The Travers Take

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DVD Tuesday

January 29, 2008 10:00 AM

In Billy Madison, Adam Sandler always thought of Tuesday as "nudie magazine day." But on this blog, Tuesday means new DVD releases—if there's bare flesh, so much the better. Read on to learn what movies get our vote and which misbegotten piece of Hollywood crap earns the Leper's Bell for being so godawful you want to shout, "Unclean! Unclean!"

Top Pick: The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

Who would have guessed that a documentary about gamers obsessed with scoring a world record at Donkey Kong would not only be roaringly funny but serve as a metaphor for the decline of Western civilization? Using Billy Mitchell’s need to stay champ and Steve Wiebe’s need to beat him, director Seth Gordon deftly manages to show how age, marriage, fatherhood and so-called ethical thinking will not stop man’s need to go to war, no matter how stupid the reason. Bonus features are also terrific, and the fact that Oscar snubbed this baby in the Best Documentary category proves its worth. The film's honesty has been questioned. South Park teases the hell out of the movie in episode 1109, entitled "More Crap." Hollywood is planning to make it as a feature. I vote for Johnny Depp as Mitchell and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Wiebe.

Top Oldie: El Cid

The 1961 epic suffers from having Charlton Heston in the lead, playing the 11th-century braveheart who kicks the Moors out of Spain. Superbabe Sophia Loren supposedly shrunk from Heston as if he were Kryptonite. Who can blame her? Acting with a block of granite can't be fun. Still, director Anthony Mann stages battle scenes that will drop your jaw, unless you're watching them on an iPod.

Leper's Bell: The Invasion

They paid Nicole Kidman $17 million to costar with Daniel Craig (007, how could you?) in this umpteenth, upchuckable retread of the 1956 scare classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers. You know, the one where alien pods suck the humanity out of our bodies while we're sleeping. I defy you not to fall into a coma while watching this cinematic sedative. The studio stayed awake long enough to try to save the film from director Oliver Hirschbiegel's handywork. It hired the Wachowski brothers to rewrite the film with a Matrix twist and called on their protege, V for Vendetta director James McTeigue to do re-shoots that would cost $10 million. Nothing helped. This DVD is Exhibit A.


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9 Comments


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someshine | February 8, 2008 1:59 PM

I just stumbled across this blog and I yelped in excitement! I love you, Peter Travers! My friends make fun of me because I quote PT constantly. "Well, Peter Travers says this movie is a cinematic masterpiece," etc.
If I recommend a movie to friends they sarcastically ask me what Peter Travers said about it first.
PT fan club, anyone?

kcv | February 2, 2008 8:52 AM

the king of kong was great but while i watching it i thought to myself, aren't their better things to do w/ your time? like the guy who spent hours and hours watching videotapes of 'record breaking' scores. it was fun and interesting though.

Ed Wood | January 31, 2008 5:54 PM

King of Kong was great. Good luck making it a feature, as those dorks (other than Wiebe, who came off really genuine) can't be recreated.

joe | January 31, 2008 12:23 AM

Although "King of Kong" is the best movie out this week, don't forget to see "King of California" with Michael Douglas as a man looking for buried treasure under a Costco and finding a relationship with his daughter at the same time.

scottshootsdotcom | January 30, 2008 3:25 PM

Totally agree. Couldn't be happier to see your blog, Peter.

And I completely concur with your choice. KING OF KONG is one of the most dramatic flicks I've seen in a long time. Down with Billy Mitchell!! LOL

offtopic | January 29, 2008 7:09 PM

Cool to see Travers getting a bigger soap box. He is one of the more thoughtful critics out there.

Satya | January 29, 2008 6:25 PM

The Travers Take is the second coolest feature at the Rolling Stone web site, the first being, of course, the Peter Travers film reviews! Viva The Travers Take, and many thanks to Peter Travers for taking even more time beyond his excellent film reviews to share his thoughts with the Travers faithful in cyberspace. Also, what an awesome interview with Sidney Lumet in the current print edition of RS. Lumet definitely deserved a Best Director nomination for Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.

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