Thanks, man. Here’s hoping you have some impact. I'd love to see that footage someday.

Speaking of footage I'd love to see, check out the e-mail I got this afternoon:

Guys, just thought I’d send you this email regarding something that we here at Synapse Films have gotten in to…

We have recently uncovered what appears to be ALL the unused original camera negative outtakes from John Carpenter’s original HALLOWEEN.

The story has just broken at FANGORIA.COM and DREAD CENTRAL little over an hour ago, but I thought I’d send it off to you all…

You can read all about it here!

I know Drew is working with Carpenter on the new Masters of Horror episode… I figured this might be important enough to pass along to him (if you would be so kind to do so, Drew)… I’d love to speak with Carpenter about all this. What we’ve found is just unbelievably amazing…

Don May, Jr.

President, Synapse Films

I passed it along this afternoon, Don, and I'm curious to see what you end up doing with all of this. Fantastic find. Now hurry up and finish 42ND STREET FOREVER VOL. 2 so I can pet it and squeeze it and hold it close to my heart. Now, about this week’s titles... it’s not a particularly strong week for releases, but there are a few stand-outs, and as always, I’m going to kick things off with...

This Week’s Featured Title (8/29)

MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000, VOLUME 10

It’s funny... I sort of accept MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 as a given, something that everyone should know about, but it’s been off the air for seven years at this point, which is a lifetime as far as pop culture is concerned. I’m sure there are people reading this column who never watched MST3K while it was on the air, but for me, it was a weekly ritual with my roommates at the time. Spending time with Joel and the ‘bots, or later with Mike and the ‘bots, it was unlike any other show on TV. For one thing, I loved the idea of repurposing “bad” art into something great, and most of the movies that were shown on the series were films that would have otherwise vanished from distribution altogether. Does anyone really believe that MANOS HANDS OF FATE would have had any sort of secondary life without the help of MST3K?

For me, the real find on this particular collection of four episodes is GODZILLA VS MEGALON. A second season episode, this is a perfect primer for newcomers to explain the charm of the show. It’s also a pretty hard-to-find episode overall, which is why I love seeing it show up here. I was starting to fear that Toho would never allow them to release any of the GODZILLA episodes again, the same way I hear Sandy Frank won’t let any of the GAMERA episodes end up on DVD. For someone who is a lifelong Godzilla fan, these were always among my favorite things that the show ever did.

THE GIANT SPIDER INVASION is a ‘70s eco-horror stinker that made for a particularly strong episode, and Roger Corman’s SWAMP WOMEN is great fun as well. As big a fan as I was of the show, I’m actually happy to admit I’ve never seen TEEN-AGE STRANGLER, the fourth film included in this set. New MST3K is a cause to rejoice in my house, but even if these were all four episodes I’d already seen, when you’re dealing with two-hour long comedy jam sessions, there’s always a lot worth revisiting. I love Rhino for putting these out, and I know they must be a nightmare to license, but they still manage to put out new box sets a few times a year. In terms of extras, there’s a 15-song “Video Jukebox” featuring songs from the show’s whole run, as well as another outtakes reel. Talk about treating the fans right. Thanks, Rhino.

AKEELAH AND THE BEE

This seems fairly atypical for Lionsgate these days, considering how much of their business model seems to be about horror films. I have no doubt that this film got the greenlight because of the acclaim and relative success of the documentary SPELLBOUND, but the script was actually a Nicholl Fellowship winner back in the year 2000. Doug Atchison is both writer and director here, and he tells the story of a young inner-city girl who is reluctant to become a spelling bee competitor at first, afraid to stand out from her peers. Her principal (played by the always-welcome Curtis Armstrong) manages to hook her up with a teacher (Laurence Fishburne) who will help turn her into a real contender as she starts to work her way toward the national championship. This is a familiar genre, and there’s no getting around some of the conventions of this type of story, but Atchison works really well with his young star and with the cast in general. If you’re looking for a feel-good film that won’t insult you as it does the trick, this is a nice nominee.

AMERICAN GUN

This first film from writer/director Aric Avelino is a multi-character film a la TRAFFIC that tells the story of how guns impact the lives of normal Americans. The film’s got a solid cast, including Donald Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Marcia Gay Harden, Linda Cardellini, Nikki Reed, Melissa Leo, and Chris Marquette. I haven’t seen it, but I’ll give it a try. It was reviewed nicely by critics like Roger Ebert, and sounds like a quietly ambitious debut feature.

THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW: THE COMPLETE SEVENTH SEASON

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT: SEASON THREE

SOUTH PARK: THE COMPLETE EIGHTH SEASON

Want proof of the resilient nature of the sitcom form? Here are three shows that could all be loosely defined as sitcoms, but they couldn’t be more different in how they approach the basic task of making you laugh.

Once THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW went from black-and-white to color and Don Knotts left the show, you could argue that it was never the same again. I know that Barney Fife was a huge part of the show’s enduring appeal for me as a viewer. But even so, there was still a lot of charm on display, especially in this seventh season of stories about the slightly eccentric denizens of Mayberry. There are two special Barney Fife episodes this season, and Don Knotts managed to be just as good as he’d always been. Fans are particularly fond of “Dinner At Eight,” in which Andy finds himself forced to eat three separate spaghetti dinners in one night. There’s an emphasis on some of the minor characters that really set in as the show wore on, and it pays off in a few gems like “Goober Makes History” or “Howard The Comedian.” For a fan of the show, there’s more than enough here to justify picking up the box set, and the shows look great here.

If THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW is a good example of a show that stayed on the air so long that it started to reach a creative bankruptcy, then ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT is the exact opposite, a show that was just starting to hit its stride when the network hobbled and eventually cancelled it. They only produced 13 episodes for this final season, but somehow, there’s a sense of closure to the whole thing in the final episode, “Development Arrested,” that really pays off the various running jokes and character call-backs that were part of the texture of this truly bizarre study in just how wrong a family can be. I’ll miss the show, certainly, but there’s a beauty to the way it all came together in that last 30 minutes that left me satisfied, all things considered.

That’s not to say that I just love the show without reservation. I think the siege mentality shows a little in this season’s episodes, particularly with the heavy emphasis placed on guest star Charlize Theron, whose storyline results in a few laughs but uses up a lot of shoe leather getting there. Guest stars almost always bore me on really good shows, because I’d rather spend the time with the stars, the regular characters that I’m interested in, and when you’re only dealing with a 22 minute show and a cast this good and this large, there’s no room to waste time. This relatively slim collection includes commentary on three episodes and a blooper reel, as well as several deleted or extended scenes and a featurette about the last day of production. I sincerely hope this isn’t the last we’ve seen of the Bluth family, but if it is, at least they went down swinging.

And then there’s SOUTH PARK, a show I’d call a sitcom even if it is animated, and even if it is smarter and funnier than most of what passes for sitcoms these days. I don’t know how Matt Stone and Trey Parker do it. They’ve managed to keep their show relevant and they’ve managed to maintain a righteous sense of social indignation for nine seasons now, heading into a tenth later this year. Like any social satire is bound to do, the show’s had ups and downs, but far more ups. This eighth season collection features some classic episodes, including one (“The Passion Of The Jew”) that looks positively prophetic in hindsight. I love “Douche and Turd,” “Awesome-O,” “Good Times With Weapons,” and especially the totally batshit insane “Woodland Critters Christmas,” which was one of those moments where I laughed till I thought I was going to pass out the first time I saw it. Parker and Stone are really comfortable now with their mini-commentary format on each episode, and I’ve grown to really enjoy the way they do it. They may not speak for the full running time, but they manage to pack in some real information and a lot of laughs in the time they do use. Great stuff.

BAGHDAD ER

Produced for HBO, this one-hour documentary packs a hell of a big punch. Directed by Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill, this is a very restrained piece of work, a slice-of-life showing the basic day-to-day grind of the 86th Combat Support Hospital in Iraq. It’s the hub of all American military casualty treatment. Anyone with a minor injury or a treatable illness is taken care of there at the 86th, and anyone who requires more advanced care, either surgical or otherwise, is flown out of the country to Germany. There’s some jarringly graphic surgical footage in the film, and images of soldiers being brought in fucked up beyond repair, but that’s not the film’s only focus. This is a film about strength of spirit, and I found myself unexpectedly involved with and moved by the men and women staffing that hospital. The film was shot in summer of 2005, and it doesn’t particularly catch a pivotal moment in the conflict. That’s sort of the point. This is what these people face every single day, and it’s quietly devastating. I really didn’t expect anything from this, but Henchman Mongo watched it before me, and he seemed really sure when he handed it over. “This one’s a winner,” he said. He was right.

BILL’S DIRTY SHORTS

Bill Plympton is a very funny man, and he makes very funny cartoons. On this particular collection of his work, the emphasis seems to be on the more adult laughs out of his career. It’s 80 minutes of Plympton cartoons, and personally, I don’t care what the theme is... that sounds good to me. I love his hand-drawn style and the way he’s a very pure cartoonist. He loves visual jokes. He loves to do things that you could never do in live-action. He takes full advantage of the medium he works in, and in many ways, I think of him as a cartoonist’s cartoonist. You can see his hand in every frame of one of his films, something which seems increasingly rare in the largely-corporate world of film.

Here’s a quick trailer for you to check out if you’re not familiar with his work. It’s safe for work, so don’t worry.

DUCK SEASON

PRETTY IN PINK: EVERYTHING’S DUCKIE EDITION

SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL: SPECIAL COLLECTOR’S EDITION

John Hughes is, simply put, the best writer/director/producer of teen films ever. His relatively succinct body of work still looms large over the genre, and he’s a huge influence on anyone trying to make those films today, whether they admit it or not. As a perfect example, there’s a Mexican film released today that shows just how universal the themes that Hughes wrote about really are.

I have to say... DUCK SEASON sort of snuck up on me. It’s an effortlessly charming movie that works largely because of how stripped down and simple it is. Director Fernando Eimbcke has a visual style that recalls Jim Jarmusch in his early days, with long single-take scenes and locked down black-and-white compositions, but this film’s heart is pure Hughes. Flama (Daniel Miranda) and Moko (Diego Cataño) are best friends, fourteen-year-olds who will probably seem familiar to kids the same age from America. Every Sunday, they have Flama’s house to themselves when his mother goes out, and it’s been a long-standing invitation to kick back and enjoy themselves in style. As the day begins, it’s just like any other Sunday. Order a pizza. Pour two giant Cokes, one for each of them. Turn on the Xbox and settle in for a full day of HALO. On this particular Sunday, though, there’s a lot of things that underline the joy of the situation. Flama’s parents are in the middle of a divorce, and he’s struggling to come to terms with the notion of having to choose between them. He watches them fight over ownership of every little thing in the house, while never once discussing who will take custody of him.

More importantly, though, he knows full well that it’s likely he’ll be moving, and this may be the last Sunday he and Moko ever spend together as friends. Neither one of them wants to be the one to acknowledge the melancholy of it, but it’s certainly there. Making things worse, the power keeps cutting out, killing the Xbox, leaving the two of them with uncomfortable silences to kill. They’re helped by the intrusion of Rita (Danny Perea), the teenage girl who lives next-door to Flama, as well as the arrival of Ulises (Enrique Arreola), the pizza guy who brings their pizza fourteen seconds late. Things unfold in a very natural fashion. Ulises won’t leave unless they pay, and they won’t pay because they say he was late. They end up challenging him to a game of soccer on the Xbox to decide if they’ll pay or not. Meanwhile, Rita is determined to bake a cake. When that doesn’t work, she tries a different kind of cake. When that doesn’t work, she makes brownies. She gradually destroys the kitchen as she works, and she’s just a little older than the boys, which she seems to enjoy. She takes particular pleasure in teasing Moko, cornering him for some kisses that he seems confused by.

There are all sorts of sly nods to John Hughes films here. There’s a touch of FERRIS BUELLER (watch the scene when they decide to help Flama’s parents sort all their collector’s plates and vases and art), a dash of THE BREAKFAST CLUB (those brownies have a special ingredient that help everyone get past their early discomfort with each other), a hint of SIXTEEN CANDLES (why is Rita making that cake, anyway?), but all of it combined manages to still seem original and fresh and honest. The film’s funny and sweet and deeply heartfelt, and when the film’s relatively brief running time concludes, you’ll find yourself genuinely sorry to see the characters go. It’s a heck of a debut for this Mexican filmmaker, and I’m curious to see what he does next.

Ahhhh, Duckie. And Andie. And “Try A Little Tenderness.” And Blane. And Harry Dean Stanton. And Annie Potts as Iona. And slimy, slimy, slimy James Spader. What more can you ask?

This was one of three films that John Hughes wrote for director Howard Deutch, who made his film debut here. It’s safe to say that Deutch never quite connected this completely with anything else he’s directed. It’s funny... this film was one of the first times that Hughes was writing and producing while not directing, but his fingerprints are so indelible that I sometimes forget he didn’t actually direct it. When you talk about his gift for putting together a great soundtrack, this might be the best example of that. The Otis Redding track is iconic, I adore New Order’s “Elegia,” and the OMD title song is pretty memorable, but for me, it was the use of the Smiths in one particular scene that really showed how clearly Hughes understood the relationship that teens have to their music. I think that’s why his films really last... he got it. He respects his characters. He writes them as complex, even when his plots are the model of symbolic simplicity. This is a “wrong-side-of-the-tracks” romance, a rich boy and a poor girl, about the ten-thousandth variation on that idea, but it works because Hughes dares to imagine these teens as people with depth. The feeling I got when watching these films upon release was that not all adults resented teens for being who and what they were, and it was somewhat heartening to think that not everyone thought of you as a child, and that not everyone thought in dumb stereotypes.

I know that many people have always cursed the ending of this film for having Molly Ringwald’s Andie choose to be with Andrew McCarthy’s bland Blane instead of Jon Cryer’s dignified nerd Duckie. And despite the name of this edition, don’t expect to see the long-rumored original ending intact on this disc. You’ll see a few quick clips from it in one of the eight production documentaries on the disc, but that’s all. There’s a fair amount of discussion about why the ending was changed, and about the difficulty of doing the reshoot, but it would have been nice to have seen the entire thing so that we, the audience, could finally have a chance to judge both endings side-by-side. There’s well over an hour of documentary material here, but there’s a strange lack of participation from Hughes that keeps this from being as definitive or in-depth as it could have been. Pretty much everything else is covered, though, and if you’re a fan, I’m sure the EVERYTHING’S DUCKIE edition will make you very, very happy.

When it came out in 1987, this struck me as a complete retread of PRETTY IN PINK, and simply switching the gender of all the major players didn’t strike me as reason enough to revisit the material. Eric Stoltz and Mary Stuart Masterson play Andie and Duckie this time out, and Lea Thompson plays Blane. Obviously, their names are different (Keith, Watts, and Amanda Jones, respectively), but they’re so close in terms of characterization that it’s almost like Hughes just did a “SEARCH & REPLACE” on his earlier script. The one thing that Hughes does differently here is the way he builds his happy ending, and it’s a testament to how likeable his whole cast is that you genuinely aren’t sure how this one should end. Even though I feel it’s disturbingly close to the earlier film, Deutch and his cast make it all feel like it counts.

As with PRETTY IN PINK, Hughes is absent from almost all of the extra features except for a 10-minute interview conducted by Kevin Bacon back in the mid-80s. It’s not the most informative or in-depth piece, but it’s nice to hear Hughes talk about his craft a bit.

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON

EPITAFIOS: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON

NIP/TUCK: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON

Soap operas are sneaky these days. They hide themselves by pretending to be comedies or cop dramas or medical shows. But make no mistake... soap operas remain big business precisely because of the way they sucker their audiences in with cliffhangers and dramatic revelations and character meltdowns that are innately fun to watch. This week, three radically different soap operas hit DVD.

First up, it’s the show that Hercules The Strong secretly Tivos so he can rewatch it over and over when no one is looking. That’s right, Herc. We’re on to your little game.

Of these three shows, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES is the only one that doesn’t really make any bones about being a soap opera. This is one seriously self-aware piece of trash, and as such, it works pretty well. I think the show is ridiculous, and it rarely resembles anything like reality, but it keeps Felicity Huffman employed, and I’ll be damned if Marcia Cross hasn’t turned her uptight-bitch mom into one of the more sympathetic and even touching characters in prime time. The show sort of hopped the tracks for much of this second season, so the third season coming up is really the one where they’ve either got to figure out how to refocus the series or they risk burning out very quickly.

Latin American television is all about the soap opera. I consider myself a bit of an expert on the subject just by osmosis at this point, what with all the telenovella action my Tivo gets these days. EPITAFIOS played on HBO’s Latin channel, but it was produced in Argentina. Two cops who were part of a botched hostage attempt five years ago find themselves drawn back into a deadly cat-and-mouse game, with the cops themselves as a killer’s ultimate goal. Sounds simple enough, but the real pleasure of it is in the way Marquez (Julio Chavez) and Benitez (Lito Cruz) work there way from the first clue, a pair of mock headstones with their names on them, to a vaguely apocalyptic finale. It’s really well-done, and it’s sort of like a Latin American Argento film, but drawn out to a degree that allows you to really invest in all of the characters, even the minor ones. There’s a great big moody score backing it all up and it’s at least as slick as HBO’s American shows. It’s in Spanish with English subtitles, and it’s well worth your time.

NIP/TUCK was a sensational first season pleasure, trash played large, and the second season got crazy but still packed the same delicious kick.

The third season, though, was a bit of a buzzkill, and I’m hoping it just turns out to be a hiccup. There’s still a fair amount of joy to be drawn from watching this season’s twists and turns play out. It’s just that the mystery the entire season hinges on, the identity of The Carver, is about as anti-climactic as any season arc for any show I’ve seen in recent memory. Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon both do the same great work they’ve been doing since the start of the series, but the fun was missing for the most part. That’s what really makes a show like this work. You can do episodes on any crazy fucked-up topic you want and shatter taboos left and right, but what makes it all work is the fun of all the transgression, that sense that you’re watching something that knows exactly how naughty it is and that revels in it. There are a few perfunctory special features, but the only reason I’d recommend a purchase is if you’ve bought the first two seasons and you want to keep your collection up to date. Here’s hoping for a season four rebound.

14 HOURS

SHOCK

VICKI

God bless Fox Film Noir.

Sure, they’re not the only game in town. Warner just recently released a pretty outstanding noir set of their own, and Universal’s two-disc DOUBLE INDEMNITY a few weeks ago is a thing of beauty. But Fox certainly deserves a hand for their consistent and steady work at getting these titles, most of which are brand-new to me, into stores on a regular basis. It’s appropriate that this week’s featured title is MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 if only because Gypsy would freak out about the first film, 14 HOURS. Richard Basehart plays a troubled guy who steps out onto the ledge of a hotel, 15 stories about the ground, determined he’s going to jump. The first cop on the scene finds himself bound to the kid by an uneasy trust, and a parade of people from his life comes to try to talk him down. How long does he stay up there? Well... the title’s sort of a spoiler. Doesn’t tell you how it ends... just when.

Henry Hathaway was a damn fine director, and I’m quite fond of some of his other work like NEVADA SMITH, NIAGRA, and, of course, KISS OF DEATH. He’s also been heavily represented in the Fox Film Noir series so far with films like CALL NORTHSIDE 777, THE HOUSE ON 92ND STREET, and THE DARK CORNER. This is a welcome addition to the collection.

This one’s not really essential unless you’re just a completist, trying to buy all the Fox titles. If you really want to see this story told right, pick up 1941’s I WAKE UP SCREAMING (also available as part of the Fox Noir series), which is a far superior adaptation of the Steve Fisher novel. That one stars Victor Mature and Better Grable, while VICKI has to rely on the star power of Jeanne Crain and Elliott Reid. It’s not a bad film, per se, it’s just that any noir fan would be better served with the earlier version. It would have made more sense if Fox had released them together as a double-disc set. And for my money, it’s a little too close to LAURA, even going so far as to include a not-so-sly nod to that film during a scene set inside a cinema.

Alfred Werker was a workmanlike filmmaker whose real gift was for comedy, in my opinion, but SHOCK is a pretty spiffy little thrill ride starring Vincent Price as a doctor treating a woman who slipped into a coma when she witnessed a murder. Unfortunately for her, Price is the murderer she witnessed, meaning he’s not necessarily interested in giving her the best care possible. You can read this as a simple thriller, or you can read it as something more, a paranoid rant about the power of the psychiatrist over his patient. Price is awesome, sinister and suave in equal measure, and reason enough to check this out.

FRIENDS WITH MONEY

I haven’t seen this one yet, but I generally admire the work of director Nicole Holofcener, and she put together a really solid cast for this one. Frances McDormand, Joan Cusack, Greg Germann, Jason Isaacs, and Jennifer Aniston make for an appealing ensemble, but it’s seeing Cathering Keener working with Holofcener again that will get me to see the film as soon as it shows up here ath the Labs. The film’s evidently about three married women, their husbands, and the one friend the women all have in common who has somehow remained unmarried. I’ll admit... I’m at a point in my life where I’m seeing this happen, where I can relate to this, and I’m interested because I expect this writer/director to have something to say on the subject. Don’t be fooled by that cover... Holofcener doesn’t trade in simple “chick flicks.” Both LOVELY & AMAZING and WALKING AND TALKING avoided the traps of the genre, and I hope this one does, too.

LET’S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH

TRILOGY OF TERROR

Here are a couple of movies that came out in the ‘70s that I first ran into on TV, and because I saw them when I saw them, at just the right age, they’ve stuck with me as formative experiences in my love of horror films. Will they hold up when I revisit them?

I’m not entirely sure this is really coming out today, since Paramount sends me everything they release, and this one particular title never showed up. Might have gotten lost in the move from the old Labs to my current digs, though, which would be a shame. John D. Hancock was never a huge director, but he had some nice moments. BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY is probably my favorite thing he ever did, and I remember this as being a total nightmare, as feeling like a dream more than a horror movie. No less than Stephen King named this as one of the best horror films of the ‘70s in his book DANSE MACABRE. You want to argue with him?

Zohra Lampert plays Jessica, a woman just released from a mental hospital who finds herself struggling to hold onto her sanity as bizarre, possibly supernatural events surround her and terrify her. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this letterboxed, or even seen it at all since the mid 1980s, so it should be a treat to revisit it after all this time.

That doll on that cover is probably responsible for more nightmares than Chucky could have ever hoped for. That Zuni Fetish Doll is one of the great icons of ‘70s horror, and probably the most effective thing that Dan Curtis ever did as a director. Richard Matheson and William F. Nolan are both big names as genre writers, and maybe it’s the combination of their sensibilities that makes this film work. Maybe it’s the idea of Karen Black playing four roles in the film that makes the whole thing feel so freaky. Whatever the case, this anthology film really shook me when I first saw it, and as I remember, it builds in intensity as it goes. It may have been produced for television, but it seemed to be as intense as any other horror film from that era that I saw. Again, it should be a blast to finally see this again after all this time.

LONESOME JIM

Steve Buscemi’s first two features, TREES LOUNGE and ANIMAL FACTORY, were uneven but interesting, and his work as a director for OZ and THE SOPRANOS on HBO showed even more promise. I’ve heard nice things about this film starring Casey Affleck as a young guy who moves back in with his parents at 27. He’s finally inspired to start getting his life in order when he meets a young woman played by Liv Tyler. I think Liv Tyler might motivate anyone to get their shit together, so kudos to Buscemi for the casting at least.

We’ve had a fair bit of coverage of this one on the site, including MiraJeff’s review, a review from the Rotterdam Film Festival, Capone’s review, and Quint’s interview with Buscemi.

LOOKING FOR COMEDY IN THE MUSLIM WORLD

Albert Brooks is a national treasure of sorts, and with the exception of THE MUSE, I’d recommend any of the films where he’s the writer, director, and star. MODERN ROMANCE and DEFENDING YOUR LIFE and LOST IN AMERICA are the high end of what he’s done, the cream of the crop. This is more akin to REAL LIFE. In fact, this is the first time since that film that Brooks plays a character named “Albert Brooks,” and the first act of the film is surprisingly acidic as Albert demolishes his own image a bit. I always like Albert most when he’s willing to completely throw himself under the bus for a laugh. There’s a scene at the start of the film, for example, where Penny Marshall meets with him because she’s directing a remake of HARVEY, and as soon as Albert’s not in earshot, they shred him. This isn’t meant to play as a mockumentary the way REAL LIFE did. This strikes me more as Albert Brooks in CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM. I’d say the first half of the film works better than the second half, but even when it’s not great, the film’s got an amiable charm to it that works in its favor. The weakest things about it are the way it seems to think India is the center of the Muslim world, something which just doesn’t jibe with the perception most people will get from the title, and the way it barely resolves at all, wrapping up much too fast. There are no extra features to speak of, but the film’s worth a look for fans, and as a bonus for people who really know his work, watch Brooks recreate some of his most famous bits as a stand-up when he’s performing for a largely-indifferent Indian crowd. Very, very funny.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS... AGAIN

Yep. LORD OF THE RINGS. Again. I’m not sure what the actual specific name for these new editions is, but I doubt anyone’s buying these because they need a copy of the film.

By now, fans have had plenty of chances to buy either the theatrical or extended editions of the films. The reason I’m eagerly awaiting my copies of these new discs is because I can’t wait to see the Costa Botes documentaries that are included. We’ve been hearing about these films for some time now, and we even ran some reviews from an event where Botes showed some rough-cut assemblies of this footage. I’m well aware that we’ve seen a ton of behind-the-scenes material already from these films, but word is these play totally different from that stuff in terms of how it’s presented and what’s shown. These documentaries are said to be far more experiential. At one point, Botes said he wanted to put together a total of 16 or so hours worth of documentary for release as a giant box set. Right now, this is as much as we’re going to get, and once I’ve seen it, I’ll make sure to discuss it further here on the site.

NOBELITY

I missed my chance to see this one at SXSW this year, but I know that both Harry and Father Geek were very fond of it when they saw it. I like the premise a lot. Director Turk Pipkin decided to interview nine Nobel laureates about the state of the world and how we might address our current problems for the sake of our children or our grandchildren. I’ve certainly been thinking about what we leave behind ever since my own son was born, so I’m curious to see how Pipkin and his panel of Nobel winners answer these questions. The film features Wangari Maathai (Peace Prize 2004), Sir Joseph Rotblat (Peace Prize 1995), Amartya Sen (Economics 1998), Rick Smalley (Chemistry 1996), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Peace Prize 1984), Harold Varmus (Physiology or Medicine 1989), Steve Weinberg (Physics 1979), Jody Williams (Peace Price 1997) and Ahmed Zewail (Chemistry 1999). There are a few special features, including bios for each winner, a call to action statement, and a slide show.

THE OLD GREY WHISTLE TEST VOL. 3

Wow. I’ve always been vaguely aware of THE OLD GREY WHISTLE TEST, and I knew it was some sort of live music show, but I missed the first two releases of selections from the series from BBC Warner. Now that I’ve seen this disc, I’ve got to pick up the first two because I am blown away. There are over thirty tracks on this disc, featuring artists like Jackson Browne, Stealers Wheel, Roger Daltrey, Humble Pie, Supertramp, Janis Ian, Joe Jackson, King Crimson, Simple Minds, and more. I had a friend over this Sunday, and while his baby and my baby were playing, we threw this disc on. The thing that really knocked us both out was the sound quality. On the disc, there are new interviews with the various presenters from the show, and they talk about how it was always most important to the show to make sure that these bands were miked properly. If you’re a fan of live music from the ‘70s and ‘80s, you owe it to yourself to check this out. You’ll be amazed by what you hear.

ROMANCING THE STONE: SPECIAL EDITION

JEWEL OF THE NILE: SPECIAL EDITION

THE SENTINEL

Michael Douglas is one of those movie stars who has managed to reinvent himself repeatedly over time, and today, there are examples of his work both old and new.

It’s hard to believe it now, but there was a time when Robert Zemeckis was considered box-office poison and was struggling to find his voice as a filmmaker. USED CARS is brilliantly funny, but it was a bomb. I WANNA YOU’RE YOUR HAND is a sweet little comedy that never found an audience. 1941, a film he wrote with his partner Bob Gale, was considered the biggest misstep of Spielberg’s career, and many people said that Zemeckis would never be able to make a film without the backing of Spielberg.

That’s why so much was riding on ROMANCING THE STONE, and I remember when it came out, there was absolutely no buzz whatsoever. The film was sold as a sort of RAIDERS knock-off, released the same summer as TEMPLE OF DOOM. When I walked into the film the first time, I had no expectations at all. But that’s because I had no idea how smart and dead-on accurate the script by Diane Thomas was, and because I couldn’t predict the comic chemistry between Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito, and because I had no idea that Robert Zemeckis would elevate his own game as much as he did. ROMANCING THE STONE is a perfect slice of pop entertainment, completely satisfying. It’s like MIDNIGHT RUN or PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE or DIE HARD or even like Zemeckis’s masterpiece, BACK TO THE FUTURE, working on all cylinders, seemingly effortless mainstream movies. When I think of ‘80s films, ROMANCING THE STONE is definitely one of the pivotal movies I think of.

And if ROMANCING THE STONE is an example of getting it right, then JEWEL OF THE NILE is an example of getting it wrong. Made and released only a year later, this is a godawful sequel, unfunny and unhip and unfun. If ROMANCING THE STONE is lighter than air (and it is), then this film is a drag, a lead balloon. Douglas and Turner and DeVito come across as waaaaaay too pleased with themselves on the heels of their surprise hit, and instead of being underdogs with another great story to tell, it’s mechanical. Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner are big-studio guys, but this was only their second produced piece of work. I don’t blame them for taking the gig, but Diane Thomas was a key piece of the puzzle in the first film, and without her, the characters don’t work at all. The movie stars are stranded, and director Lewis Teague doesn’t know how to save them.

Both of these films have finally been given a special edition treatment by Fox, and I’m sure I’ll pick them up together at Costco for some ridiculously low price this weekend. It’ll be worth it just to (A) have a nice copy of ROMANCING THE STONE and (B) satisfy my insane DVD OCD by putting both on my shelf. Ahhhhhh.

I’ll be honest. I fall asleep reading a description of this film. Here’s what Amazon has under Plot Outline: “A disgraced special agent to the White House (Douglas) endeavors to foil a conspiracy to assassinate the U.S. President.” If this film had been made in 1976 with Michael Douglas in the lead, I’d probably already own it on DVD, and I bet it would have been great. That’s the age of films like THE PARALLAX VIEW, and I’ll bet a film about the corruption that would have to eat away at an administration in order to allow the President to get killed inside the White House. That’s a nightmare, and if they’d made it within a year of Watergate, it probably would have been pretty corrosive and provocative. Made today, with Kiefer Sutherland pretty much warming up for 24: THE MOVIE and Eva Longoria pretty much warming up for MAXIM LAYOUT: THE MOVIE, I’m not sure I’m interested. Did anyone see this one? More importantly, did any of you like it? Is it worth my time? More importantly still... was it worth Michael Douglas’s time?

SAVAGE SINEMA FROM DOWN UNDER

This one’s sitting on top of my stereo right now on my desk, and I plan to get to it immediately. The cover scares me. The back cover promises all sorts of madness and bloodshed, and the titles of the three films (MARAUDERS, DEFENCELESS, and SENSITIVE NEW AGE KILLER) all directed by Mark Savage. I’ll confess right now... I don’t know his work. Yet. When Blue Underground sent me that mind-blowing Alan Clarke Box (one of my favorite box sets of all time), I didn’t know his work at all, either. That’s the fookin’ magic of DVD, isn’t it? The box set I was sent has just the three films, but evidently, the limited edition release of the set will include a fourth disc, with a cable TV movie he made called STAINED and a collection of his early Super-8 work. That’s pretty cool, and it humanizes the guy behind what sounds like some really crazy, wild work. Should be fun, and I’ll definitely review it once I’ve seen it.

STEPHEN KING’S DESPERATION

Or, as I like to call it, my boss’s latest Stephen King film. I totally get why Stephen King likes working with Mick Garris over and over. He likes to have some participation in the process, and he knows what balance he likes, and he knows when he has a good experience with someone that results in a film that King is happy with. Now that he’s really hit a groove with a couple of directors (Craig Baxley seems to be his other go-to guy at this point), it makes sense that he’d just work with them over and over. DESPERATION was made by ABC, but I remember writing about this project as far back as 1999, when it was in development at New Line as a feature for Garris to direct with King writing. When this premiered, I was actually onset for this year’s MASTERS OF HORROR episode, “ProLife,” which stars Ron Perlman. Perlman, of course, is the star here as well, playing Collie, the small-town sheriff whose descent into madness really kicks the film off. It’s a great role, and Perlman plays it really well. The rest of the thing is very true to King’s vision, for better and for worse. I haven’t seen the Lionsgate disc, so I’m not sure if there are extras or not.

STORY OF A CLOISTERED NUN

NoShame Films really lives up to their name this week with this torrid little nunsploitation flick by Italian director Domenico Paolella, near the end of his 40 film career. Catherine Spaak, Suzy Kendall, and Martine Brochard. This is a dirty Euro-flick, and the women are genuinely beautiful. Lots of nudity, lots of soft softcore sex, and a healthy dollop of naughty sadism all combine to make this one gleefully blasphemous movie.

THE THAMES SHAKESPEARE COLLECTION

Look out, Magneto! King Lear’s right behind you!

I’ve had Ian McKellen staring out at me for a couple of weeks now while this one was resting on my desk, right next to the monitor, side by side with the new PRISONER MEGASET. This is a 700-minute collection of four productions of Shakespeare, different theater companies for each of the plays. McKellen’s performance as MACBETH with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Kenneth Branagh’s spirited production of 12th NIGHT with the Rennaisance Theater Company are the big draws here for me, but Patrick Magee’s King Lear and a sweet ROMEO & JULIET are both well done and worth at least a quick look.

THE TICK VS. SEASON ONE

What a great title for this collection, and sort of an obvious one now that they used it. This is made up of twelve of the first season’s thirteen episodes, thanks to some legal hiccup, but regardless, I’m glad to have this gigantic freakshow to own finally. This is one of the weirdest shows to ever play on Saturday mornings, smart, densely literate, with outrageous bad guys who take full advantage of being animated. In this collection, you’ll get “The Tick Vs Brainchild,” “The Tick Vs The Tick,” “The Tick Vs Dinosaur Neil,” “The Tick Vs Chairface Chippendale,” and more. It’s amazing how well these hold up, and I’m hoping this does well enough to warrant further collections in the future.

WATER

Deepa Mehta is an obviously talented filmmaker, and I respect her loosely-related elemental trilogy more than I think I actually like it. Haven’t seen this final part, though, so maybe she connects all the dots this time out. Our reviewers in Toronto last year seemed to think so. This offers a pretty marked counterpoint-of-view to the way Brooks paints life in India in LOOKING FOR COMEDY IN THE MUSLIM WORLD, and Mehta’s voice is an important one since how many other female Indian filmmakers are getting international releases and festival play. A pre-teen girl is married to a much older man just before he dies of illness, and she ends up an outcast in her community. The home she finally finds and the way she adapts make up the body of the film, a pointedly political piece even though it’s set in the late ‘30s while the British still rule India.

That’s it for me. Sorry this one was late, but I’ve got a couple of other things I’ve been getting ready for you, including my review of THE FOUNTAIN. Until then...