Asshole of the Week: Best Buy

So, it’s Halloween day, and I felt the need to touch on a couple things that make big companies look like assholes. Sure, I could easily put Netflix here, and I’ve spoken several times about Warner, but this week it’s Best Buy, who I love and hate. While it seems like their in-store selection continues to dwindle, they do compete aggressively with Amazon and Target to offer the lowest movie prices and exclusives. So, what’s Big Blue done this time?

Not but a day after their Upgrade and Save promotion ended, they offer some of the same titles at $3 less than they were during the promotion, and with no trade-in needed. While these titles were $9.99 after the upgrade coupon, they are now just $6.99, and include Good Will Hunting and Trainspotting on Blu Ray. Sure, it’s only three bucks, but times are hard, and since several people picked these up with the prior promotion (and also had to give up a DVD), it makes it an asshole move. And, during that promotion, there were several titles that went up in price as the last week came to a close, which included all three Friday the 13th Blu Rays.

So, while this discounting giant does offer some great deals, my gripes are 1) keep the Upgrade and Save prices the same throughout the entire promotion, because trying to squeak another $5 out of certain titles (probably the faster moving ones) during the last week, is not only assholish, but quite greedy, and 2) don’t offer titles at lower prices a mere day (or even a few weeks) after the promotion ends. Sadly, this happens with new releases too, where the price drops a couple bucks cheaper than the first week’s sale price, yet it's still within the first three weeks of release.

So, while I’d really like to support new titles, I have to ask, why buy a new movie on street date/week, when it’s just going to be cheaper less than a month later? It’s like paying full price for clothes (who does that?), when a sale is sure to be right around the corner. And, while it’s great for the consumer who waits, it’s stunts like this that cause entertainment to be extremely devalued when reselling it (how often do you see under $5 DVDs or under $10 Blu Rays?), and may be a contributor to why Hollywood and the film industry are in the shitter. So, our Asshole of the Week goes to Best Buy.

Hisss (2010)

Hisss is Bollywood’s take on a Syfy channel flick, with crappy CGI snakes, crummy dialog, stupid characters, and not-so-great transformation scenes. And, even though there’s a decent looking naked Hindi chick playing the lead, the movie is still better off in the landfill.

After reading about this movie a year or so ago, I don’t recall much more being said, other than the director, Jennifer Chambers Lynch (David Lynch’s daughter), walking away before the editing was done. But, last week I heard it was at Redbox (an exclusive perhaps?), and sure enough, I was able to rent it at one of the local kiosks. Thinking it would be quite an accomplishment for the Red Baron to have it exclusively, I did further research, only to find that it’s also available on Amazon, Blockbuster, and Netflix for rent or download purchase. No word yet on sell-through media, although I’m sure it’ll end up in Walmart's $5 bin, right next to Troma's Redneck Zombies and Echo Bridge's Hellraiser and Children of the Corn multi-packs.

The movie is about the Nagin (Snake Goddess) who has come back to find her mate (a male snake, of course, although some lesbo reptilian love would have been an interesting twist), who has been captured by a guy who hopes to barter with her to get rid of his brain cancer and also gain immortality. Somewhat of a stupid and confusing premise, yes, and even though there's a few bare butt scenes of the Nagin in human form (wouldn't have the same effect if it were just a naked snake, right?), and even a quick, shadowed crotch shot, the overuse of CGI, rubber snakes, and laughable transformations lead to an immediate disappointment (and yawn), and the time spent seemed a bit shameful. Even my recollection of doping up garter snakes with chewing tobacco as a kid were way more entertaining than this movie, sorry PETA. But, not all is lost, as in true Bollywood fashion, we at least get a short (although lackluster) dance number.

So, unless you’re a sucker for bad Syfy-style flicks, steer away from this one. Then again, for a buck (even less if everyone chips in), it may be worth watching with a bunch of friends while consuming massive amounts of alcohol. And, for a few coins more, you can follow it up with Full Moon's Killjoy 3 (also at your local Redbox). We're in a recession, folks, so cheap fun still counts as fun, right?

Pictures courtesy of bloody-disgusting.com:

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A Serbian Film cut or uncut U.S. release?

When I saw that A Serbian Film was finally getting a U.S. release from Invincible Pictures on October 25th, I was happy but skeptical. Wondering if they had the cohones to release the uncut version, I first asked a trusted authority, Diabolik DVD, and according to them, word on the street was that it would be cut by 13 seconds. I kept looking for an official announcement on other sites, but didn't find one. While Amazon says it's unrated, it doesn't say uncut, so I e-mailed Invincible Pictures, and here's the official word from Thomas Ashley:

"The film will be cut by about :30 Seconds. No scenes were completely removed."

So, there you have it folks, it's even too controversial for the land of the free and home of the brave. If you want the uncut version, you'll have to track down the Swedish release (if you can still find one), get it on the collector's market, or take your chances on a torrent. Sure, it's way too extreme for most, but like 2 Live Crew said, "The First Amendment gave us freedom of speech, so whatcha sayin it didn't include me?"


**Update: As of May 2012, Invincible Pictures has released an Unrated version on DVD, but not Blu-Ray, and it can be purchased on Diabolik DVD and Amazon.