How Does Neon Put Together Its Cool DVD Box Set Every Year?

This was a treat. For the Los Angeles Times, I talked to the people at Neon who design the company's annual for-your-consideration DVD box set of its films. This collection has quickly become the one item each year critics love to brag about receiving. You can read what I learned here.

Why I Don't Buy DVDs

About a month ago, David Ehrlich wrote a terrific piece, "The 50 Best Criterion Collection Releases," which highlighted a bunch of really beautiful DVD and Blu-ray sets from Criterion. (The above image is taken from that article.) I looked at Ehrlich's list, gazed at all those gorgeous covers, and thought.... "Why don't I want to buy any of these?" That inspired my latest Culture Club column for Playboy, in which I analyze my misgivings about owning DVDs. It should go without saying that these misgivings are mine and mine alone: I know plenty of film lovers who have tons of DVDs on their shelves, and obviously I don't have any problem with that. But for me, well, I make my case here.

'Take This Waltz' Comes to DVD

I saw Take This Waltz at the Toronto Film Festival in 2011 and was impressed by its unpredictable, deeply affecting tone. Tomorrow, writer-director Sarah Polley's romantic drama arrives on DVD. If you haven't seen it, give it a shot. I explain why over at IFC Fix.

'Shut Up and Play the Hits' Comes to DVD

Shut Up and Play the Hits chronicles LCD Soundsystem's final concert, but more than that, it dives into the mindset of front man James Murphy as he wrestles with his decision to end the band. The concert footage is great, and the portrait of an artist is great, too. The movie arrives on DVD on Tuesday, so if you had been curious to check it out, now's your chance. I wrote about the film for this week's IFC Fix column.

(P.S. If you've seen the film, you're perhaps aware of one intensely crying audience member during the LCD show that the directors linger on a bit. Well, the kid's become somewhat famous, as this video clip/promotional item explains.....)

C'mon, 'Battleship' Is Fun

At least that's the argument I make over at IFC Fix. The film hits DVD tomorrow, and I think it deserves a second chance. It's funny: I reviewed the movie in May at Deadspin, and for months after, Will's and my reviews would be greeted by one commenter who said that he/she couldn't believe a word we said after giving a thumbs-up to Battleship. Such is life.

Giving 'The Three Stooges' Another Chance

The Three Stooges arrives on DVD tomorrow. I was very pleased with the movie when it came out in April and then not very happy when it failed to do much at the box office. So here's your chance to catch up with a very funny movie. A very stupid movie, sure -- but also pretty darn funny. I advocate for the film over at IFC Fix.

'Shame' Is Now on DVD

Shame was my favorite English-language movie of last year. I raved about it a little back when I first saw it in Toronto, and on the occasion of its DVD release, I decided to devote this week's IFC Fix column on the film's greatness. Michael Fassbender is just too good, folks.

'Myth of the American Sleepover' > 'Project X'

As you may recall, I wasn't too high on Project X. Over the weekend, I was thinking about recent teen films that I did like, and one immediately came to mind: The Myth of the American Sleepover. A low-budget indie, it opened last summer to great reviews and very, very little theatrical business. But now's your chance to catch up with it on DVD. For my IFC Fix column, I talked about what makes the movie so special -- and why it's so right about high school life.

'Smother' on DVD; or, Who Called It "Hilarious"?

Killing some time at CineFile the other evening, I came upon the DVD of Smother, the not-so-funny Diane Keaton movie I panned last year for The Village Voice. Imagine my surprise, then, when I noticed the blurb "Hilarious" on the DVD's cover attributed to the Voice. "Wait a second," I thought. "I remember thinking that Keaton was kinda funny in it, but did I ever use the word hilarious?"

I went home and looked up my review. Here's the opening of the piece:

Noah (Dax Shepard) has just gotten fired, faces pressure from his wife (Liv Tyler) to have a baby, and must contend with her socially inept cousin (Mike White), who wants to stay with them for a few days while he finishes his screenplay. That’s when Marilyn (Diane Keaton), Noah’s high-maintenance mother, announces that she’s moving in, turning Noah’s bad day into a presumably hilarious and awful one.

Yeah, that's what I thought. For future reference, it's important to read all the words in a sentence before determining if something's being used in a positive way or not.