Cult television/film actor Bruce Campbell is a very funny guy.  His new film is all things to all fans.  It’s campy, cheesy as Hell, and a lot of fun.  There’s almost no plot and the film has almost no appeal outside the hardcore Campbell fanbase.  Those fans will eat up My Name is Bruce though.  It’s low-brow fun and has a paltry 85 minute runtime.  Even at that short runtime, the inspiration flags towards the end, but the film is an entertaining ride for his fans.

My Name is Bruce features Bruce Campbell as…..Bruce Campbell.  A hyper-realized and nasty version of …

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November is just around the corner but its a light month for noteworthy DVDs.  A bit on the slow side, as the big releases hit in December for Christmas.  Here’s my list of November releases that are worth picking up, week by week:

November 4th

Batman: The Complete Animated Series- The animated series that helped redefine Batman forever.  This set is lovingly packaged and featuers all 4 seasons of Paul Dini and Bruce Timm’s groundbreaking series.  A must for the Batman fans and a great Christmas present for any fanboy.  This is the DVD pick of the month, and a great …

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This past summer was a very good one for comic book films, they were generally very high quality, exciting and entertaining. The acting in The Incredible Hulk is generally very good. …

There’s a lot of hype surrounding Bill Maher’s documentary Religulous. Say what you will about Maher or the film, it’s very funny and even informative. Maher makes his feelings on religion very well known at the outset and this lends the film an easy sense of light humor. Ben Stein does no such thing in his vile “documentary” Expelled. Stein uses trickery and half-truths to convince people that he is just a proponent of intelligent design and how it is different from Creationism. …

Bigger, Stronger, Faster is the name of the fascinating, funny, and endlessly entertaining documentary about the steroid culture in the United States, and specifically in the sports world.  Writer/director Christopher Bell (a likable meathead, a refreshing change from the usual intellectual blowhards of the documentary world) grew up in the 1980s (much like yours truly), and he idolized Sly, Ahnold, and especially Hulk Hogan. …

The theatrical version of The New World was near perfect. It was visually stunning and filled with amazing music and some terrific performances. Director Terrance Malick reportedly cut out over 30 minutes for theatrical release. That cut was released on DVD, and now for the first time we have his original version of the film. This extended version of The New World adds a lot of new footage, but most of the new footage was best left on the cutting room floor by Malick. It turns out he was right to shorten The New World considerably. What was once an ethereal …

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RL Stine is an extremely popular author for kids and tweens, having written countless best-sellers. Stine’s “Goosebumps” series of books was turned into a successful television series; there are also a few direct to DVD films based on his books. The first came out last year and starred Emily Osment (from “Hannah Montana”) and Tobin Bell (from the “Saw” films, of all places) and it was actually quite entertaining. It was called “The Haunting Hour” and for what it was, it was well-made and entertaining.

Alas, Stine’s new feature called Mostly Ghostly is slow-paced and devoid of an interesting storyline. It …

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Gus Van Sant is one of the more interesting writer/directors around working in film today. He’s able to go mainstream with hits like Good Will Hunting and then do more personal and artsy indie films like Gerry and Elephant. He’s in a real experimental phase lately and Paranoid Park is another aimless wander from Van Sant. An artsy, pretentious void of nothingness. There’s no emotional resonance, character development (or story) at all in Paranoid Park. Van Sant’s pretty images and stylish cinematography are even spiraling into cliche. There’s endless shots of a teen brooding in a hoodie walking along a grassy …

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Fall is looming large, time for cooler weather and brooding to some awesome DVDs.  It’s kind of a slow month for blockbusters…..mostly its a time to upgrade your old DVDs, or just pick up some that you never owned in the first place.  Here’s an early week by week rundown of the best DVDs coming out in October:

October 7th

Beetlejuice: 20th Anniversary Edition:  Despite my feelings about recent Timmy Burton films, I really liked Beetlejuice and I’m glad its getting a new edition.

Boy A:  This disturbing looking indie from the UK came and went quickly through theatres, so I’m …

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Sarah Landon and The Paranormal Hour is reminiscent of RL Stine’s “Goosebumps” mixed with a bit of Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. The premise and concept have promise but they are hampered by a tiny budget, bad acting, and a mediocre storyline with too much babbling and not enough action. It’s hard to imagine anyone but kids and tweens finding much to enjoy about this film. Even they may prefer the slicker, bigger-budgeted films and television series around like the recent Nancy Drew update. Sarah Landon will appeal mostly to kids and adults nostalgic for Goosebumps and other cheesy kiddie …

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