Punch Drunk DVDs

The Social Network
Is that the actual DVD case? Yuck. I get it, David Fincher's Facebook flick had some of the most glowing reviews of the year. They're all richly deserved but that's just overkill. Maybe only Aaron Sorkin can manage to make a legal drama about the complicated origins of an internet website feel like a fast paced thriller with whip smart dialogue that leaves you gasping for air. I'm not of the mind that it's as groundbreaking as some others make it seem, but as an effective story about greed and ambition, you'll hardly find better than this.






Piranha
Scoff if you want, but Piranha might've been one of the most fun movie experiences of the year. There's no denying that the film is bad, cleverly playing up the comically terribly Jaws rip-off movies from the late 70s and 80s, but it's not exactly aiming to be Shakespeare.  What you have are a ton of recognizable, B-grade quality actors(Jerry O'Connell, Elizabeth Shue, Ving Rhames) fighting to survive an onslaught from prehistoric flesh eating piranha unleashed upon a small Spring Break community. The final sequence, a hilarious and grisly carnival of death at an MTV-style beach party has to be ranked as one of the most memorable scenes of 2010.




Alpha and Omega
A pair of wolves from opposite sides of the tracks meet, fall in love, and then must make a dangerous journey back to their respective Canadian tribes when they are relocated to Idaho.  Hayden Panettiere and Justin Long provide the voices. Never saw it, but it looks like a film families may appreciate.









Raging Bull (30th Anniversary Edition)
Those who marvel at Christian Bale's transformation into Dicky Ecklund in The Fighter might want to consider Robert De Niro's packing on of 50lbs to play troubled boxer, Jake LaMotta. In and out of the ring, De Niro is a tour de force, both pitiful and frightening. Martin Scorsese brings his usual, streetwise touch to the film, drenching it in bleak black and white. De Niro took home the Oscar in 1980 for his portrayal. It's still no Great White Hype.







Psychosis
Ok, so it's a direct-to-DVD release that really doesn't sound all that good, but it stars Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum and all around hot chick Charisma Carpenter as a horror novelist suffering a mental breakdown. That's good enough to add it to my Netffix queue at least!