Welcome back from the long weekend, campers. I know if there's one thing that will dull the pain of returning to school/work, it's new DVDs!

Or bacon cheese fries. Whichever you like.

As always, Videoport Jones is riding shotgun on this express train of pop culture inside jokes and general geekery.

Think of it like Ebert and Roper - just with no one watching.

"Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride"

VPJ: "Hunter S.Thompson On Film: I was in London, of all places, when, emerging from the tube, I saw Hunter's picture on the front page of every paper on the newsstands and knew he'd died. My traveling companions were old, and it meant nothing to them, so I spent the afternoon in pubs trying to work up some comradely feeling to put it all into perspective and only succeeded in getting solitarily, maudlinly drunk. No bad craziness, just a misplaced Yank writing nonsense in his journal and being too timid to start a fistfight or even kindle a small fire. Indeed, we shall not see his like again. The documentary - eh. Nothing disciples didn't already know, with celebrity friends (Depp, Cusack, Del Toro, Penn, Busey, Wolfe, Murray, Steadman) trying to explain why he was important as well as a lot of fun to drink with. Nick Nolte narrates, which seems appropriate. Over to the professional journalist for his perspective ... Justin?"

JE: "I've been called a lot of things while working as a journalist, and professional is pretty low on that list. But in keeping with the Gonzo theme, in my opinion as a Doctor of Journalism, Thompson was an inspiration to a lot of people, or to steal a quote, 'one of god's own prototypes.' So yeah, I'm a big fan, and I have to say J-school was made a lot more interesting thanks to reading his work and repeated late night viewing of 'Fear and Loathing.' I know he's not a big hit with everyone, some say he was pompous, others say a drug-addled manic. But for as many people who were inspired by Watergate to get into writing, I'm sure there was a close number who were inspired by Hunter, Tom Wolfe, and the like. Of course, all of this is to say, I know nothing other than I like what I read."

"The Wind That Shakes the Barley"

VPJ: "Winner of the Golden Palm at Cannes (or the Palm d'Or, if that's your bag, man ...), this story of the Irish revolution stars Cillian Murphy (of Breakfast on Pluto) and promises a stirring, humanistic, leftist polemic to go along with the history, coming as it does from the British John Sayles, Ken Loach. Loach has remained steadfast and true to his socialist values through thirty years of challenging, fascinating filmmaking, the upshot being of course, that practically no one's heard of him and his films are almost all out of print. Videoport can boast a couple ('Bread and Roses,' 'My Name Is Joe'), which are both worth your time as well."

JE: "Uh...I liked Cillian Murphy in 'Batman Begins?' Moving on..."

"Georgia Rule"

VPJ: " Do I make fun of the spoiled, little rich girl publicly careening towards complete, Paris Hilton-style irrelevance here, or do I take the high road? Toughie. Aw hell, she's top-billed over actual actresses Jane Fonda and Felicity Huffman in this 'party girl gets some down-home grandma's wisdom' comedy, so she deserves what she gets."

JE: "You speak of course of Lindsay 'White Lightening' Lohan. At this point though, is it cliche to make fun of her? Is she just another easy target? It's not really about taking the high road here so much as retreading ... yeah, you're right. She's a mess. Plus I don't think this movie's in my wheelhouse so to speak."

"Delta Farce"

VPJ: "Oh, Jesus. This generation's Andrew Dice Clay (rural version) makes his second movie. I'll let the infinitely-funnier David Cross elucidate my thoughts on this jackass, 'It's a lot of anti-gay, racist humor ˜ which people like in America ˜ all couched in 'I'm telling it like it is.' He's in the right place at the right time for that gee-shucks, proud-to-be-a-redneck, I'm-just-a-straight-shooter-multimillionaire-in-cutoff-flannel-se
lling-ring-tones act. That's where we are as a nation now. We're in a state of vague American values and anti-intellectual pride.' I hate Larry the Cable Guy. Seriously."

JE: "Whoa. Now this is in my wheelhouse. You've got some serious feelings about 'LTCG.' My whole feeling has been 'while I don't get it, someone else must be dying laughing,' cause the guy shows up everywhere. What I will say though, is that good satire or parody seems to be harder to come by these days. While I have not seen this movie, my sense is that it probably has some elements of 'Spies Like Us,' which is a funny movie. But here's a bigger question, why does Larry The Cable Guy get more work than David Cross?"

Meanwhile, on the TV shelf, or TV-D-O-Port!

"Desperate Housewives"- Season 3:

VPJ: "Yeah, never seen it. Apart from the aforementioned, and always-wondrous, Felicity Huffman, this soapy, Picket-Fences-meets Twin Peaks-meets recycled premise #27 concoction just doesn't call to me. You guys enjoy, though ...?

JE: "I too missed the boat on this one and it's scandalous cast of Hollywood Cougars. (Hmmm ... that sounds like a good title for a sitcom ...) When it gets into syndication on cable, then, and only then, will I likely get around to watching."

"30 Rock"- Season 1:

VPJ: "I love Tina Fey. My real-life, (and very understanding) girlfriend refers to her, seemingly without resentment, as 'your girlfriend, Tina Fey,' as she does with Tina's erstwhile 'Weekend Update' anchor the equally brilliant and adorable Amy Poehler. Man, I have a great girlfriend. Anyway, Tina left her night job to write and star in this SNL parody show, which boasts the hilarious (and his fans know how to pronounce that word) Tracey Morgan, and Alec Baldwin as her daffy cohorts behind the scenes at a live, late night comedy show."

JE: "Wow. It's like we're the same person. My lady says the exact same thing. This show has to be one of my absolute favorites on TV at the moment, especially at a time when the thinking is 'sitcoms are DYING!' Excellent writing, good concept and outstanding cast. One of the things that I think sticks out is that they're playing up a very sitcom-y formula - basic plot concept, musical cues, knowable locations - and it's not ridiculous.
I'd watch this show for Alex Baldwin alone (I would pay to see Baldwin read the ingredients on a box of Kix), but Fey and the rest of the cast make it great."

"The Office"- Season 3:

VPJ: "This is the exception-that-proves-the-rule of all time, as an already-brilliant British show is remade and isn't turned into a hideously-shrill, dumbed-down demonic simulacrum, but, instead, branches out to become it's own, equal-but-different comedic beast. Funny. Period."

JE: "This as an anchor makes NBC's Thursday night shows appointment viewing. I think you're right about the premise. They really had to fight the 'it's not the British one' criticism in the first season, but since then the show has been excellent. Too many times this show has had me laughing so hard I couldn't catch my breath. If you've ever seen the 'George Foreman grill' episode you'll know what I mean."

"Robot Chicken"- Season 2:

VPJ: "I have a hetero man-crush on Seth Green (as my supremely-understanding girlfriend Emily tolerates), and his ADD, stop-motion, retro sketch show is, by turns, silly, gross, gratuitous, and extremely funny, with action figures engaging in self- and social satire, when they aren't simply being made to hump each other in a 'toybox confidential' orgy. Celebrity guest voices, Smurfy scatology, lighting-quick pacing and a healthy dose of intelligence underlying it all make for a genuinely funny experience. Oh, it helps if you were a geek in the 80's/90's. And if you're very, very stoned."

JE: "I think it's interesting how Seth Green turned from 'just another throw-away young actor' to go-to guy for comedies. I don't know if there's anything remotely like 'Robot Chicken' around, which is probably a good thing. Between the great guest voices, 80s/90s nostalgia and frequent pop culture digs, it's become a sort of landmark. But, I do think the show does itself a big favor by being 15 minutes in length."

"Nip/Tuck"- Season 4:

VPJ: "Yow. This show seems determined to out-outrageous itself with every episode. It doesn't mean I like it (eh.), but I've got to respect it."

JE: "Well, I think I have a weakness for FX shows, which all started with 'The Shield.' The network gets a lot of flack for essentially creating the same shows (flawed-yet-likable characters) over and over. Still, 'Nip/Tuck' has this weird sort of glossy-soap opera feel to it at times, and then goes in complete other direction by going dark and gritty, fast. I guess that's what happens when you're a plastic surgeon living the high life in Miami."

"Trailer Park Boys"- Season 6:

VPJ: "Canada's favorite son's ne'er-do-well their way into your heart once again. It took a while, but this show really grew on me; It's a neat trick to gradually make this cast of ludicrous jerks endearing, while never, for a moment, abandoning the reprehensible qualities which would deny them a Videoport account. Seriously, Ricky, Julian, Bubbles- don't bother."

JE: "No idea. I see ads for it all the time in Montreal, so it must be big. I'll defer to our resident Canadian expert Jonathan on this one."

"Prison Break"- Season 2:

VPJ: "Wait, they've broken out of prison already? And it's still called that? Whatever ..."

JE: "Yeah, you got me on this one. Never watched it, but I give credit to the producers for keeping up the interest in the show. Maybe this season they'll break into a Mexican prison just to escape The Law, and then have to break out again."

Since we ran a little long this week, here's some of the new releases at Videoport:

- Jim Jarmusch's "Night on Earth" and "Stranger Than Paradise" on the Criterion Collection

- "The Dog Problem" - Indie dramedy staring Giovanni Ribisi, Don Cheadle, Kevin Corrigan

- "CIA: The Untold Story" - A documentary exploring the inner workings of the U.S. intelligence organization.

Remember, you can read more of Mr. Jone's ramblings and find out what else is new at Videoport at his blog.

If you've got thoughts on this week's new DVDs, Canadian television, Larry the Cable Guy or "30 Rock," make sure to get in on some of the Commenter of the Week action.

E-mail this entry to a friend