on the shelves. This anthology film was ripped from the pages of Heavy Metal magazine and provided some animation for the adult crowd. This new release features a digital download of the film for use on iPods and other digital devices. (BUY, RENT, SKIP)

Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers: 20th Anniversary Edition. How can you go wrong with a title like that? Well, probably lots of ways, but so what. I am sure this will provide at least a little bit of solid entertainment. (BUY, RENT, SKIP)

Baby Blues. This indie horror movie is based on an actual event. I wonder how much of it was changed for the movie? I kid, I kid. I have heard some good things about this flick, whose story is set in a rural house and involves a young boy having to protect his siblings from unspeakable evil. (BUY, RENT, SKIP)

Johnny Sunshine. How can you argue with: "...it borrows from the best: SIN CITY, LAND OF THE DEAD, SAW, THE ROAD WARRIOR, AMERICAN PSYCHO, and others. Much of the dialogue seems to be channeled straight from the late Charles Bukowski. --CRYPT MAGAZINE by KEN KUPTIS"? Sounds good to me. It is set in the future, a few years after the rise of the zombies and centers on a porn/snuff film star who prowls the streets. Very interesting. (BUY, RENT, SKIP)

Rogue. From the director of Wolf Creek comes the tale of another type of predator, a giant alligator. Hopefully this is better than Primeval, but that shouldn't be too hard. I have heard some good things about this, so maybe it will be worth checking out. It stars Michael Vartan and Radha Mitchell. (BUY, RENT, SKIP)

Get Smart: Season 1. Formerly only available through Time-Life, their stranglehold has been released and now the first season of the series is available through other venues. Frankly, I don't recall the series, but after liking the movie I am interested in taking a sample. (BUY, RENT, SKIP)