Weekly Faves

Here are some of my favorite new releases from last week and this coming week. There is some pretty good stuff so check it out!

The Godfather Coppola Restoration (DVD)



I have been waiting all year for this and it didn't disappoint. These films, which looked grainy, dark and dull on my old DVD set, look AMAZING here. They spent a year cleaning I and II frame-by-frame and they now look as great as they did during it's initial theatrical run. I was seriously in heaven while watching this set... I didn't know The Godfather could look that great. The new special features were really great too.

But, of course, the most important thing are the films themselves (just I and II... I personally don't consider III to even exist, and I've only seen it once and it was so bad). These are the greatest movies of all time. I honestly think that even calling The Godfather "movies" is insulting and beneath them. These are not mere "movies"... this is our Shakespeare, our Mona Lisa, our Collosseum... the apex of its' medium.

I think a lot of young people my age (30 or younger) haven't even seen these films. Seriously, I can't think of any of my friends who have actually seen The Godfather. Like, young people know it, because it's so famous and is often parodied and everything... but they haven't actually seen it. I don't know why... maybe it's too long (6 1/2 hours), maybe it's too old (36 years), maybe they just think it's like Scarface (PLEASE) or some other gangster movie so they don't need to watch it. I think that's really a shame, and hopefully this newly restored set will finally get people to appreciate these films instead of "appreciate" them.

These films simply have to be watched and studied. They're that good. And this is the perfect DVD set, in all it's pristine picture glory, to keep these films in the public conscience.



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TV on the Radio Dear Science (CD)



This is the new album from one of the most exciting and important groups around. This album is heavily beat-driven, and lacks the trademark slow-boiling epics of earlier material in favor of apocalyptic jams and signs o' the times. This album is a lot more immediate and desperate than their earlier albums, and it's the perfect soundtrack to these often dangerous and unstable times in which we live.




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Forgetting Sarah Marshall (DVD)



I'm a sucker for Apatow movies, and this was another funny one. And they made an insane 3-disc version, so there's bound to be some funny extras on there.




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Taxi to the Dark Side (DVD)



I'm really excited to finally see this documentary about the torturing and killing of an innocent Afghani taxi driver. It's supposed to be really excellent.



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Lou Reed Berlin (DVD)



This is a concert movie of Lou Reed performing his classic Berlin album in its' entirety in. This film was shot by Julien Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) and Antony Hegarty joins Lou on a couple songs.



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T.I. Paper Trail (CD)



A lot of people hate on T.I. but I still really like him and I'm excited for this album. Although his last one sucked, and he might be selling out with his Rhianna-assisted lady-jams, I think he still has it in him to release another dope album like King. Here's hoping that he keeps it trill while he's serving his bid next year.



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Serena Maneesh S-M Backwards (CD)



This is an odds-&-ends collection of some rare Serena Maneesh material from some of their ep's and live performances. Serena Maneesh is a really great Scandinavian shoegaze band, and they basically tried to recreate Loveless on their last album, so I'm way down with them. If you're a fan of My Bloody Valentine, The Jesus and Mary Chain or The Ravonettes, you'll love Serena Maneesh. This is a truly special band, check them out.




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The Replacements Tim (Reissued & Remastered CD)



Tim is one of my favorite albums of all time, it's one of those truly classic albums where every song is greater than the last and you're really bummed out when it's over. Let It Be and Tim are truly must-haves in any self-respecting music collection. All of the Replacements albums have been reissued and remastered now, and I'm slowly getting them all, but I advise you to start with Let It Be and Tim... you won't be sorry.