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The Andy Milonakis Show: The Complete First Season

Paramount Home Video
Show C+
Special Features C
DVD Geek Factor 4 (out of 10)

For those of you who have seen this MTV show, you might be surprised to find out that 1) Andy Milonakis isn't the kid from The Man Show who accosted celebrities on the red carpet with unabashedly rude questions, and 2) Milonakis is actually 30 years old (he has the appearance of a 15-year-old).

His show is a grab bag of silly skits, some of them funny, some of them not. The premise has Milonakis living in a meager apartment with his turtle, a hairy pooch named Wubbie and a creepy cast of neighbors. He does stuff like call for delivery food, only to play bizarre pranks on the delivery boy when he arrives. He shaves his turtle, irritates Wubbie (who fantasizes about Andy's demise through various vicious means) and puts on really bad plays. He also pulls the man-on-the-street bit, puzzling passers-by (usually elderly folks) with spaced-out compliments and invasive queries.

The overall effect becomes more annoying with each episode, but the first three or four shows are actually quite funny. Guest stars have unique appearances (Snoop Dogg uses Milonakis as a body double; John Stamos gets stuck in a tree and subsequently becomes rabid), which occur at the end of each show.

Major props to the theme song, which is funny every time you see it. Milonakis raps about Bruce Lee on his head, self-loathing apples and making beef stew when life hands you lemons. It's as weird as it sounds.

When the show is good, it's anarchic television that produces laughs. When it fails, it's nails on a chalkboard. The second season begins at the end of this month. Hopefully, it'll be more consistent.

Special Features: Milonakis fans will enjoy unaired skits, commentary featuring his creepy neighbors, cast interviews and more. Non-fans probably didn't even read this review.


Walk the Line: Collector's Edition

20th Century Fox
Movie A
Special Features C+
DVD Geek Factor 6 (out of 10)

Reese Witherspoon just got an Oscar for playing June Carter Cash, and she most certainly deserved it. Joaquin Phoenix got passed over for playing Johnny, and that's just ridiculous.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was incredible as Truman Capote, and he would've been my second choice for Best Actor last year. I don't think anybody came close to the power of Phoenix's performance. He came up with a voice that wasn't exactly Cash, but most certainly captured his spirit. He learned to play the guitar, and he learned to emulate Cash's stage moves and presence. He was remarkable.

A lot of movie stars have chosen to play musicians, and there have been some great performances--Gary Busey as Buddy Holly, Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison and Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn to name a few. I think Phoenix's performance outshined all of their work, yet somehow he lost some momentum going into the Oscar ceremony.

My guess is that the Academy felt it needed to cool it with the "musician portrayal" Oscars. Best Actor last year went to Jamie Foxx for playing Ray Charles (who didn't do his own singing, mind you), and voters probably wanted to break that pattern. Witherspoon (who, I reiterate, deserved her Oscar) probably got a few guilt votes from those who denied Phoenix.

No matter what, the Oscar should go to the best performance, and last year, that honor belonged to Phoenix. He nailed it.

Oh yeah, the movie is damned good, and it deserved a Best Picture nomination over the actual winner, Crash. No, it's not better than Brokeback Mountain, Munich or Capote, for that matter, but it is better than the overrated, inconsistent Crash.

This has been a post-Oscar rant masquerading as a DVD review. For an actual DVD review, see below.

Special Features: Regrettably, the DVD isn't as good as the movie. It can be purchased as both a single and two-disc version. The two-disc contains extended versions of the song performances (cool) and some pre-movie publicity featurettes (boring). Both versions contain a commentary from director James Mangold (too bad they couldn't get Phoenix and Witherspoon) and deleted scenes. Since the two-disc offers nothing interesting about the making of the film, you are probably safe with the single-disc version.


Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Two-Disc Deluxe Edition

Warner Home Video
Movie B-
Special Features B+
DVD Geek Factor 5.75 (out of 10)

You already have this one if you are a Potter freak. I, for one, thought this was the third-best flick in the series (Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban were superior; Sorcerer's Stone sucked).

Harry gets involved in some sort of time eating, dopey Tri-Wizard tournament that makes no sense, even for a fantasy film. The tone of the movie remains dark; it looks good, and the introduction of Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) at film's end is promising, yet I was hoping for more.

Special Features: Available in single and two-disc versions. The single disc is void of special features, while the deluxe edition is loaded with interviews, deleted scenes, featurettes and game previews. No commentary.

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