Sherlock Holmes Double Feature

Timed to coincide with the release of the Robert Downey Jr./Jude Law film, this repackaging of two classic Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce films – The Spider Woman and The Voice of terror – is a mixed bag. The Spider Woman, where Holmes investigates a series of ‘pajama suicides’ is by far the more entertaining, and features a great performance by Gale Snodgrass as the villain. The Voice of Terror, where Holmes battles Nazi spies, is less successful, primarily due to its dated patriotic themes. 3 stars

Zombieland

Let’s face it, when you go see a comedy called Zombieland, you want two things for the price of admission: Buckets of blood and bellyfuls of laughs. You definitely get your money’s worth of both in this twisted tale of life on earth as it is lived by the few people who haven’t been turned into flesh eating monsters. Like all great road comedies, the joy of Zombieland is in the journey, and the adventures these mismatched survivors have along the way are both hysterical and horrible.

Planet Hulk

Finally. After years of bad big budget movies and even worse animated series (not to mention an unintentionally campy TV show) Marvel Comics ultimate bad boy finally gets a movie worth his big green talent. Directed by Sam Lui (Superman/Batman: Public Enemies), and based on the best selling comic book series written by Greg Pak, Planet Hulk begins as the Green goliath wakes up on board a space ship to hear a message from his fellow Avengers that they’re fed up with his violent mood swings and decided to pack him up and send him to another planet where he can’t do any harm. Being tricked by his ‘friends’ only makes Hulk angry and we all know what happens when Hulk gets angry: He destroys the ship before it can get to its preplanned destination. He lands on a desert plant where he’s forces to fight as a gladiator, each victory convincing the locals that The Hulk is their savior sent to set them free.

The Super Robot Red Baron

If you love cheesy monster movies, the kind where you can tell the monster is a guy in a rubber suit and the city he is wrecking is a scale model, then you will have a blast watching this entertaining Japanese television series from the 1970s. The story, about how members of the Super Science Institute use their newly created Super Robot Red Baron to battle the Iron Mask Party and their evil leader, President Deviler, is absolute nonsense. But so what? Sit back and watch the rubber suited guys wreck the models.

Monty Python Almost the Truth

This exhaustive documentary tells you just about everything you ever wanted to know about the six men whose comic talents created the iconic Monty Python television show and films. It has lots of celebrity interviews from people reminding us of how funny they were, and also includes a disc of arguably some of the best skits the group ever came up with. Nothing beats just listening to one of the guys talk about what he thought about any moment in the groups history, though, particularly when its followed by another Python member remembering it in a totally different way.

Patton 360

Most of what people remember about General George S Patton comes from them having seen George C. Scott’s Oscar-winning performance in the 1970 epic movie directed by Franklin Schaffner. Good as that movie is, it pales in comparison to this intelligent and thought-provoking study of the man and his work as a general during World War II. Using a combination of historical footage and state-of-the-art recreation graphics, Patton 360 lives up to its title and gives viewers a complete picture of the man, the myth, the legend and the reality of “Old Blood and Guts.”

Evangelion: 1.01 You Are (Not) Alone

This legendary anime series gets a well-deserved re-boot with this new DVD. Like a lot of anime, it’s the story of a young boy with a talent for piloting a giant robot war machine. Unlike the other characters in the anime world, young Shinji Ikari doesn’t want to be a hero. In fact, he’s terrified at the mere thought of getting into the cockpit of his robot, but he does it for the love of its creator, his father. The story holds up well, and the film looks fantastic.