I came late to the Mad Men game, not watching an episode until about a year and a half ago, but once I started I couldn’t quit. Bingeing through the first four seasons in a couple of weeks and then waiting with baited breath for Season Five to come out, I was easily and quickly addicted. It isn’t a perfect show – I’ve always found Don’s mysterious past to be at best a distraction and at worse a total bore – but when it’s good, it’s bottled magic.
The fifth season slumped a little in the beginning but eventually found its feet and became very enjoyable. Honestly, even if it had sucked, it would be worth owning just to watch Jessica Paré sing “Zou Bisou Bisou.” Zowee! That was the sexiest scene seen on television since I don’t know when. Gorgeous women singing in French notwithstanding the rest of the season is still quite good and is now my Pick of the Week. Extras include multiple cast commentaries and several features on the show.
Also out this week that looks interesting:
Moonrise Kingdom (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy Combo): With Rushmore and The Royal Tennenbaums Wes Anderson quickly became one of my favorite directors. But with each subsequent film it seemed as though he was simply retreading the same material. The Fantastic Mr. Fox was fantastic and gave me renewed hope which was again somewhat restored with Moonrise Kingdom. It is still very much a Wes Anderson film in style and theme, but he was able to inject it with something that, while not quite reaching the heights of his very best films at least rose above his last couple of live action films. Read Steve Geise’s review.
Neil Young: Journeys: Director Jonathan Demme infuses interviews with Neil Young (while on the road from his home to Toronto’s Massey Hall) with concert footage from that Toronto performance.
Nobody Else But You (Poupoupidou): I’d heard good things about this French thriller before but Amazon is calling it a cross between Twin Peaks and the Coen Brothers which is enough to get me totally on board.
