This week, I have budgeted my time in amazing fashion and actually post this when I planned to - on Friday afternoon. You don't care, I know, but I'M proud of MYSELF. It's not like I was going to work on this on Easter, anyway - ANYWAY, this week I have 257 listings and maybe 200 smartass remarks. Count along!
This post is the latest in a weekly series of posts containing the new releases according to Amazon - it's compiled from their listings for the week beginning Tuesday, 10 April 2007. This includes releases coming out right up to (and including) the 16th. I can only be as good as the information I'm given, and it changes almost daily, so if you're unsure, click over to Amazon for the latest information.
With the disclaimers out of the way, I can tell you that this is a pretty humdrum week as far as "big" releases goes. Call it Easter fatigue?
If you would like to give us YOUR capsule reviews of any film or show you see listed, by all means, click on the reply link and unveil your wisdom!
IMDb icons will take you to the relevant entry for the movie listed (if I could find it), and relevant episode listings are provided for TV shows where you can find the tv.com icon. All links SHOULD open up in a new window, so you can come right back here and pick up where you left off after closing the new window.
I'm not above whoring for Diggs and Netscape votes, even though that never works - clicking on the social bookmark sites' icons at the bottom of this post will make THAT magic happen!
Hover over Amazon links and prices may magically appear!
Clicking on Amazon links takes you to Amazon! I KNOW, IT'S AMAZING! Any orders placed from clicking here will put a nickel in the "Buy Aaron & Lise another goat" fund
You will be shocked to learn that once again I have decided to start by arbitrarily making a
PICK OF THE WEEK: Sometimes, a release will stand out and beg for attention, and it's my public duty to make you aware. Such is the case with Sleeping Dogs Lie (The W at Amazon) (aka Stay - 2006) Written and directed by Bob Goldthwait - on first glance, no big deal: woman reveals a shocking secret to her boyfriend, movie ensues, but can you keep yourself from the SPOILER OF THE WEEK:
Spoiler Below: Highlight text to read
The secret? She gave her dog a blowjob.
So...I'm not saying you should BUY it....but at least now you know. Sleeping Dogs Lie full screen - maybe the other one isn't?
MOVIES:
ONLY ONE NEW BIG MOVIE THIS WEEK: Bobby (Widescreen Edtion) (2006) Story of RFK's assassination was out in theatres last Thanksgiving and disappeared quickly - also may win MOST NAMES ON THE COVER OF THE WEEK with nine Bobby (Full Screen Edition)
Shanghai Surprise - Special Edition (1986) No clue what's "Special" about it (besides the fact that the missed the obvious 20th Anniversary tie-in by almost eight months)
SHAW BROTHERS MEET THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY: King Boxer (Tian Xia Di Yi Quan - Hong Kong, 1972) Warner Brothers' dubbed version (as "Five Fingers of Death") was the film that launched the kung fu craze - if the IMDb is to be believed (and why not) The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (Di Zi Ye Feng Kuang - Hong Kong, 1985) My Young Auntie (Cheung Booi - Hong Kong, 1981) One Armed Swordsman (Dubei Dao - Hong Kong, 1967)
Dead & Deader (made for TV, 2006) Dean Cain is a half zombie fighting full zombies. Sure, makes sense - not directed by Don Coscarelli but lumped in with the rest of the Anchor Bay, since I'm already here
DIRECT TO DVD RELEASE OF THE WEEK: Knuckle Sandwich (2004) Brooke Burke, Morgan Fairchild, and John O'Hurley - now is THAT a cast or WHAT - I can't belive this languished in some vault as long as it did - just kidding
TERENCE HILL OF THE WEEK: Mr. Billion (1977) Terence Hill, Jackie Gleason, Slim Pickens star in a movie that embodies filmmaking in the 1970s - definitely released by 20th Century FOX for the first time
I'M WITH BUSEY OF THE WEEK: Succubus - Hell Bent Gary Busey, Lorenzo Lamas, Kelly Hu - With a cast like that, I couldn't care less what the plot is
PEDRO INFANTE COLLECIN: Pedro Infante was a beloved singer and cinema idol whose tragic death at the age of 39 (piloting his own plane) resulted in a national day of mourning - the 50th Anniversary of his death is April 15th and Warner has a 23 film collection to mark it Cuando Lloran Los Valientes (Mexico, 1947) Nosotros, Los Pobres (We, the Poor - Mexico, 1948) Angelitos Negros (Mexico, 1948) Ustedes, Los Ricos (Mexico, 1948) Dicen Que Soy Mujeriego (Mexico, 1949) La Mujer Que Yo Perd (Mexico, 1949) El Seminarista (Mexico, 1949) Sobre Las Olas (Over the Waves - Mexico, 1950) Las Islas Maras (Mexico, 1951) Pepe El Toro (Mexico, 1953) Asi Era Pedro Infante (Mexico, 1963) Documentary of Infante's life and death You may have noticed that isn't 23 titles...bugger if I know where the other ones went!
EXPENSIVE MGM COLLECTIONS: Ultimate Killer DVD Collection - 14 discs - Silence of the Lambs, Misery, Fargo (Special Edition), Manhunter, Hannibal (Special Edition), Kalifornia, Eye of the Needle, House of Games, Gangster No. 1, The January Man, Malice, Perfect Strangers, Special Effects and Dead Man Walking Ultimate Mother's Day DVD Giftset - 14 chick flicks for MOM - Baby Boom, When Harry Met Sally, Thelma & Louise, Mystic Pizza, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hannah and Her Sisters, Mermaids, Not Without My Daughter, At First Sight, Women In Love, Paperback Romance, Heart Breakers, Moonstruck and Beauty Shop The Ultimate Sports Giftset - 15 discs - That Championship Season, Raging Bull, Hoosiers, Body and Soul, Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky III, Eight Men Out, Bull Durham, Monkey on My Back, The Jackie Robinson Story, The Pride of the Yankees, AKA Cassius Clay, Diggstown and Rollerball Ultimate Sleepover DVD Giftset - and 15 more chick flicks - Material Girls, Uptown Girls, Saved!, Legally Blonde, Legally Blonde: Red, White & Blonde, Valley Girls, Virginia's Run, Man in the Moon, The Princess Bride, Courage Mountan, Yours, Mine & Ours, Mermaids, Mystic Pizza, Sleepover and Beauty & The Beast
20TH CENTURY FOX RERELEASE OF THE WEEK: Little Murders (1971) Written by Jules Feiffer - Elliott Gould, Marcia Rodd
OTHER OLDER FILMS: A Guide for the Married Woman (ABC, 1978) Think "A Guide for the Married Man" in the time of women's lib - Cybill Shepherd A Perfect Couple (1979) Directed by Robert Altman Video Violence 1 & 2 (1987) Did they inspire SAW? (No.) Infamous shot-on-video from another decade remastered for DVD!
IFC OF THE WEEK: The Aura (El Aura - Argentina/France/Spain, 2005) Noir/thriller
LEARN ABOUT ... A GANGSTER: Dave Courtney: Dodgy Dave (UK) I know nothing about this, but presume it's about the ex-gangster as the cover promises that it is filmed in GANGSTERVISION!
DOCUMENTARIES OF THE WEEK: My Father the Genius (2002) Biopic - Waaaah...her father never paid enough attention to her...waaaaah The Shame of a City (2006) Documentary of the 2003 Philadelphia mayoral race may have the BEST COVER TEXT OF THE WEEK Danielson - A Family Movie (or, Make a Joyful Noise Here) (2006) Documentary - Daniel Smith, Sufjan Stevens Mussolini: The Churchill Conspiracies "Conspiracy" is right, 'cause you'd have to be some kind of nut to believe Mussolini was killed by British secret agents As the Tables Turn Documentary of Rob Swift on the 1s and 2s HairKuTT Documentary may help prove that "cold turkey" probably isn't the best way to kick a 15 year heroin habit
NOT DOCUMENTARIES, BUT INCREDIBLE SIMULATIONS: Life of the Party (2005) Another movie of an intervention gone wrong UnCivil Liberties (2006) Another look at "freedom" vs. "security" UnCivil Liberties Hmm, same thing, same distributor...but no picture. Better go with the first listing
MORE CHEESE, PLEASE: The Italian Jungle Collection: Luana & Karzan, Jungle Lord I'm pretty sure "Luana" is (Luana la figlia delle foresta vergine - West Gemany/Italy, 1968) and the other one is definitely (Karzan, il Favoloso Uomo della Jungla - Italy, 1972) Get it? Tarzan? KARZAN? Ahahahahaha - ha. Morella's Blood Flood Boobarella - I mean, Morella presents Grave of the Vampire (1974) , House of Evil (Mexico/USA, 1968) and Guru, the Mad Monk (1970)
AND THE REST: Coming Soon (Unrated) (1999) After hearing she's never had an orgasm, her two friends set out to make it happen. No, not like that. (I think.) Station Jim (BBC, 2001) A Way of Life (UK, 2004) Get ready to be depressed! Game Box 1.0 (2004) The GAME is REAL - DUDE Flannel Pajamas (2005) Justin Kirk, Julianne Nicholson share "an explosive love that overrides common sense" The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby (UK, 2005) Dog movie - I guess in the UK, they don't have to tell you who played the dog Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby (2pc) I couldn't tell you what warrants a second disc Skin Crawl Horror (you don't say!) The Naked Ape (2006) I like how they feel they have to ID Michael Jackson as "Talk Radio's Michael Jackson" to keep from disappointing a lot of people (he's an old white guy best known from his loooong stint at KABC-AM) Shaking Dream Land (UK, 2006) L.A. Dicks No, no...detectives, people. Detectives
SISU HOME ENTERTAINMENT (www.sisuent.com) - IN HEBREW: The Big Dig (Te'alat Blaumilch - Israel/USA/West Germany, 1970) Madman escapes asylum, begins digging canal in the middle of main street Ervinka (Israel, 1967) Toledo to Jerusalem (M'Toleido L'Yerushalayim - Israel, 1989)
DODGY IMPORTS: Hey, I'm pretty sure I listed both of these LAST week: Bilitis (France/Italy, 1977) Song Without End (1960)
EXTREME MOTOCROSS: LBZ: Chromed Out - I still have no idea if "LBZ" actually stands for anything, but their 1997 VHS releases "Chrome" and "Rechromed" now on one DVD - Big Vision
BELLY DANCING: Leila - Bint al Belad Seven costume changes, 3 singers, a live band and folkloric dancers supplement "Egypt's newest rising star," who wriggles for 62 minutes (give or take)
HAPPY EASTER - I LISTED THESE LAST WEEK, TOO: Fabric of Time Looks to be about the Shroud of Turin - Questions posed by the cover: "Have scientists discovered a Quantum Hologram that gives us a message of Hope?" and "Are the Secrets of the Universe Hidden in an Ancient Cloth?" Answers: No, and no - and what's with that Germanic capitalisation of all them words? Learn more at (I didn't make this up) Grizzly Adams Productions (grizzlyadams.tv) Angels in Disguise FIVE discs claim to help you Discover what Angles are doing in your life...and why Biblical Collector's Series Banded But this set takes the cake with an astonishing TWELVE discs
MORE LEARNIN': S.W.A.T. Uncensored Cops vs. criminals - "real" footage of training and action S.W.a.T. Looks suspiciously like that other S.W.A.T. release - Click Here (crystalentertainmentgroup.com)
WTF: G-Men vs the Black Dragon (1943) Despite the title listing, cover and description seem to indicate this is actually "She Freak" (1967) which is a different movie entirely
Originally posted by CRZDIRECT TO DVD RELEASE OF THE WEEK: Knuckle Sandwich (2004) Brooke Burke, Morgan Fairchild, and John O'Hurley - now is THAT a cast or WHAT - I can't belive this languished in some vault as long as it did - just kidding
In case anyone needs that last push to buy this movie, the cast also lists Don Swayze as one of the supporting cast.
I disagree with the go for the plus the t-shirt deal on the Horsemen DVD. If someone pre-ordered it early enough, they get the last second price cut from Amazon plus it gets shipped out the Friday before it goes on sale, thus allowing for the possibility of getting it before it hits stores/probability of having it on the day it hits stores.
I ma trying to remember if I saw this movie or One Armed Boxer at Fantasia (or both). I do remember seeing the Master of the Flying Guillotine which is the sequel of (I think) One Armed Boxer. I thought that I had written a review, but I can't seem to find it.
There is also a Tsui Hark remake of One Armed Swordsman called The Swordsman (I think) which is an indulgent piece of crap, big surprise from Tsui Hark who is great at restraining other directors but lousy at restraining himself.
A Scanner Darkly
I saw this in the theatres and enjoyed it immensely, but for some reason never wrote a review for the W. My bad. Based (very faithfully) on the Philip K Dick novel, it is about an udercover drug agent who ends ups investigating himself thanks to a nifty piece of technology - a camouflage suit - that allows undercover agents total anonymity. The drug of choice is one that totally fries people's brains, leading to hallucinations and delusions.
(The opening is a bravura sequence in which one of the druggies (Rory Coghrane) has such an intense hallucination about bugs crawling all over him that he damn near sets fire to his apartment trying to get rid of them.)
The great cast is headed by Keanu Reeves as the agent, perfectly cast as the upright good guy who is just a little confused by life and slowly losing his mind to the drug that he is investigating. Robert Downey Jr. is his conspiracy obsessed freak friend and Woody Harrelson is his drug-addled friend. (There is a great sequence where someone buys a stolen ten speed bike and everybody freaks out because the bike only has seven gears.)
Winona Ryder plays Keanu Reeves' girlfriend and drug connection and the subject of his investigation. When Reeves' character tries to find Ryder's source by making a purchase larger than she can handle, word of the big buyer results in Reeves being assigned to investigate himself, an assignment that he can not refuse lest he blow his own cover.
The film is an animated movie in the style of Director Richard Linklater's earlier work "Waking Life" in which the art is based on a film shot of the actors. The use of the animation makes the plot lines of the delusions and the camouflage suit work very well for a fraction of the cost that the special effects would have been.
Philip K. Dick based the novel on his own circle of friends and the destructive swath that drugs cut through them, wounding, killing or driving mad the lot, including Philip K Dick who was a walking wounded casualty of drugs for most of his life.
The film also explores Dick's obsession about what is real - a theme explored as well in BladeRunner and Total Recall. When Reeves is watching surveillance tapes of his own life, he begins to see things that were never there in the first place. The question becomes: is the difference because he was hallucinating in his real life or is he hallucinating while watching the tapes or have the tapes been doctored?
(imdb notes a continuity goof involving a sequence where Reeves is shown wearing boxer shorts at one point and then on camera is shown as being nakeed. I interpreted that sequence as a deliberate error highlighting the problem of which version of reality is really real.)
The film is a great exploration of the paranoia that both drug-users and the undercover agents who investigate them fall prey to. Even drug induced paranoids have enemies, you see.
It's good to see another version of Payback starring Mel Gibson. This is a guilty pleasure violent movie for me, and it's cool to see another version (mostly because the original Payback DVD was so bare-bones).
Queen of The Death Match...I wonder how many minutes of that DVD will be devoted to or feature Mickie Knuckles. I'm guessing A LOT!
Thread rated: 6.84
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