As I go through the process of replacing my regular DVDs with Blu-ray versions, I’m always looking for bargains. This week, Best Buy has Bullitt [in Blu-ray] (and a few other movies I had no interest in) on sale for a mere $7.99. This may have been Steve McQueen’s best movie. It’s a movie I watch every year or so. The classic car chase, the rogue cop persona, and the stylish (for its day) action sequences never fail to fascinate me. Bullitt was ahead of its time. Yes, AMAZON has Bullitt [in Blu-ray] for the same price, but if you’re a REWARD ZONE member, buying Bullitt at Best Buy helps you accumulate those $5 Bonus Coupons. Either way, Bullitt looks fabulous in Blu-ray.

With the End of the Book seemingly around the corner, a cornucopia of fabulous design and artwork is a welcome surprise. McSweeney’s, the high end literary journal, has been around for a dozen years. This volume celebrates the award-winning art and design that made the journal and the other projects so special. The Art of McSweeney’s features hundreds of images, along with interviews of collaborators such as Chris Ware and Michael Chabon. Insights into McSweeney’s quirky creative process and the visual experience of reading make this collection endlessly interesting. Wonderful eye candy! GRADE: A

After a decade of futility, the Buffalo Bills start the 2010 NFL season with most fans doubting the team’s ability to win. Many experts predict the Bills will only win three or four games this season. If such prognostications prove to be wrong, the factor that may surprise the experts is Bills rookie First Round Draft Pick C. J. Spiller. Spiller showed flashes in the dismal preseason games that he had game-breaking ability. Some of his runs were highlight reel material. If the Bills win games, Spiller will have to be their star running back. Good luck to all of your NFL teams this season!

Going the Distance is a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy starring Drew Barrymore and Justin Long (the guy from the Mac vs. PC commercials). Drew and Justin fall in love in New York City. But, Drew has to return to Stanford University to complete her degree. So the torment of a long-distance relationship generates the drama in this movie. The factors that lift this predictable film a couple of steps from mediocrity are Charlie Day as “Dan,” Justin’s wacky roommate. He plays a soundtrack of songs while Drew and Justin make out. And then there’s Christina Applegate as Drew’s neat-freak sister. She makes you laugh with her intensity. The writer and director missed an opportunity when Justin wracks his brains for some way to move from NYC to California to be close to Drew. They should have had Justin go on an audition for an Apple commercial. GRADE: B

If memory serves me correctly, Stranger in Town was the first of dozens of Mike Shayne mysteries I read. The tough redheaded private eye would always get beaten up, knocked unconscious, end up in bed with a beautiful woman, and still manage to solve the murder after drinking a bottle of cognac. I’m sure the wonderful Robert McGinnis cover on Stranger in Town factored into my decision to spend thirty-five cents to buy this DELL paperback when it was published in 1961. I was 12 years old.

This is at least the fourth incarnation of La Femme Nikita that I’m aware of. Luc Besson produced the original stylish French film in 1990. The American remake was called Point of No Return. (1993) and starred Bridget Fonda. The Canadian TV series was first telecast in North America on the USA Network in 1997, and ran for four and one-half seasons. The first two years La Femme Nikita was on USA, it had the highest ratings on basic cable. Now, the CW Network brings back Nikita, a rogue spy and assassin, in a series with the same name. Nikita (played by Maggie Q), a woman with a troubled past, was recruited by a super secret organization called Division which trains young people to be spies and killers. Nikita escaped Division and now wants to destroy the evil organization. Expect plenty of explosions and gun-play. Hey, a woman who looks like a super-model who knows how to handle an Uzi…what’s not to like. I’ll be watching tonight at 9 P.M. Check your local listings and the trailer below.

As I mentioned yesterday, The American is based on Martin Booth’s arid novel, A Very Private Gentleman. In the novel, the protagonist is NOT American. But, that’s just the beginning of the changes Clooney and company have to come up with to breathe life into this movie. The movie begins with a scene taken from the middle of the novel: an ambush in Sweden where Clooney is almost killed. Clooney flees to Italy, but the stalkers aren’t fair behind. The movie creates a “handler” who negotiates Clooney’s commissions to create weapons for assassins. In the novel, the Clooney character worked for himself. Gone are the two sexy college students from the novel: the movie gets along with just one. And, the most drastic change of all is a new ending. Despite the lovely photography and atmospheric soundtrack, the bleakness of this movie won’t excite audiences. In fact, the crowd I saw The American with just sat there, waiting for more, after the final scene. GRADE: B

The latest George Clooney movie, The American, takes its inspiration from Martin Booth’s bleak novel, A Very Private Gentleman. The gentleman in question, who narrates the novel, makes customized weapons for assassins. This latest commission, to make an automatic weapon for a woman, is to be his last. Retirement beckons. But, of course, the gentleman’s past intrudes. Much of this discursive novel concerns the gentleman’s life in a small Italian town. He makes some friends, sleeps with two college students who sell sex to pay their tuitions, and dreads the inevitable “shadow-dwellers” who come to threaten him. There are long conversations with the village priest. You’ll find about five pages of action in this novel. Clearly, Clooney and company will have to jazz up the movie version to keep audiences from snoozing. My review of The American will be my posting tomorrow. GRADE: B
(Thanks to the Holley Community Free Library for providing this book.)