It’s the final months of the season and Hollywood’s looking around at the movies, thinking about who and what they want to bestow their awards gold on. Likewise, as willful
participants of movie fandom, so are we looking for the best cinematic loot to give and, almost better,
receive ourselves. Rotten Tomatoes compiles 20 of the coolest things to be exchanged this holiday season.
20.
Netflix
Available now. Buy it!
Netflix seems to make our holiday wish list every year, but not without good
reason. As far as movie rental services are concerned, Netflix is at the top of
the game, and part of the reason is because the company is forever expanding the
ways in which we experience cinema. In the past year alone, the company has made
several adjustments that make a Netflix membership that much more enticing.
First of all, if you own a Wii or PS3, it used to be that you needed a separate
Netflix disc to stream movies to those devices; back in October, it was
announced that downloadable software would be available for PS3 and Wii owners,
making the disc unnecessary. Second, the company also made available a free
iPhone and iPod Touch app that allows you to stream content directly to those
devices as well, which is great for movies on the go. And lastly, Netflix just
announced a brand new subscription option that allows you unlimited streaming of
Instant Watching content (though no DVDs) for &7.99 a month. So now there are
even more options for movie lovers to see the films they want through Netflix,
and even fewer reasons for you (or a loved one) not to have an account!
19.
Inception
Available December 7th, 2010.
Buy it!
Say you got somebody on your list who claims to be into movies, but you’re not
sure which kind exactly. Solution: Inception. You can do way worse than that,
right? At best, said film buff will be in love with the action, the sharp
cinematography, and pounding score, and, at worst, be at least mildly intrigued
by the ideas put forth in Christopher Nolan’s smart blockbuster.
18.
RC A-Team Van
Available now.
Buy it!
We’ve always wanted to emulate a certain television character by the name of
Bosco Albert Baracus. However, our limited bling budget and sheepishness over
the idea of rocking his absurdly awesome coiffure have stymied our dreams.
Thankfully, there’s a solution: the radio-controlled A-Team Van, which allows me
to control B.A.’s distinctive black and red GMC Vandura via remote. We love it
when a plan comes together.
17.
Hitchcock: Piece by Piece
Available now.
Buy it!
The Master of Suspense created some of cinema’s most enduring works of genius,
but the root of his genius remains elusive. Good thing, then, that documentarian
and author Laurent Bouzereau was granted access to many of Hitch’s more private
creations – in addition to a close analysis of the director’s oeuvre, Hitchcock,
Piece by Piece compiles rare photos, letters, and notes from the Hitchcock
family archive.
16.
TRON: Legacy Light Cycle
Available now.
Buy it!
For this season’s holiday movie with the coolest toys, it’s hard to go past Tron
Legacy. And whether you’re an old school fan nostalgic for the distant days
of 1982 or new to the grid, who’s not going to want one of the many splendid
light cycle vehicles from the film? Disney have several available, including the
black and white light cycles, which light up when you place the action figure in
them. There’s also a deluxe machine that’s powered by the figure, remote control
versions that roll off the floors and walls, and more. And for the Tron guy who
must have everything, there’s a Sam Flynn replica identity disc — perfect for
waving around in public places or taking to your next Daft Punk show.
15.
Toy Story 3 Officially Licensed Toys
Available now.
Buy it!
The year’s biggest and best animated film just keeps on giving, with the recent
DVD/Blu-ray release sure to bring joy to many this season. Why stop there when
there are a million great Pixar toys to go with it? Pair Blast-off Buzz
Lightyear with Woody and you can quite literally recreate scenes from the
trilogy in your bedroom (Pop-out wings! A flashing light!), or, if you’re
feeling sinister, get a plush Lotso Huggin interactive bear and cackle as he
reels off creepy catchphrases to the inmates of your abode. The Barbie and Ken
“made for each other” gift set is also a must have for the serious Toy Story
3 aficionado, and a fitting tribute to one of the threequels great breakout
stars.
14.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Soundtracks
Available now.
Buy it!
For some of us here, the prelude to Edgar Wright’s brilliant Scott Pilgrim
vs. the World — the Universal Theme rendered in triumphant 8-bir blips —
was among the high water marks of cinema in 2010, the moment that the film sunk
its hooks in and never let up. To get that epic symphony you’ll need to grab
Nigel Godrich’s original score, the second of two Scott Pilgrim
soundtracks that also boasts a slew of additional tracks from Dan the Automator,
Beck and others (including the memorable Katayanagi Twins Vs. Sex Bob-Omb
showdown). Naturally, the first soundtrack is also essential, a compilation that
includes all the movie bands (Sex-Bob-Omb, Crash and the Boys, Metric) and a
cool selection of other tracks from the film by Frank Black, Beck, The Black
Lips, the Rolling Stone and Broken Social Scene.
13.
Iron Man 2 Helmet
Available now.
Buy it!
Ever wondered what it’s like to be Tony Stark? Wonder no more! With the Deluxe
Iron Man Helmet, you can emulate everyone’s favorite
billionaire-cum-superhero. This badboy is loaded with awesome sound effects,
including battle sounds and a “combat missions” button that gives you a task to
complete. Now all you need for the complete experience is a metallic suit that
can fly and stop bullets.
12.
The Elephant to Hollywood by Michael Caine
Available now.
Buy it!
Michael Caine is acting royalty, a legend across six decades of movies and a
two-time Oscar-winner whose credits range from the swingin’ Get Carter
and Alfie to The Dark Knight and this year’s hit, Inception.
He’s also famous for appearing in the turkey Jaws 4, about which he
quipped that he’d never seen the film but was extremely fond of the new
extension it helped him put on his house. This and hundreds of other such wry
anecdotes can be found in The Elephant to Hollywood, Caine’s
autobiography that charts his journey from the English borough Elephant and
Castle through his supercool Brit startdom of the 1960s and latter day
renaissance in recent years. Caine is as affable and amusing as you might
expect, so much that you can almost hear him reading the words to you in that
distinctive cockney tone. A must for any movie fan.
11.
The Art of Drew Struzan
Available now.
Buy it!
You may not know him by name, but we guarantee you’ve seen his work; Drew
Struzan is the artist behind some of the most recognizable movie posters of the
last three decades, including Blade Runner, Back to the Future, The Goonies, and
the Indiana Jones films. This book is a fascinating glimpse into Struzan’s
artistic process, and it’s a must read for any real movie fan.
10.
Star Wars Imperial AT-AT by Hasbro
Available now.
Buy it!
For the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, Hasbro has rebuilt one of
the most iconic vehicles in the Star Wars canon. Standing over 2 feet tall, this
fearsome walker will strike terror into the hearts of the rest of your action
figures! It comes with a Speeder Bike and an AT-AT Driver figure, it’s equipped
with cannons, launchers, and rappelling platforms, and it will hold up to 20
figures. Add batteries, and the command section lights up and makes battle and
vehicle noises. Seriously… how can you not ask Santa for one of these?
9.
Hard Boiled
Release: December 14th, 2010.
Buy it!
Director John Woo has made a name for himself outside of China with movies like
Face/Off and Mission: Imposible II, and those films prompted a
revival of interest in earlier films that fans of his had been touting for
years. One of those older classics is 1992’s Hard Boiled, starring two
powerhouse Hong Kong actors in Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung. Chow plays Inspector
“Tequila” Yuen, who teams up with Leung’s Tony, an undercover cop, to take down
a notorious crime syndicate. Though it wasn’t as well received in Hong Kong as
Woo’s earlier films (action classic The Killer, for example), Hard
Boiled’s intense, explosive shootouts have since propelled it to cult
classic status, with some critics calling it one of the best action movies of
all time. Luckily for fans, it finally arrives on Blu-Ray on December 14, just
in time to make a great stocking stuffer for the hardcore action fan.
8.
Peanuts Holiday Collection
Available now.
Buy it!
There are a handful of films and television specials that air every year on
television, as much a part of the holiday season as turkey and Christmas trees.
Some of the most beloved are those that feature the Peanuts gang,
created by Charles Schulz. This nifty set includes all of the famous titles,
including It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown
Thanksgiving, and A Charlie Brown Christmas, as well as
accompanying bonus episodes. Not only that, but the three big ones are brought
to you in Deluxe Editions, which feature making-of featurettes, as well as a
bonus CD with holiday music from the specials. Lastly, all of this is presented
to you in crisp high definition via the Blu-Ray format, so all together, it
makes for a pretty perfect little gift for any family.
7.
Scene It?
Available now.
Buy it!
Think you know a thing or two about the movies? Want to prove it to all of your
friends? Scene It provides a fun, interactive way to stump and trump your pals
in movie trivia. While the game itself debuted as a catch-all movie trivia game
– complete with a clip-laden DVD to play along with – it has now expanded to
include editions specific to certain franchises, much in the same way that
Trivial Pursuit has branched out to focus on various themes. This year, there
are a few new editions that might whet the appetites of a few specific
audiences, namely the Twilight Saga edition and the Harry Potter
Deluxe Edition. If you know someone who can’t get enough vampires, werewolves,
and wizards, maybe you can pick this up for them and challenge them on their
love for those franchises.
6.
Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle
Available now.
Buy it!
How better to reenact battles between The Boy Who Lived and He Who Must Not Be
Named then with this impressive Lego set? Including Harry, Hermione and 9 other
figures, this set allows you to build your very own Hogwarts School of Wizardry,
right down to Gryffindor’s Sword and the Sorting Hat.
5.
TRON: Leagcy Soundtrack
Release: December 7th, 2010.
Buy it!
What’s that? Hollywood is churning out yet another sequel? Not interested. You
say it’s a sequel to TRON? That’s cool; the original was decent. Wait, Daft Punk
is doing the soundtrack? Must. Buy it! Ticket. Now.
But if the idea of Daft Punk conducting an original film score is a prospect
more exciting than the actual film itself, consider the TRON: Legacy soundtrack,
which will be in stores weeks beforehand. Disney has been keeping the music
under lock and key, releasing only key tidbits that play up Daft Punk’s legacy
of brutally catchy electronic music. Honestly, we’re keener on hearing what the
duo has wrangled out of an 85-piece orchestra.
It’s actually been a productive season overall for French house artists. If
you’ve listened to Mr. Oizo before, you’ll be interested to hear that he has
directed and released his second feature, Rubber, entailing a sentient killer
rubber tire. (Yes, you read that right.) He also created the soundtrack (with
additional help from a member of Justice), which is
4.
America Lost and Found: The BBS Story
Release: December 14th, 2010.
Buy it!
Easy Rider. Five Easy Pieces. The Last Picture Show. Iconic films that represent
the shifting tastes and efforts of filmmaking in the late 60s/early 70s. But did
you know it was all a concentrated effort by one studio? Discover the story of
BBS Productions, a group of risk-takers who plastered the counterculture on the
silver screen throughseven releases: the three aforementioned movies; The King
of Marvin Gardens; Head; Drive, He Said; and A Safe Place. Find them all in box
set America Lost and Found: The BBS Story, released by The Criterion Collection.
3.
The Making of The Empire Strikes Back by J.W. Rinzler
Available now.
Buy it!
This massive tome (372 pages) is required reading for any true Star Wars fan,
and we strongly recommend it to anyone interested in what can happen behind the
camera of a major movie production. Rinzler gathers stories from a variety of
sources, including cast and crew interviews and press articles from the time of
production and release, and excerpts of early script drafts. With plenty of
photos and illustrations, this is a great way to celebrate the 30th anniversary
of The Empire Strikes Back.
2.
iPad
Available now. Buy it!
We probably don’t need to sell you on these things; if you’ve ever turned on a
television or seen a billboard, you’re certainly aware of Apple’s fully
integrated mobile devices. If you’re a movie buff, there are plenty of goodies
in the app store. The Netflix app allows you to stream movies for your instant
queue. The Movie Vault app has more than 1,000 classic films available for
streaming. The Leonard Maltin Movie Guide transfers the noted critic’s thousands
of mini-reviews to your portable device. And Runpee gives you the exact points
in a movie where it’s safe to use the facilities. These are just a few of the
hundreds of selections for movie lovers in the iTunes store.
1.
Fox 75th Anniversary Collection
Release: December 7th, 2010.
Buy it!
75 years, 75 movies. That’s the concept behind the Fox 75th Anniversary
Collection, a beyond-massive compilation that draws the best movies from the
studio’s rich catalog. Collection is split into three volumes: 1933 – 1959 (The
Grapes of Wrath, The Day the Earth Stood Still, An Affair to Remember), 1961 –
1985 (The French Connection, Star Wars, Alien), and 1986 – 2010 (Independence
Day, Slumdog Millionaire, Avatar), and includes a hardcover book.
One of the most notable tidbits about this release is that it exclusively
contains the DVD release of 1933’s Best Picture-winning Cavalcade, pleasing film
buffs while simultaneously pissing them off because, well, they’re going to have
to pay 500 bucks to get their hands on it.
The only thing coming out this holiday comparable to the Fox 75th Anniversary
Collection? The Danny Elfman & Tim Burton 25th Anniversay Music Box – a
celebration of one of Hollywood’s most esteemed collaborations, collecting all
13 original Elfman scores, and includes an additional 7 hours of
previously-unreleased masters, demos, and work tapes, and some Burton art to
boot. Alas, production is limited to only 1,000 numbered copies, all of which
are probably gone by the time you read this.
