Notes from a DVD Geek

by Jeremy Lassen

Hello to all you movie fans out there.  Sorry I missed you last month.   There’s a couple of months worth of DVD’s to get caught up on, and a few specific things I want to point out to you.  

First up, if you were anywhere in the US in June, the 6.6.06 ad campaign for the new Omen remake was everywhere.  Oddly enough, just as that cynical exercise in numerology was in the theaters, the original Omen was nowhere to be found on video store shelves.  The studios, in their infinite wisdom re-released a “special edition” version of the classic movie, and of course, it didn’t come out until June 26th, so when everyone was scrambling around to get a copy of the original, it wasn’t anywhere to be found.  I don’t know if this so that people couldn’t compare the turgid remake to the original, or if they simply didn’t realize that when remakes come out, sizable number of people beat the bush looking for the original.  Anyway, the original Omen movie was a classic of the horror genre, and an incredibly good piece of film making, with an A-list cast, and a score that is absolutely brilliant.  If you haven’t seen it in a while, be sure to check out the new Special Edition DVD, which is available now.

June Bestsellers

Hardcovers
1)   Kushiel's Scion by Jacqueline Carey
2)   Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton
3)   Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey
4)   Rainbow's End by Vernor Vinge
5)   The Clan Corporate by Charles Stross
6)   Glasshouse by Charles Stross
7)   Giant Lizards From Another Star by Ken MacLeod (NESFA)
8)   Crystal Dragon by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
9)   Danse Macabre by Laurell K. Hamilton
10) Conflagration by Mick Farren
                 tie
      Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link

Paperbacks
1)   A Fistful of Charms by Kim Harrison
2)   Accelerando by Charles Stross
3)   Child of a Rainless Year by Jane Lindskold
4)   Mammoth by John Varley
5)   The Oracle's Queen by Lynn Flewelling
6)   Spin by Robert Charles Wilson
7)   Century Rain by Alastair Reynolds
8)   Brass Man by Neal Asher (UK Import)
9)   Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
10) A Princess of Roumania by Paul Parks

Trade Paperbacks
1)  The Algebraist by Iain M. Banks
2)  Prador Moon by Neal Asher
3)  Maul by Tricia Sullivan
4)  Shadow at the Bottom of the World by Thomas Ligotti
5)  Chains That You Refuse by Elizabeth Bear
              tie
     A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick