When it’s late in the night before whichever winter holiday you celebrate, scramble to the DVD section for these last minute gift ideas. They’ll be a hit with whoever you forgot to shop for, and almost completely mask your inability to buy your sister something thoughtful.
Wonder Showzen: Season One and Season Two
We’ve all seen the re-dubbed G.I. Joe videos on the internet, stuffed with suggested violence and latent homosexual innuendo.
Wonder Showzen takes that idea of perverse children’s entertainment too many steps further with bloody animations, drug induced puppet hallucinations, and Tom Green-style Clarence, who interviews the sleeping and irritable strangers of
Both seasons are double-disc sets and have about an hour of special features, the funniest of which show children being interviewed by the show’s producers.
Individually, they run $26.99 each, but a gift set will be available December 12th for $59.99 list price.
Brick
Probably better than the old flatfoot detective movies Brick pulls its structure and style from, this modern day interpretation of the unpredictable mystery demands recognition for the surprisingly good performances of its pseudo-high school cast.
Brendan Frye’s flighty girlfriend is murdered and left in a storm gutter, forcing the introverted outsider (with the help of his only friend, the Rubik’s cube expert and hear-it-all “Brain”) to figure out- and punch- his way to revenge and understanding.
The movie is funny, compelling, and at times, downright confusing. Therefore, having the DVD allows rewinding for clarification of the characters’ bizarre slang and intricate vocabulary. Writer and director Rian Johnson has impressive fast-paced scriptwriting ability, and the tonal composition of the cinematography plays a highly effective storytelling role.
Because it’s from Focus, the special features are minimal and the included booklet is an advertisement. $29.99.
Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic
Aren’t quotes on stand-up comedy DVD packaging annoying? They all say relatively the same thing: Hilarious! Explosively Funny! Outrageous! Jesus Is Magic deserves something more that doesn’t fit in the leftover space, whether it’s a recommendation or a warning.
The borderline anti-Semitic comedy (Silverman is Jewish) rips into common decency and surprising vulgarity. The movie is mostly Silverman on stage, sometimes interjected with behind-the-scenes narrative featuring her manager, Bob Odenkirk, and awkwardly racist music videos. There’s also a strange fascination in watching a beautiful woman start a sentence with, “So I was licking jelly off my boyfriend’s penis…”
For $26.99, Silverman provides a mouth-hurting 72 hilarious minutes by violating our racial and gender sensitivities, perfect for grandma.
