WatchMen of the Bargain Bin

See what I did there? Clever, no?

As I searched my local "Big Lots" for some sweets I went over to the movie section to see if they had any new titles. Unfortunately I was having a tough time finding a good movie because A, already brought all the good movies or B, people were just hiding them behind the cereal(again). As I was searching I found two particular DVD's that caught my eye the "Watchmen" directors cut and the "Watchmen" motion comic. I gleefully took both DVD's up to the counter for purchased and rushed home as soon as I could.

Enough of that.

What does this have to do with the DVD itself? Well if you must know it was the two disc directors cut edition of the "Watchmen." It includes the three hour long uncut version on one disc, and the other disc contains some documentaries, music video, and digital copy of the film. I personally am a fan of the "Watchmen" comic and the movie too, not saying it didn't have its problems but I did enjoy it. The DVD on the other hand not so much. Don't get me wrong this is a steal definitely, but I would have thought some things would be the norm, like say, I don't know say two versions of the movie instead of just the directors cut. Not saying the directors cut is bad it's just very long, 30 minutes longer than the original cut. Most movies that went to DVD by this time had two versions of the movie (if there were two versions to begin with). What about the special features? Not much to found here in terms of features. There is a 20 something minute long documentary, then there is the small diaries each one on a different topic of the watchmen universe inside the movie, and then there's a My Chemical Romance music video on it(Don't ask me which song it wasn't very memorable to me ok). It leaves a little to be desired but can't really complain especially for the price.


Store: Big Lots
Price: $3.00

Was it worth though?

Yes!

King Kong in the Bargain Bin!!

What a travesty to find a King in such a place!

The adventure film that changed history over 70 years ago got remade by none other than Peter Jackson. Coming off the success of the LOTR Trilogy Jackson was trusted enough to direct, write, and produce King Kong. A lot of people (including me) thought that this would be a bad idea especially considering the Original King Kong a masterpiece. The original was known to being a film that brought modern special effects to the forefront all while telling a good story. The remake was praised by critics 84% on Rotten Tomatoes, but mixed reactions from the general audience (most thought it was too long). It made over $500 million in the box office and won 3 Oscars in Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects. Hailed as one of the better remakes to hit the screen Peter Jackson's King Kong was marvelous adventure with some heart.

The 3-Disc Extended Deluxe Edition shows all that and more. This three disc set includes:

• Extended version of the film
• Many behind the scenes featurettes
• Bloopers
• Deleted Scenes
• A ROM exclusive look at the scripts from 1996 and 2005

The packaging reminds me more of VHS then a DVD case however it works in this case because both the cover and back seem VHS like which make's it have a old time classic feel to it. The DVD menu is not that appealing but it does carry that old time feel with it. The disc themselves are reflective with the number of the disc printed on. If you're curious as to why there are three disc, well the movie is split onto two disc although I wonder why. I believe they could have easily put the movie on just one disc if they tried not saying its a bad thing, only annoying if you want to watch the whole movie in one sitting and not have to get up (I'm too lazy to get up and change the disc).The special features are the reason you would get this set, with nearly 6 hours worth of them. Some of the featurettes may seem mundane but they reveal that there was time care in all aspects of the movie and not just the CGI. The short called "The Present" is probably my favorite because it made by the cast & crew themselves to present to Jackson, it felt personal and heartfelt. This showed that the everyone involved not only had fun but had a passion.

So was this worth the price?   Uh..... YES!!!! 

Store: Big Lots
Price: $3.00

Having over 9 hours of entertainment this film was a bargian especially if you see this at another store for its actually worth of $10.00.