I always enjoy rooting through the $5 DVD bin at Walmart. As it get easier to stream, download, and store films at home we’ll probably see the format disappear — which is too bad because I really like them. Better than VHS tapes, at least…
Anyway, I often see DVDs listed among the things to send to our troops, so I included some cinematic masterpieces in my most recent box of stuff for my son Alex in Afghanistan.
Here’s what’s playing:
28 Days Later / 28 Weeks Later: One disc, two great movies, the first of which was directed by Olympic opening ceremony mastermind Danny Boyle. It features the very worst sort of zombies, those who sprint like Usain Bolt.
Jeremiah Johnson: I first saw this at ten-years-old and it had a profound impact on me. At the time it was one of the coolest movies I’d ever seen, except maybe for The Great Escape and Planet of the Apes.
Superbad: Any teenager with nerdy glasses shall forever be called McLovin.
Gran Torino: Clint Eastwood at his badass best. For those of you who thought Chrysler’s Halftime in America commercial came out of left field, Eastwood plays a retired Detroit autoworker in this flick.
Pineapple Express: Dude…
Stripes: I think the Army has changed a lot since Stripes came out in 1981. What goes on in this movie is probably more like what the Afghan army looks like today. And that’s more sad than funny.