The Ever-Expanding Catalogue

I've spent the past 24 hours, hunched over my keyboard in an obsessive fervor, cataloging my DVDs.

For quite some time, I've been wanting to get some kind of DVD database software for my computer so I can get my DVD collection into some semblance of order. A friend of mine was showing off his DVD cataloging program around 6 or 7 years ago, and I thought it was really cool. All you had to do was punch in the barcode on the back of the DVD, and it would automatically download all the DVD information. I forgot what it was called, though, so I've been looking for programs that let me do that.

And I think I found it with DVD Profiler. I'm really enjoying the program...I'm tempted to spend the $30 registration fee to unlock all the features. I've got all my DVDs in the system now...all 283.

So I can now pour through the latest additions in my stockpile!

When I went into Edmonton back on the weekend, I had to pick up The Incredible Hulk: 3 disc Special Edition. I did like this new, Edward Norton Hulk. Granted, it has its flaws. The plot is formulaic as hell and Liv Tyler comes across as so sleepy for most of the film...but it does have a lot more of that "Hulk SMASH!" action that we all know and love. I couldn't help but watch it in the theatre and think, "My God! Why can't a Superman movie have a climactic battle like this?" I think I was thinking that because the movie version of the Abomination looked kind of like Doomsday.

It's nicely loaded with bonus features...there's a whole slew of deleted scenes. We get a lot more of Betty's boyfriend in the deleted scenes, who is revealed to be Doc Samson.

All things considered, I really hope we get a direct sequel to The Incredible Hulk. They did a fantastic job of setting up the Leader to be the villain.

I also snatched up Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. When it comes to that film, I'm kind of like Butters from South Park. While everyone is going on and on about how Lucas & Spielberg raped Indy, I'm just standing there going, "I thought it was OK." Before I went to see it, I read an interview with Lucas. Lucas said that the Indy films always drew their inspiration from the movie serials of the 1930s and 40s. However, Indy 4 was set in the 1950s, and the movie serials were replaced with science-fiction B-movies. So, Lucas said, his intention with Indy 4 was to do it in the vein of a science-fiction B-movie. When you have that in the back of your mind, it's a bit easier to take.

But still, save the aliens for Star Wars, Lucas!

I got the 2-disc special edition, but I haven't even touched the bonus features yet. I'm looking forward to them.

And the third DVD I got was Sold Out: A Threevening with Kevin Smith. As I'm sure you can tell by the title, this is #3 in the An Evening with Kevin Smith series. I've actually never seen the first two on store shelves...I always had to special-order them online. So when I saw Sold Out on the store shelves, I knew I had to snatch it up.

The first An Evening With Kevin Smith was edited together from performances Smith did at a half-a-dozen colleges across the USA. An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder was made of two shows: one in Toronto and one in London. The third one is a complete Q&A that Smith did in his hometown of Red Bank, New Jersey to celebrate his 37th birthday. (Because, as we all know, the number 37 has a special significance in Clerks.)

Once again, it's a very solid, very entertaining DVD. If you liked Smith's stories about Prince and writing a Superman movie, you're going to love his story about filming his scenes in Live Free or Die Hard and Bruce Willis.

For bonus materials, you get a ton of deleted scenes. the main show is made up of Smith's half-hour long answers...the deleted scenes are 5-minute long answers, still just as entertaining.

So that's what I'm working my way through right now. I've got to pull myself away from the keyboard now. I'm getting a horrible headache from staring at this monitor.