Moriarty

BAD TIMING: A SENSUAL OBSESSION – The Criterion Collection

I don’t even know how to describe this Nicolas Roeg film to someone who hasn’t seen it. Very few directors manage to dig deeper into the psychosexual profiles of their characters while still maintaining enough distance that their films almost feel like reports on human life by an alien intelligence. Roeg could make great films, and he could also make spectacular messes, and this film manages to be a little bit of both. Art Garfunkel, Teresa Russell, and Harvey Keitel all do great work here. There’s no feature-length commentary, but there are new interviews with the director, the producer, some of the actors, and an essay included in the liner notes. I’m dying to see the transfer for this film that has long been difficult to get hold of on video, since I’m sure Criterion polished it up reeeeeeal nice.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: SEASON ONE

I haven’t watched a frame of this series yet, but Herc swears by it. He loves the show, and I’ve heard enough other people speak well of it that I’m going to give it a chance with this box set. I think the original show was a big fat slice of cheese, so whatever this is, I won’t be saddled with any sort of fan expectations about this having to live up to its name. All I want is a smart SF show with a voice of its own, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this will deliver. I’m glad Universal bundled the mini-series and the first season together, since that makes for a whole lot of viewing for what seems like a really reasonable list price. The disc looks like it’s overstuffed with extras, too, so if I do fall in love, there will be plenty of stuff for me to enjoy.

*BOB DYLAN: NO DIRECTION HOME

I’ve only skimmed the surface of this amazing documentary by Martin Scorsese, but I plan to watch the entire thing later this week. I’ve always admired Dylan more than I’ve actually enjoyed him, but BIOGRAPH changed that for me, emphasizing the very best of his music over the years. This documentary creates a context in which you can not only hear the songs and the performances that made him a legend, but you can also trace his influences and get a real sense of the impact he had on the rest of popular music at the time of his greatest fame. It’s pretty amazing, and seeing it in a theater like the folks at Toronto and Telluride just got to do must have been overwhelming.

BORN INTO BROTHELS

This is a great documentary about children raised in the red light district of Calcutta, with much of the footage comprised of images captured by the children themselves. It would be impossible to watch this film and remain unmoved by the horrifying world these kids negotiate every day. There don’t really seem to be any extra features on ThinkFilm’s disc release, but it’s a film you should see anyway.

*CARLITO’S WAY: ULTIMATE EDITION

This is the third time Universal’s released this title, and it’s not surprising that they’re doing it again a week before they release the prequel movie that they just produced for the direct-to-video market. There are some new features on the disc, and the transfer does appear to be even cleaner than the previous release of the film. If you already own it, you probably won’t rush out to trade up, but if you don’t, now’s a perfect time to pick up one of Brian De Palma’s most criminally underrated films.

*DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON

I know this being on my list is going to cause Hercules The Strong to commit either some sort of ritual suicide or perhaps a bloody rampage against me here at the Labs, since he appears to hate this show with a burning passion.

I don’t, though. Sorry, Herc.

Admittedly, this is a show that my wife added to the Tivo, and she is hopelessly addicted to it, but I’ll give it credit for being a shameless soap opera that knows enough not to take anything too seriously. Is it a comedy? Not really. It’s very much a soap, and it makes no apologies for it. It was smartly constructed enough to actually answer some of the show’s biggest questions at the end of the first season, though, and it featured a pretty good set-up for the second year, starting next week on ABC. The discs are packed with extras that will appeal to fans of the series just as much as the LOST discs played directly to fans of that show, and between those two, there’s a reason ABC bounced back hard last year and will continue to dominate the ratings this year. Not every show has to play to every viewer. The more important thing is to know your audience and to play directly to them. Well worth picking up if you’re interested.

*FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON: THE SIGNATURE EDITION

I had the original release of this HBO miniseries, one of the best things the network has ever produced, and the thing that makes this the superior release is the sound and picture quality. No question about it. They stepped it up. Now, the original box set had a DVD-ROM with it that was packed with NASA data and other extras, and some of them were reproduced here, but not all. Still, if you love the show and you’re a space junkie like me, the improved transfer makes this worth the upgrade. And if you’ve never seen it, just buy it blind. It’s remarkable docudrama about the best thing we’ve ever collectively done as a species.

*GONE IN 60 SECONDS: COLLECTOR’S EDITION

No, this isn’t the Jerry Bruckheimer/Nicolas Cage remake, but instead, it’s a spiffy new transfer and special edition of the 1974 original. This is car chase porn, and H.B. Halicki created a cult classic that lives up to its reputation for fans of the genre. I plan to tear into this one this weekend some time, since it arrived while I was out of town and I haven’t had the chance yet.

*INSIDE DEEP THROAT (NC-17 VERSION)

Y’know, it’s next to impossible to have a discussion of the importance of DEEP THROAT to American cinema without people snickering and assuming you’re just a porn freak. Personally, I think porn is boring, but I also think free speech is pretty fucking great, and a culture that attempts to stifle its own expressions of sexuality is a culture that doesn’t value its freedom. This documentary does a great job of exploring a tricky subject with class and a sense of humor without ever soft-pedaling. Don’t get the R-rated cut, though. That defeats the whole point. I don’t find it particularly erotic to see Linda Lovelace swallow a cock, but how can you talk about this movie without getting at least one look at the trick that made it such a sensation in the first place? Brian Grazer was reportedly obsessed with telling this story for many years, and the filmmakers he picked to finally put the film together, Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey, rose to the occasion. The disc is packed with extra footage, and the NC-17 disc has even more stuff that the R-rated one doesn’t. Universal treated this like a major release, and they are to be commended for that. I’m sorry I didn’t see this in the theater, but I’m glad I finally caught up with it.

IT’S ALL GONE, PETE TONG

A sentimental comedy about a DJ who faces the end of his career when he goes deaf, this got some great word of mouth earlier this year but barely registered at the box-office. I’m definitely interested in checking it out as soon as I can.

*JAMES DEAN – FOREVER YOUNG

*JAMES DEAN – SENSE MEMORIES

I bought the Warner Bros. James Dean box when it came out recently, pleased to finally have the films on DVD. When these titles showed up in the mail, though, I wasn’t sure what the hell they were. It appears that SENSE MEMORIES is an episode of the PBS series AMERICAN MASTERS, while FOREVER YOUNG is a documentary that played the Cannes Festival this past summer. In both cases, there are clips, interviews, archival photos, and endless speculation about just what it is that Dean possessed that still casts a shadow across pop culture today. For fans, these make nice book-ends to the films themselves, and a fitting way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his death.

*THE LONGEST YARD

It saddens me to realize that there is a whole generation that probably could watch this version side-by-side with the Burt Reynolds original and walk away easily preferring this one, but that’s just the way it is. The film hews surprisingly close to the original script, and the updates that were made to make the film more contemporary don’t really enhance it in any significant way. I just think Adam Sandler’s miscast here. He’s not the same kind of ape that Burt Reynolds was, and I don’t really buy him as an intimidating physical presence. Still, for Sandler fans, there’s plenty that I’m sure they’ll enjoy, and even a vaguely crummy version of THE LONGEST YARD still has stuff to enjoy in it.

*MAJOR DUNDEE

This is one of the coolest titles being released today. No... scratch that. This is one of the coolest titles being released this month. This was Sam Peckinpah’s first big studio picture, and in a move that should surprise no one familiar with his work, he managed to get himself kicked out of the editing room. I’ve been talking to Michael Schlesinger over at Sony for at least three years about this title, and I’m glad to see he finally got it finished and released. I’ll have a full review soon, but for now, I’ll just say this is a beautiful restoration and it gives new life to a rousing adventure film that fully deserved the treatment. Excellent.

MALLRATS: 10th Anniversary Extended Edition

I haven’t seen this disc yet, so I have no idea what sort of a package Kevin Smith’s put together to celebrate the tenth anniversary of his most maligned film, but I’m looking forward to it. I thought his CLERKS X disc was great, and I have a soft spot for MALLRATS thanks primarily to the work by Jason Lee. Once I do see the disc, I’ll make sure to review it, and I’m sure I’ll be picking it up no matter what.

THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH – The Criterion Collection

I know that this and BAD TIMING both came out last week, but I missed them, and I’d hate to miss the opportunity to point out these remarkable films to you. I’ve already bought two different DVD editions of this title over the last five or six years, but I’ll gladly pony up again since this is my hands-down favorite Nic Roeg film, and I think it’s one of the best SF films ever made. You have to see the film in its full widescreen glory to really appreciate it, and you should hear it on the best sound system possible. It’s an assault, a film that bends narrative tradition in some fascinating ways, and it says a hell of lot about who we are. It’s a perfect pairing of material and filmmaker, a great match for Roeg’s already icy clinical detachment. David Bowie’s never been better on film, and Candy Clark and Rip Torn both do tremendous work in supporting roles. Even better, Criterion tricked this disc out, so there’s a lot of new material for even an old fan of the film like me to dig into. Even though I haven’t seen the disc, I can’t recommend the film highly enough.

MARTIN & ORLOFF

See... this is the sort of curveball from Anchor Bay that I love.

I always think of them as a horror distributor firet and foremost, but this comedy from some of the key players in the Upright Citizen’s Brigade barely got any sort of release last year, and now Anchor Bay’s putting it out. I have no idea what to expect, and I don’t really want to read any spoilers. I trust these guys based on UCB, and I’ll check it out as soon as I can.

MASCULIN FEMININ – The Criterion Collection

In 1966, Jean-Luc Godard was operating at the peak of his creative powers, and this was one more in a fairly remarkable stretch of films that just came out swinging. Young French hipsters dabble in love and politics, the children of “Marx and Coca-Cola.” I’m not sure he really says anything new about male-female dynamics, but what he says, he says incredibly well. Criterion’s put together what looks like a really cool edition of the film, with some new interviews with key players in the production. I’m not sure this is first on my list this week, but I’ll pick it up eventually.

*MINDHUNTERS

I have no idea why people give Renny Harlin a pass so often, but looking back at crap like DIE HARD 2 and CLIFFHANGER, those films look like masterpieces compared to this movie that Dimension wisely shelved for what seemed like two or three years before finally dumping it. It’s worth seeing for people who are curious just how far an A-list filmmaker can fall. It’s nearly incomprehensible, and it actually makes Sylvester Stallone’s EYE SEE YOU look better in retrospect, no mean trick. This painfully lame TEN LITTLE INDIANS riff limps along for about an hour and a half before it twists itself right into incomprehensibility. When you can’t even count on Val Kilmer to chew the scenery a little, you know something’s very, very wrong. Rent this one and bask in the horror.

NAKED – The Criterion Collection

This looks to basically be a reproduction of Criterion’s exceptional laserdisc release of this film, and I’ve been waiting for this for a looooooong time. With Mike Leigh films, I find that I normally either love them or hate them, and this is one of the ones that I fell madly in love with when it was released. That’s due in large part to the brilliant work by David Thewlis, who’s never been better than he is here. If you’ve never seen the film, just rent it and watch up to the scene where Thewlis pontificates on the nature of the universe to a security guard during rounds one night. If you’re not captivated, just shut it off. There’s no hope for you. For everyone else, enjoy this quirky masterpiece.

*THE OUTSIDERS: THE COMPLETE NOVEL

I love this film. It came out at just the right time for me to really feel emotionally connected to it, and looking back at it now, the most amazing thing is how great a cast Francis Coppola put together. Almost every single one of his young actors ended up going on to some level of stardom, and they’re all really good together. It’s a very earnest film, and this new longer cut is a wee bit indulgent, but I love it anyway. Warner Bros. put together a great disc I’ll review fully soon, but suffice it to say that this film has indeed stayed gold.

*OVER THE EDGE

This is today’s other Matt Dillon troubled youth picture, and it’s both more raw than THE OUTSIDERS and, in many ways, more honest. This is closer to RIVER’S EDGE or BULLY, a film about boredom and repression and the ways those things can erupt unexpectedly in teenagers. In this case, it’s in a planned community in Colorado. Jonathan Kaplan did a great job directing this film, and the disc’s got a commentary track with him, the writers, and the film’s producer. I haven’t heard it yet, but I’m hoping they talk about why the film was so hard to find for so long. Whatever the case, it’s available now and totally worth checking out.

*THE REN & STIMPY SHOW: SEASON FIVE AND SOME MORE OF FOUR

Here’s the winner in today’s race for “Most Awkwardly Titled DVD.” I still don’t understand why they broke the series up the way they did on disc, but at least they’ve now finally released every single REN & STIMPY ever produced. For me, most of these episodes are brand-new since I stopped watching when Nickelodeon shitcanned John K. from the series. I can admire some of the work here now, years later, but I still wish he’d been allowed to stay in place. I think it hurt him more than he’s willing to admit, and I don’t think he’s ever quite recovered. Even bad REN & STIMPY frequently makes me giggle, and there are a lot of episodes here. “Weiner Barons” alone makes me happy I own the set, and I do want to listen to some of the commentaries when I get a chance.

TURTLES CAN FLY

I haven’t seen this one, but the fact that it’s an Iraqi-Iranian co-production intrigues me, as does the idea that it’s a film about the way Kurdish children viewed the American invasion of Iraq. The reason I was first drawn to foreign language films was the notion that I could get some sense of how someone in a totally different culture viewed the world, and you can’t get much more different from us in America right now than this. The film had some really passionate fans when it was released, and I’ll definitely pick up MGM’s bare-bones release to see for myself.

WALLACE & GROMIT in THREE AMAZING ADVENTURES

As I anticipate the release in just a few weeks of the first full-length Wallace & Gromit feature, now is the perfect time to finally pick up all three of Nick Park’s Oscar-winning short films featuring the duo. Even more exciting is the fact that the DVD has all ten of the “Cracking Contraptions” shorts as well, so this really is the complete package. Dreamworks was smart to release this right now, especially at such a good price, and I’m sure it will sell a ton of copies. I know I’ll be responsible for one of those copies m’self. If you’ve somehow never seen these shorts, you’ve missed out. Park has a great dry sense of humor and he lets the characters really sell it. Wallace and Gromit are a great comedy team, and the better you get to know them, the funnier the films become. THE WRONG TROUSERS may be one of the most perfect animated films ever made, and features one of the great comedy villains of all time, Feathers McGraw. There are some sophisticated film references packed into these, and even if your kids don’t get the jokes about Melies or THE THIRD MAN, you will. Definitely pick this up.

AFTER MIDNIGHT

BLOOD FOR DRACULA

DIE MONSTER DIE/THE DUNWICH HORROR

DOLLS

DOLLY DEAREST

FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM

THE HOUSE WHERE EVIL DWELLS

LADY IN WHITE

THE NIGHT VISITOR

PANIC IN YEAR ZERO/THE LAST MAN ON EARTH

THE RESURRECTED

TALES OF TERROR/TWICE-TOLD TALES

VOODOO ISLAND/THE FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE

WAR GODS OF THE DEEP/AT THE EARTH’S CORE

XTRO

Yep. It’s that time of year again. Horror films are being released by the truckload every week. There are titles on this list I’ve seen and titles I haven’t, and I’ll pick them all up in preparation for October, when I have my annual Horror-thon, playing horror films pretty much non-stop for the entire month. I’m sure some of these films stink, but I’m also sure I’ll find some things I really like that I’ve missed until now.

ABOUT MIDNIGHT was an early work by Jim and Ken Wheat, and the film’s most notable for cinematography geeks because it features a pretty remarkable camera department. The DP, the gaffer, and the key grip turned out to be Phedon Papamichael, Janusz Kaminski, and Mauro Fiore, who are three of the biggest guys in Hollywood now. And comic fans will want to see it since Paul Chadwick, the creator of CONCRETE, was the production designer. I’m looking forward to picking up the MGM double-feature discs and all of the single-title discs they’re putting out as well this week. I figure even if some of these films are total dogs, I’ll still end up with LADY IN WHITE and THE RESURRECTED and a few others I’ll really enjoy. I’ve always been a voracious horror junkie, and this time of year, I get to indulge with abandon. Bliss.

That’ll do it for this morning. I’ll be working on the review half of the column for later in the week, with over 30 full-length reviews of DVDs for you. I’ll also be posting my review of ELIZABETHTOWN just as soon as I get through my QT Fest coverage, and I plan to address the growing controversy around the film. I think the herd mentality is wrong on this one, but we’ll get into that more later. Until then...

"Moriarty" out.