DVD Video Hauls!

 

Recently on our Youtube Channel, we've featured a few Thrift Hauls and DVD Unboxings including box sets, television series, blu-rays, even books on film and VHS. Here's a round up of our affordable finds!

Your friendly neighborhood thrift shopper and physical media enthusiast Kristin Battestella gets a little carried away in sharing some recent DVD, Box Set, and Blu-ray finds! There are few music, sports, and holiday surprises, too! Please feel free to read some of the reviews of the films featured linked below and comment if you wish to see an in depth look at a specific title or more videos like this.

 

Kristin Battestella is breaking the bank once again with 50 cent VHS finds, Classic Hollywood Books, blu-ray hauls, and more thrift DVDs! Okay, so there are a few duplicates, but there's a good coughexcusecough reason! Please feel free to like or subscribe and comment here or Twitter if there is something you'd like to see discussed in more detail. You can also browse some of our written reviews of the movies featured at I Think, Therefore I Review or InSession Film. Thank you for watching!

 
Kristin Battestella waxes on classics, westerns, John Wayne, and more in this Father's Day themed DVD thrift haul. Shopping second hand for memorable movies is a great gift for the gentlefolk in your life! Not that I was specifically looking for dad-oriented finds, and I'm keeping the cool video sets, too. 😏

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Top Ten: British Television!

Welcome to our new Top Tens series in celebration of I Think, Therefore I Review's Tenth Anniversary! These monthly lists will highlight special themes and topics from our extensive archive of reviews. 

 

This time I Think, Therefore I Review presents in chronological order...

Our Top Ten British Television!

I, Claudius

Mr. Bean

Sharpe

MI-5

The Tudors

Merlin

Wallander

Whitechapel

Downton Abbey

Silk

Please see our British tag for yet more Anglo analysis or visit our Television page for more reviews!

I Think, Therefore I Review began as the blog home for previously published reviews and reprinted critiques by horror author Kristin Battestella. Naturally older articles linked here may be out of date and codes or formatting may be broken. Please excuse any errors and remember our Top Tens will generally only include films, shows, books, or music previously reviewed at I Think, Therefore I Review.

The Tudors Season 4

The Tudors Season 4 Wavers, but Concludes Wonderfully

By Kristin Battestella

“You think you know a story, but you only know how it ends.” It seems like it’s been longer than four years and 38 episodes since Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ opening introduction to The Tudors.  At last, here we are at the final season of Michael Hirst’s sexy and heady but no less dramatic ode to medieval debauchery. Though not as juicy as previous seasons, this departing Season 4 leaves the not so merry England in style.

King Henry VIII (Meyers) marries his fifth wife, the young and carefree Katherine Howard (Tazmin Merchant).  Unfortunately, senior Lady in Waiting Jane Boleyn (Joanne King) uses Katherine’s attraction to chamberlain Thomas Culpepper (Torrance Combs) against her-and the exposé harbors deadly results for all involved.  The Princesses Mary (Sarah Bolger) and Elizabeth (Laoise Murray) return to court and are restored in Henry’s line of succession behind the young Edward (Eoin Murtagh), whose future power is already being manipulated by his uncle Edward Seymour (Max Brown) and his wife Anne (Emma Hamilton). Charles Brandon (Henry Cavill) has marital troubles of his own, and he butts heads with the returning Earl of Surrey, Henry Howard (David O’Hara).  Can wife number six Catherine Parr (Joely Richardson) restore order to Henry’s court before his madness destroys England?

A lot happens in these final ten episodes-and at the same time, not much happens either. With two wives, wars with France and Scotland, and the infamous gluttony of Henry VIII in store, Season 4 should be tighter and better paced than it is.  We spend the first five episodes with Katherine Howard, and again it seems like too much time with nothing happening before we get a ridiculously rushed departure for the young Queen and her lover Culpepper.  Honestly, all we see is his head on a stick!  I dare say he is not in his death episode-how can that be? We spend so much more time on meaningless sex and intrigue to nowhere between the Seymours and uneven guilt with Charles Brandon.  Despite no plans to continue the series into Edward’s and later Mary Tudor’s reign, all this attention to the secondary players at court looks like a backdoor storyline for just such a format change.   Why not continue into something called The Seymours or Seymours versus Greys or such?  The early dallying makes it seem as if The Tudors is already dead and buried, yet budding action in France with three episodes left doesn’t seem like a show that’s concluding any time soon. New characters and events happen so fast, but shouldn’t this be time for some serious H8 brooding?   It’s a pity we must jump forward in time several years to correct these errors for the finale.  Children age up, critical deaths happen off screen, and new religious turmoil and beheadings all happen in the second to last episode.  Surrey’s downfall, Anne Askew, and a disastrous rack are introduced halfway through Episode 9-where was this conflict and drama when we were dawdling with Katherine Howard?

Although some have been displeased with the mostly pretty boy portrayal by Jonathan Rhys Meyers (From Paris with Love, Match Point, Elvis), his vocal changes, aged makeup, and physical transformation into the Henry VIII we’ve long expected is wonderfully despicable, sad and yet touching. Occasionally, his madness, cruelty, and crazy look are even too tough to see in comparison to The Tudors’ prior sexiness.  Again, sometimes it seems the King is almost a supporting player in his own show, but Meyers makes the most of every scene with a surprising range of skill and reflection.  Henry is blinded by Katherine Howard’s youth, yet establishes fine relationships with Anne of Cleeves and Catherine Parr.  There are moments of fatherly charm, and of course, the twisted madness we’ve been waiting for.  The beautiful final episode is all about him, and rightfully so. Though pleasantly surprised by the lengths Meyers has gone in appearance and performance, Henry Cavill’s resolution as Charles Brandon has been a disappointment.  I don’t think it is Cavill’s (Stardust, Immortals) fault, as again, he’s been barely there until the final three episodes, but more should have been given to the only other cast member who’s kept his head off the chopping block for all four seasons.  Cavill’s given the moments to shine in the end, but too much was instead made of the new hottie Torrance Combs (jPod) as Culpepper early on.  Why bother spending two episodes developing such a cruel and obsessive dude when you’re going to axe him two episodes later?  

Tazmin Merchant (Pride and Prejudice) does the best with what is given to her, but it’s not a completely developed character-despite what the uneven portrayal would have us believe.  The young Katherine wavers from being just an innocent girl wanting attention, to a possibly abused and unjustly disliked Queen, to a bitchy and horny gal who knows exactly what she wants.  Which angle are we meant to feel for or relate to-is it Merchant dropping the ball or the writing?  Thankfully, Joely Richardson (Lady Chatterley, Nip/Tuck) adds an element of class to the final episodes of The Tudors.  Catherine Parr is thrust into Henry’s court and does her wifely and royal duties despite some religious scares.  Richardson is a fine bookend in comparison with Maria Doyle Kennedy’s initial Queen Katherine.  Likewise, Sarah Bolger (The Spiderwick Chronicles) has given us a darling and insightful look at Princess Mary.  She struggles with court appearances, royal romances, and religious fervor. Despite the rough reign we know is to come, Bolger keeps Mary endearing, particularly in charming scenes with the wonderful Anthony Brophy (Snow White: A Tale of Terror) as Ambassador Eustace Chapuys.  He should have been a regular cast member all along!

Joanne King (Casualty) is wonderfully juicy as the scorned and conniving Lady Rochford-her plotting is what keeps the first few episodes entertaining.  It’s nice to see a character that began as relative filler has now developed into a full court player. It’s also frustrating then to know we’re not getting the same follow up intrigue with the equally dicey Max Brown (Grange Hill) and Emma Hamilton (Into the Storm).  The juice between them, Andrew McNair (Hollyoaks) as Thomas Seymour, and David O’Hara’s (The District, Harry Potter) Henry Howard is played at the forefront of the earlier episodes then inexplicably dropped for Henry’s war in France.  If this is where the intrigue is at, then the show should continue beyond Henry VIII.  With all this unfinished Seymour business happening, we also only briefly see singer Joss Stone returning as the charming Anne of Cleeves.  Again, was this final season to be about Henry’s errors finally catching up to him or the Seymour politics that follows his reign?  Could two more seasons been done without Jonathan Rhys Meyers? Though Sarah Bolger seems up to the task, newcomer Laoise Murray seems amiss as the young Princess Elizabeth.  If we’re going to have the budding Elizabeth, then by golly have her full force. 

In some ways, I’d rather more historical liberties been taken on The Tudors this season.  Have eight episodes done right with Katherine Howard and the war in France, and then give us another season with Catherine Parr and post Henry succession drama.  Can you imagine what a shock it would have been if Henry’s death and aftermath came over four middle episodes instead of one final hour? Other period dramas and historical fantasies are forthcoming to fill the void, but I’m a bit sad to leave Tudor England.  This season has waned, yes, but it doesn’t seem like The Tudors should be over just yet.  Naturally, the production, interiors, and costumes look great; and by its end, The Tudors turns itself round right. In summation of not just this season but also the entire series, writer Michael Hirst spends a solid sixty-minute Episode 10 returning to the core players.  A lovely, otherworldly and ethereal quality takes over at The Tudors’ end. Foretelling from the not-so-dearly-departed, deathbed visions, and built-in retrospectives bring about a bittersweet, tearful, and very satisfying conclusion.  It’s not infamous like The Sopranos cop out, but rather as the King himself says, “It is well done.”

Though faulty in the uneven storytelling and revolving door at Henry’s court, The Tudors is incomplete without this final season of death and madness.  Fans of the series will eat up this conclusion and begin again with the earlier seasons, DVDs, Showtime streamings and repeats.  Despite the liberties taken and sometimes off-mix of drama and sex in Season 4, The Tudors is still one of the finest productions of medieval England yet filmed.  For better or worse its success has ushered in a new, mature pop wave of historical shows.  Now that The Tudors is complete, historians and fans of the cast can study it to their hearts content, compare with long-standing Tudor material, and delight without the wait.  Lose your head one more time with The Tudors Season 4.

The Tudors Season 3

The Tudors Season 3 Perhaps It’s Finest

By Kristin Battestella

After two great seasons of Showtime’s revelry with Henry VIII and The Tudors, I wondered how creator Michael Hurst could keep his series fresh without such key players like Anne Boleyn, Thomas Moore, and Katherine of Aragon. Though there are a few slow spots this season, Year Three might very well be The Tudors at its finest hour.

Now that Anne Boleyn and her severed head are good and buried, King Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) marries the sweet and fair Jane Seymour (Annabelle Wallis). Things are good at court for the King and Queen, their friend Charles Brandon the Duke of Suffolk (Henry Cavill), and Henry’s daughters Mary (Sarah Bolger) and Elizabeth (Claire MacCauley). Unfortunately, Thomas Cromwell’s (James Frain) persecutions of the Catholic Church in England anger the Northern faithful. Robert Aske (Gerard McSorely) and his Pilgrimage of Grace do not make things easy for Henry, and the birth of his long awaited son Prince Edward is of little consolation. Likewise, alliances with Germany and ill marriages to Anne of Cleeves (Joss Stone) and Catherine Howard (Tazmin Merchant) hasten Cromwell’s downfall at Henry’s court.

Sure, I liked The Tudors before, but more and more episodes and events linger on my mind from week to week. Yes tonight I was thinking very good things about The Tudors. We've spent two seasons with Henry getting everything he wants no matter how impossible. Anyone who knows his or her history also knows Big Harry’s going to get his way with Robert Aske, too. Again, The Tudors slims on historical accuracy, and fans who love the debauchery can still find plenty of it in Season 3. We’ve got our sex and nudity, but as we’ve gone further, The Tudors has become a very serious show. Goodness these folks bumped uglies because they could, and they didn’t know about venereal diseases, and well, there was little else to do. But beyond the sex and ruthlessness, by golly Henry’s court has the same trials and tribulations as we do.

Some of the politics around the Pilgrimage opened the season on a slow note, and I really could care less about the introductions of the latest pretty mistress Lady Misseldon (Charlotte Salt) and ruthless one-eyed henchman Sir Francis Bryan (Alan Van Sprang). Are these just loose historical personas contracted to show skin, screw, and say naughty things? Fortunately, Jonathan Rhys Meyers carries The Tudors amid its coming and going cast. His soliloquies at Jane Seymour’s deathbed in an entire episode dedicate to the Queen’s deadly delivery are, I think, Meyers best yet. Despite all his wealth, power, divine influence, and penchant for giving or taking life on the chopping block, Meyers brings forth Henry’s human side. He is a monarch, but a man-and not just in the bedroom. Henry can’t have it all, and the high cost of his wife’s life for the son he’s so desperately desired is almost more than he can bear.

One or two episodes after the loss of Queen Jane also seem slow-but these are dark, psychological episodes that hot and bothered Tudors fans might be unaccustomed to. Meyers takes Henry to even more creepy and disturbing places-and this from a man who beheaded two wives. We do have a fairly attractive King in comparison with those hefty historical portraits, but Meyers’ appearance has changed dramatically since The Tudors began. The styles have changed slightly, adding more big furs and dark colors to Henry’s wardrobe, but Meyers has also carefully crafted new, decrypted facial expressions to highlight the madness that is slowly consuming the King. Now having seen Season 3, it seems as if Meyers’ Season 1 Emmy nomination was one of polite recognition. I do hope he receives due for this season. With Sam Neill, Maria Doyle Kennedy, and Jeremy Northam unrecognized previously; should someone, anyone from these series walk away with acting hardware, I’d be happy.

Understandably, there seems to be new faces in each episodes’ opening credits as enemies and wives come and go (and other actors have left over too much of an ensemble feeling), but I don’t understand why The Tudors does not include all its semi regular anchors in the intro. Sarah Bolger, Anthony Brophy as Spanish Ambassador Chapuys, Joanne King as Jane Parker, the Seymour Family, and several others could be included in a separate ‘co-starring’ motif. Not only does their screen time warrant the honor, but also it might help if there are fans who tune in or out of the series according to, well, wife. Now in its initial run on Showtime, The Tudors can have its lovely opening and seriously lengthy previouslies for each episode; but come syndication, pretty montages and sex scenes will have to go. The Tudors will be left to stand on its talent and merit. Thankfully, it can succeed on those alone.

I don't dream over Henry Cavill like some, but I'm glad his character has more to do this season. Gone is the nude playboy from the initial episodes and in his place is a devoted yet conflicted husband and father struggling to keep his home life, faith, and allegiance to Henry’s court separate. Instead of opulent jousts-which were great at the time-The Tudors displays quiet moments between Henry and Charles reflecting on their lost youth as the price of nobility. Like Cavill, we’re older, wiser, and stepping back to reflect on this turbulent dynasty. To a serious viewer, this touching familiarity does more for Charles Brandon then his early butt shots ever could. By contrast, Edward Seymour (Max Brown) and Sir Francis are too new to care about amid all their politicking and sex. In some ways, Michael Hirst has been very smart and coy about the nature of his show. The sex gets folks in the door and keeps the revolving cast going, but the three meaty players Meyers, Cavill, and James Frain are what's bringing things to the hilt now.

This season, we only briefly see Katherine Howard, as writer Michael Hirst is saving her fate and final wife Catherine Parr for next year. Singer Joss Stone, is however, a bittersweet surprise as the maligned Anne of Cleeves. Some may disagree, but her German accent sounds fine to me; and despite ill stylings akin to the ‘Flanders’ Mare’ talk, she’s certainly not ugly. Her discomfort with Henry and his anger at their lack of consummation could have been disastrous onscreen. Instead of falling prey to humor or kink, the awkward marriage plays quite sadly. We hate that Henry’s been duped by Cromwell, for how can the King ever be duped anyway? Yet we feel sad for both the man and his wife. Again, the humanity of Henry’s court wins against all the flair and naughty bits. Cromwell’s downfall is a little too quick and anticlimactic against the slow burn of Wosley’s spiral, but we also only have eight episodes this season in which to pack all this medieval debauchery.

Perhaps in 10 or 20 years when this show seems dated, The Tudors will still be considered good television. Now that we have a young Elizabeth on the show, its nice to see that one man has been able to make a complete observance of the Tudor dynasty, at least from Henry VIII’s early reign to Elizabeth: The Golden Age. When this series is over, I think its depth of character and serious religious drama and reflection will keep it fresh before the historical liberties, sex, and sweet costumes. The Tudors runs at 50 minutes plus per episode, and figuring for season four there will be less than forty episodes total. Even so, in a day when television shows are so butchered and dismissed after one or two seasons, it’s rare to get such a meaty, extensive, and proper period television program.

Currently available on the Showtime networks, websites, or on demand packages, look for The Tudors Season 3 on DVD sometime this winter-I imagine around the holidays or before the fourth and final season next Spring. At this point, I might wait for a complete series packaged set for all the features and bits, but Seasons 1 and 2 can be found affordably enough. Not for kids or prudes, of course, period aficionados and fans of the cast will always delight. Get hooked on The Tudors today for years of head rolling enjoyment.

The Tudors Season 2

Seriously Good Tudors Season 2

By Kristin Battestella

Sure The Tudors sold its first season on the sexy actors, sexy costumes, and sex of the times. Season two of the Showtime series still has naughty goodness, but writer Michael Hirst allows historical drama and religious conflict during the reign of Henry VIII to take the forefront.

 

Still fighting with the Catholic church over his divorce from Katherine of Aragon (Maria Doyle Kennedy), King Henry (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) secretly marries Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer) and breaks England away from Pope Paul III (Peter O’Toole). Henry’s friend Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk (Henry Cavill) has mellowed his philandering ways and sympathizes with Katherine, unlike Anne’s father Thomas (Nick Dunning), who’s hell bent on royal position. New Secretary Thomas Cromwell (James Frain) also moves up the courtly ladder at the expense of Sir Thomas More (Jeremy Northam).

 

As on form as Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Elvis) was playing the pretty boy King, his turn for darkness and conflict do well here, as does the slow turn around of now Queen Anne. We receive no explanation for the off screen exits of several made to be important folks from season one, but the departing cast this season sets off The Tudors. Maria Doyle Kennedy’s bittersweet Queen Katherine is so sad to watch and yet it gives the downfall of Natalie Dormer’s Anne Boleyn an extra delight. The burnings and persecutions of protestants made me grimace last season, but this time around, Thomas More’s humble devotion to his conscience brought tears to my eyes. As robbed as Sam Neil was of hardware in Season 1, I’m shocked Jeremy Northam is not racking up awards.

 

The supporting and recurring roles add to this rift, with mistresses and bishops caught on both sides of the divide. Some new characters this season are useless, like musician Mark Smeaton (David Alpay) and poet Thomas Wyatt (Jamie Thomas King), but the brief appearances of Bishop Fisher (Bosco Hogan) and The More Family lend a humility to the highly styled court of King Henry. I would have liked more to the quick development of Jane Seymour (Anita Briem, Journey to the Center of The Earth), but the stylized executions that end the series (not a spoiler if you know anything about history) top off the weaker characters.

And of course, we’ve plenty of adultery and mistresses despite the seemingly tamed Henry and Charles. There’s still sex in The Tudors, but now its down to maybe a quick scene an episode, as opposed to the slow full frontals that grabbed audiences initially. Some fans purely watching for the kink may tune out, but serious viewers who were turned off by the soap opera sex should give The Tudors another chance. Sure the show still isn’t playing like a history text book, but Peter O’Toole’s guest appearances from Rome add a new historical authenticity to the series. Yes Wolsey was corrupt, a lot of leaders in the Catholic church were at the time, but most folks caught in the struggle between Henry and the Pope were just good, poor, God fearing people. Strange how I can say a show has a healthy amount of sex whilst discussing social and religious ramifications. The Tudors achieves this rare balance. The lusty are getting their due and England will be forever changed by it. I only hope The Tudors can kept up such charm for Season Three. Look for The Tudors Season 2 on DVD this Christmas.

The Tudors Season 1

The Tudors Wins on Flair, Not History

By Kristin Battestella

The Tudors has made quite a name for itself-from busty billboard ads to Emmy nominations. Showtime’s series starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers as a young Henry the 8^th is not meant to be a history lesson, but trumps on lavish love and locales.

Meyers leads an ensemble cast in King Henry’s court, including the wicked Cardinal Wosley (Sam Neill, Jurassic Park), Henry’s older wife Queen Catherine of Aragon (Maria Doyle Kennedy, The Commitments), and of course Natalie Dormer (Casanova) as the alluring Anne Boleyn. Political players come and go in this first ten episode season. Each episode is meant to be a year in Henry’s reign-plenty of time for mistresses and heads to roll.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Elvis, Match Point) received a Best Actor Emmy nomination, but Season 1 rises on Neill’s twisted Cardinal and his polar opposite Jeremy Northam (Amistad) as Thomas Moore. As dynamic as Meyers and Dormer are, it is very easy to feel for Queen Katherine’s predicament. Kennedy portrays the religious Spanish regal to perfection.

As solid as the performances are, The Tudors’ Writer and Director Michael Hirst (Elizabeth) backed himself into a corner with several built in historical discrepancies. Gabrielle Anwar (Burn Notice) guest stars as a Henry’s sister Princess Margaret, but the character is actually a composite of his two historical sisters, making some of her storylines convoluted and unbelievable.

But of course, The Tudors makes no pretense at being historically perfect. The series sells itself on the lavishes and lustful ways of the Middle Ages. There are more accurate portrayals on film. It seems strange to me that some viewers complain about the lack of authenticities in The Tudors. It is just a TV show, and hey, it is possible folks who watch the series may take an interest in the real history. The Tudors definitely appeals to the female romance soap opera demographic-as well as the renaissance fan boy. Stuffy Oxford scholars? No.

Many viewers should tune into the Irish/Canadian production for the lovely on location scenery. The costumes might not be one hundred percent authentic, but the opulent fashions and stunning Irish locales add another layer of color and eye candy. Most medieval shows seem so dark or drab, but not The Tudors. The indoor sets do seem small and leave a little to be desired, as do some of the cgi establishing shots of 16^th century places or ships that don’t currently exist, but these quibbles are not jarring enough to disturb your viewing pleasure.

So alas, I must mention the sexual content-and there’s a lot of it in The Tudors. It’s Showtime, so we shouldn’t really be surprised at the nudity-male and female-nor the rough and cheeky action. Hey, it’s what they did back then, and when you are dealing with a lothario as notorious as Henry the VIII, its nothing to be a shamed of. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is wiry and sexy and impish, sure, but Hirst has struck double gold by baring all of Henry’s pal Charles Brandon. Henry Cavill (Stardust) has become a fan favorite. Sometimes there’s a point to his lover boy scenes, but most often not-that is the nature of The Tudors. It can be a straight period drama when it has to be, but it isn’t’ afraid to have a good time, either.

Definitely not for minors or prudes, The Tudors Season 1 is now available on DVD. Season 2 is forthcoming from Showtime this Spring. As long as the ratings are there, Showtime will continue to invest the bucks into this sexy period soap opera. Performances and kink in a tight, crafty balance-The Tudors needs to be seen to be believed. Check out Showtime’s website for trailers and downloads. Once you are addicted, take the DVD plunge.