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| Hunting for cheap DVDs: Great finds | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| By Albert Ching, Get Out | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| December 20, 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
If you don’t start holiday shopping until ’twas the night before Christmas, several of the major retail chains have your back, selling an impressive number of DVD titles for as little as 5 or 6 bucks. Maybe it’s because DVDs in general are dropping in price due to the rise of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, but the days when the best you could hope for in a cheap movie was “From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman’s Daughter” are over. We braved the holiday shopping and uncovered some of the best deals. Sure, most of these are just bare-bones DVDs, but what are the chances that you’d listen to a director’s commentary for “Footloose”? Finds at Wal-Mart  The cheap DVDs are $5.50, and can be found either in seemingly endless bins or on a shelf off to the side. You'll find the widest variety here, from things you might consider watching to freaky straight-to-DVD titles you haven't ever heard of before."A Few Good Men": You want this DVD? You can't handle this DVD! (It's still funny, 14 years later.) Perfect for any Aaron Sorkinite on your list. "Elmo in Grouchland": An even better deal when you consider how many viewings it'll take whatever kid you're buying this for to get sick of it. "The Sweetest Thing": Just in case you know someone curious about what gets bleeped out whenever they show it on Comedy Central. "Natural Born Killers": One of Oliver Stone's most controversial films -- which, of course, is saying something. "28 Days": Good: A pre-"Lord of the Rings" Viggo Mortensen. Bad: Confusing it for the 2002 British zombie flick "28 Days Later." Finds at Target  Also offers $5.50 DVDs, and even though there isn't as wide of a selection, there are definitely fewer oddities to search through."Fahrenheit 9/11": Dated at this point, but still capable of making you angry at "the man." Also spotted: Michael Moore's earlier documentary "Bowling for Columbine." "While You Were Sleeping": Sandra Bullock: The queen of discount DVDs. "The Hurricane": Denzel Washington was nominated for an Academy Award for this performance, despite accusations of historical inaccuracies. "Blue Crush": Flashback to a magical time (2002) when Kate Bosworth actually ate. "Saturday Night Live: Best of Mike Myers": Schwing. Also in the offering: best ofs for Adam Sandler and Steve Martin. Finds at Best Buy  You'll pay a little more -- $5.99 -- for the cheapie DVDs, but you'll find newer and also more movie-night classics. Caveat emptor: The discount titles change on a weekly basis, so these might not still be $5.99 -- although they probably won't be more than $9.99."Minority Report": Best Buy is a veritable inexpensive Tom Cruise movie haven, with "Collateral" and "Days of Thunder" available for cheap. "Planes, Trains & Automobiles": Why did John Hughes stop directing movies? Maybe he didn't think he could top this Steve Martin/John Candy buddy pic. "South Par: Bigger, Longer & Uncut": No. 5 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies," this gives "South Park" what it's missing on TV: lots and lots and lots of cussing. "The Ring": Pre-"Pirates of the Caribbean," Gore Verbinski directed this horror piece, which launched several similar adaptations of Japanese movies. "Sleepy Hollow": Because any Johnny Depp/Tim Burton collaboration is a good one. Bonus: Christopher Walken. Contact Albert Ching by email, or phone (480) 898-5688 |
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