Mega cheap DVD viewing

[Patrick Thistle]

I bought Big Eyes on DVD in Poundland. Watched it last night. Directed by Tim Burton, starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz, it's the trueish story of Margaret Keane who painted kitsch portraits of children with big, sad eyes. Her husband, Walter, passed them off as his own, making them a fortune. But then things went awry.

Anyway, I really liked it. San Francisco in the sunny 60s, a cameo from Terence Stamp, art. Christoph Waltz was good as manic liar Walter, but unfortunately his accent made it hard to see him as anything else than Blofield.

I also bought American Hustle on blu-ray for a pound as well. These are new, not the 'replay' repackaged second hand stuff.

So, anyway, what DVD bargains have you watched lately?

[Ginger Yellow]

Pretty much all my DVD viewing these days is via LoveFilm. The only DVDs I've bought for ages have been things you can't get in Region 2, and hence they tend to be pretty expensive.

[WOM]

I bought Red State at Dollarama but haven't watch it yet. The fam has lit out for the territories, so maybe tonight.

[Excitable_Boy]

I bought seasons 1-7 of The Shield for £7 recently.

Just started and up to episode 7 or 8; wasnt what I expected but watchable none-the-less

[lackedpunch]

I pick up quite a few bargains on DVD in my local "CEX" store. Last week for 50p I got "Brooklyn's Finest" . It's set in Brooklyn and tells the individual stories of three cops, played by Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke and Richard Gere. The Richard Gere storyline was the best, and Richard Gere's quite blank persona suited his character. It was entertaining and well worth 50p! At the same time I also got "Lakeview Terrace" a thriller starring Samuel L Jackson as a cop. This was also 50p, and I hope to watch it this weekend. To round out this haul I picked up Spacehog's "Resident Alien" album on CD for 20p (I was curious about what a Spacehog album would be like!) Unfortunately the assistant couldn't find the Spacehog disc, even after a lengthy search, so I just got the two films. No matter - I've a feeling I might come across that Spacehog album one day in a charity shop!

[WOM]

I bought Red State at Dollarama but haven't watch it yet. The fam has lit out for the territories, so maybe tonight.

Watched it last night. Not bad. Not great, but definitely watchable. Suffers from some - but certainly not all - of the usual Kevin Smith drawbacks. But overall a decent flick.

[Patrick Thistle]

So a couple more for this thread....

St. Vincent - Bill Murray stars as Vincent, a curmudgeonly flawed man hired as an unlikely childminder by his new neighbour, a single mom played by Melissa McCarthy. (I know MM is an acquired taste. She is toned down in this and puts in a decent turn.)

The kid in question is very good. Some of his lines in the script are a bit too knowing. It also features Chris O'Dowd as a world-weary priest teaching at the kid's school. He's less grating than in some other Hollywood films I've seen him in.

Overall, the story is kind of redemptive and has a message of not judging people until you really get to know them. I enjoyed it and it had a couple of decent moments that worked and then some that were quite twee. Overall 6/10

Woman in Gold - Based on the case that saw Gustav Klimt's famous painting returned to the last survivor of the Jewish family who owned it before the Nazis annexed Austria. Helen Mirren plays Maria Altman, the heiress. Ryan Reynolds is her lawyer who gets emotionally involved in the case due to his own family history. (Katie Holmes plays his wife - feels like forever since I'd seen her in a film.)

There are flashbacks to the annexation and how Austria turned against its Jewish community overnight. That was hard to watch, knowing it was real. But seeing that in the past made the final verdict to award the paintings to Maria, all the more powerful. In conclusion, a well told based on a true story film. 7/10

[sw2borshch]

I'm going to talk about expensive DVD viewing. I picked up a two week old Manchester Evening News to read when eating my dinner in a different office today and turned, naturally, to the small ads. Besides an eye-opening amount of ads for massage parlours (filthy 'apporths down there), there were loads of ads selling second hand DVDs, all giving the same mobile number. The wares included a box set of 'e-otic films' Basic Instinct 1&2 for £7. £7! Do they not have CEX or That's Entertainment in Manchester?

Also available was 'e-otic film' 9 1/2 weeks for £5 and a sealed Peaky Blinders series 1-3 for £26. Are there no HMVs in Manchester?

Anyway, I then picked up a magazine called Simply, that's basically a catalogue for mail order DVDs. Basic Instinct is advertised on the back, reduced from £12.99 to £7.99, with Basic Instinct 2 reduced from £19.99 to £7.99 or get both for £14. Fucking hell.

Disclaimer - I've never seen Basic Instinct and I don't think I knew Basic Instinct 2 existed.

You can also get the three On The Buses films reduced from £19.99 to £14.99. I picked them up for a quid a couple of years back and on reflection they seen me coming.

[Giggler]

I'm going to talk about expensive DVD viewing. I picked up a two week old Manchester Evening News to read when eating my dinner in a different office today and turned, naturally, to the small ads. Besides an eye-opening amount of ads for massage parlours (filthy 'apporths down there), there were loads of ads selling second hand DVDs, all giving the same mobile number. The wares included a box set of 'e-otic films' Basic Instinct 1&2 for £7. £7! Do they not have CEX or That's Entertainment in Manchester?

Also available was 'e-otic film' 9 1/2 weeks for £5 and a sealed Peaky Blinders series 1-3 for £26. Are there no HMVs in Manchester?

Anyway, I then picked up a magazine called Simply, that's basically a catalogue for mail order DVDs. Basic Instinct is advertised on the back, reduced from £12.99 to £7.99, with Basic Instinct 2 reduced from £19.99 to £7.99 or get both for £14. Fucking hell.

Disclaimer - I've never seen Basic Instinct and I don't think I knew Basic Instinct 2 existed.

You can also get the three On The Buses films reduced from £19.99 to £14.99. I picked them up for a quid a couple of years back and on reflection they seen me coming.

There's an HMV AND a Fopp. I spend a bastard fortune in the latter.

We also had a 'That's Entertainment' on Market Street but it's now a Holland and Barrett.

And yes, there's a massage parlour for every taste and every pocket in the back of the paper. 'Health clubs' indeed!

[Giggler]

I keep looking for I Give It A Year in charity shops and Poundland because it looks like exactly the kind of film that you'd expect to find in such a place. Nada so far, but I expect to see Stephen Merchant's turn as the gawky, inappropriate mate soon.