Van Dammage
Now Playing: IN HELL
I just found out Jean-Claude Van Damme's new film, WAKE OF DEATH, was released straight to DVD last month. Tonight I watched his previous film, 2003's IN HELL, a brutal, dark prison picture filmed in Bulgaria. J-C is a Louisiana man (as always, to explain his accent) working in Russia who is imprisoned for killing the man who raped and murdered his wife. As with all movie prisons, there's no hope for these inmates, as they are beaten, abused and tortured by the guards, who are just barely more moral than the inmates, who pay the guards to let them rape the weaker prisoners. Van Damme's performance is better than usual, as he is forced to transform from a good, ordinary man into a brutal animal in order to survive. He eventually realizes he hates what he has become, and through great sacrifice, fights to transform back into the man he was. IN HELL is pretty heavy, but good for a Van Damme flick and filled with rough violence that earns its R rating.

Time to begin my countdown of the year's best in film, starting with the Top Ten DVD Releases of 2004. Drum roll, please... (oh, you know you're excited...)

The Top Ten DVDs of 2004 (Alphabetically, except one)

ALIEN (COLLECTOR'S EDITION)--It's a great film, of course, but Fox's DVD includes both the original and a new Director's Cut (it isn't), as well as tons of extras--documentaries, trailers and more. If I had seen Fox's ALIENS, it might have made this list instead.

THE CHINA SYNDROME--I have always loved this taut thriller with its always-prescient storyline and fine cast of stars and character actors. The DVD includes a pair of interesting featurettes on the film's origin and history, as well as three never-before-seen deleted scenes.

COLUMBO: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON--Damn Universal for presenting this with no extras, but it does include the two COLUMBO made-for-TV movies that preceded the actual series. TV mysteries have rarely been better-written or -performed than these shows, which include a brilliant 1971 episode directed by Steven Spielberg and penned by Steven Bochco.

EUROTRIP (UNRATED VERSION)--This movie makes me laugh. A lot. Unabashedly reckless in its pursuit of laughs and presented on a first-class DVD that contains an audio commentary where the directors get drunk, a menu that points directly to the nude scenes, the full version of the catchy "Scotty Doesn't Know" tune, and more fun extras.

HAVE GUN-WILL TRAVEL: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON--CBS releases 39 episodes of one of TV's best westerns in an attractive package. Richard Boone owns the screen as erudite gunfighter Paladin in these half-hour morality plays that featured interesting guest stars like Charles Bronson and Jack Lord. With surprisingly high production values and scripts that emphasized the consequences of violence, HAVE GUN still wouldn't have worked without Boone's dedication, intensity, intelligence and warmth.

JONNY QUEST: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON--Best. Cartoon. Ever. Thank you, Hanna-Barbera, for presenting the original 26 episodes with remastered video and sound, just so I can crank my speakers during Hoyt Curtin's blistering theme. The few extras are interesting but non-essential; it's just good to have these exciting pulp adventures available in one convenient package.

JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG--I love a good courtroom thriller, and the stakes don't get any higher than in this epic drama about the Nuremberg war trials. Great script by Abby Mann and a cast that includes Burt Lancaster, Spencer Tracy, Maximilian Schell, Judy Garland, Montgomery Clift, Marlene Dietrich...and William Shatner! The extras are nice, and it has a 5.1 remix if you think the film needs it.

THE OSTERMAN WEEKEND--Sam Peckinpah's final film is no great shakes, but I love what Anchor Bay has done with it, including its striking cover art. The commentary by four Peckinpah experts is informative, the over-an-hour-long making-of docu is fascinating, and Anchor Bay even presents Peckinpah's long-lost "director's cut" that was reassembled by the producers before release. The film itself does have its moments, including a masterfully edited action scene in a swimming pool and a wonderfully sardonic early performance by Craig T. Nelson.

SLEDGE HAMMER!: SEASON ONE--Who ever guessed this forgotten `80s series would be released, much less in a deluxe package crammed with extras? Reminiscent of POLICE SQUAD! and GET SMART, SLEDGE HAMMER! offered scripts that remain to this day ahead of their time, presenting a blockheaded fascist as the hero and steering him through a series of catchphrase parodies, sight gags and topical references that forced the audience to pay attention to what they were watching. If you're like me and bored with the coffeehouse shenanigans that pass for TV situation comedy today, give SLEDGE HAMMER! a spin. Trust me. I know what I'm doing.

And The Best DVD Release of 2004

FREAKS & GEEKS: THE COMPLETE SERIES--One of television's all-time best series in Shout! Factory's comprehensive package that includes audio commentaries, deleted scenes, 5.1 mixes and outtakes for every episode. The love that Shout! Factory feels for the series is duplicated by those who have watched it and those who worked on it, demonstrated in that every cast member, most major writers, directors and crew members, guest stars, even fans, parents and network execs have reunited to wax nostalgic on this 17-episode classic. Each episode had the capacity to be blisteringly funny or monumentally heartbreaking, and was often both at the same time. No other series has taken such a realistic approach to high-school life, cataloging the awkwardness, the joy, the camaraderie, the joie de vivre and the fear of growing up.