Milos Forman’s masterpiece of dramatic filmmaking is a movie that has managed to elude me for literal years. I’ve tried to track down “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” for ages (it’s been my white whale), and every time it’s been one more of the many classics that was easily out of my grasp for one reason or another. Being given the opportunity to watch the film finally in a touched up widescreen edition with 5.1 surround sound managed to be the experience I’ve been waiting for, and Forman’s master opus is well worth the hype.
The series that many were afraid wouldn’t last beyond one season is now going on to season four, and the release of season three sees something of a rut within a rather entertaining and easily charming television series that has appealed to fanboys and nerds across the board since its premiere. While I’m not a fan of the comparisons to “Friends,” the CBS series about four brilliant geniuses obsessed with their toys and video games balanced by their ditzy neighbor Penny is about as close to get to a strong and potentially long lasting ensemble comedy.
Yes, whether we Superman fans like it or not, “Smallville” is on its ninth season and continues to stagger on like the mummy. You know it’s falling apart, but nevertheless it just continues to shamble on and on. “Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season” on DVD only signifies that the series has done every single thing imaginable to stray away from the true Superman mythos in an attempt to not only keep the general fans of the show interested, but to dodge the continuing lawsuit DC is enduring from the Shuster family.
Like all foreign entertainment if you’re willing to keep a wide open mind and are willing to be open to something completely new and off the wall, then “Flight of the Conchords” is the series for you. Admittedly, the New Zealand sitcom about two folk singers slowly working their way to music fame in the New York landscape is an acquired taste, and one that I had a bit of a time adjusting to, especially considering the series will screech to a halt to switch to musical numbers sung by either of the two gentlemen here.
The Warner Archives have brought movie buffs of all kinds together to bear witness to the immortal Red Skelton and his “Whistling” trilogy, the 1941 comedy series that brought Skelton together with co-stars like Eve Arden and Virginia Grey. Restored and featured in three separate discs, the “Whistling” collection is ultimately a mixed bag of Skelton comedies that are all fairly flawed with some dated zingers that fall flat on numerous occasions, but when they shine, they manage to draw some genuine laughs thanks to Skelton who is sometimes too goofy to enjoy, and other times seem too funny for the material he’s handed.