Hey folks, Harry here and no foolin’ these are the releases of interest on this – the silliest holiday of the year! That said – as usual you’ll find that by clicking on the box art or the titles – you’ll be taken to Amazon – where you can learn more about the releases this Tuesday – or you can purchase the item – helping to sponsor the continuing exploits of this column. You know the drill… Let’s start it off with some fresh Meat Pies, eh?

Tuesday, April 1st, 2008

SWEENEY TODD – THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET

I absolutely love SWEENEY TODD by Tim Burton. I still hold it is his best work since ED WOOD – and is absolutely wicked awesome. Obviously the death of HD DVD means we get no High Def option at the moment, but this disc does up res to nice enough levels – but honestly – I can’t wait for the Blu Ray release, eventually. As of yet, Paramount hasn’t announced when their Blu Rays will be coming onto the marketplace – but frankly – it isn’t soon enough. This is a title crying for 1080p. Tears of blood. The second disc is loaded with extras.

ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS

While not a big fan of this adaptation – and I really don’t like the instances of potty humor – it is otherwise something kids will enjoy quite a bit. In particular I enjoy Jason Lee – and the character animation on the critters. That said – I suggest rental – or a secondhand cheapo video reseller.

THE BETTE DAVIS COLLECTION, Vol. 3 ( THE OLD MAID / ALL THIS, AND HEAVEN TOO / THE GREAT LIE / IN THIS OUR LIFE / WATCH ON THE RHINE / DECEPTION )

Arguably the greatest actress of all time – I’ve been devouring these Warner Brothers collections of Bette Davis. Volume 1 was amazing, Volume 2 has been the best! But what makes this 3rd volume so spectacular is that the other two volumes had a higher volume of films of Bette’s that I am very well familiar with. However, with this set – prior to receiving it – I had only seen the fantastic WATCH ON THE RHINE and ALL THIS, AND HEAVEN TOO. Charles Boyer is brilliant in that. Now my fave “discovery” of the set is DECEPTION – which I actually recommend as part of a triple feature including THE PIANIST and the original UNFAITHFULLY YOURS – as a trio of troubled composer / musician movies. Heh. Start with DECEPTION, then UNFAITHFULLY YOURS then THE PIANIST. THE GREAT LIE had an Oscar going to the beautiful Mary Astor – who plays an astonishingly great BITCH in the film. Totally out of character for her. No wonder she got the the gold bald dude for the role. Discover these seldom seen titles of Bette Davis – she’s amazing throughout.

UNBREAKABLE (Blu Ray)

Maybe you read my full review that I wrote up about 30 minutes after watching my Blu Ray. Initially I had some problems with the disc, but subsequent viewings have been flawless – so I think it was just my machine, early on. UNBREAKABLE is absolutely an outstanding film. The pacing, the music, the cinematography, the performances… all exactly what I love from M Night Shyamalan – and in my opinion this is his very best film and the only one that cries for sequels.

HIDALGO (Blu Ray)

The last outing of General Joe Johnston was HIDALGO – a wonderful semi-fanciful true-lie tale of Frank T Hopkins – the greatest long distance horse rider in history and his Mustang… Hidalgo. The film is gorgeous in 1080p – and ya know… we still have to wait till we see one of the great Omar Sharif films on Blu Ray… so why not a really good one? For those of us hoping for Joe to pull off THE WOLFMAN – HIDALGO is a sign in the right direction… I really want that film to kick unholy ass – Viggo turns in his usual excellent work – and the actress Zuleikha Robinson is a stunner. If you love horses this movie is for you… and the cheetah sequence is awesome… Really dig that.

THE TOMORROW SHOW WITH TOM SNYDER

If you’re a Beatle-maniac you might already have these interviews as bootlegs – I know I’ve seen grainy versions of the “Last Television Interview of John Lennon’s Life” for quite some time, but I hadn’t seen his interviews with Paul or Ringo… and this set has the interviews as sharp as I’ve ever seen them – and they’re on 2 DVDs. Definitely for you BEATLES fans!

THE LAST SENTINEL (BLU RAY)

I haven’t seen this – nor had I heard of it… But the box says – “Most Excellent” – AintItCool – and surely that means it kicks ass… or at least has a sexy cast member from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA in a dominant role of the film. I’ll check it out on AintItCool’s recommendation alone!

COYOTE UGLY (Blu Ray)

I didn’t see this in theaters… Tyra scared me away. This is one of those cases where had the Blu Ray not shown up magically in my mailbox… I would have never watched it – but what the fuck… Hot Girls in Blu Ray… I’m game. I put it in and watched the Extended Cut – and even though the DVD said UnRated – I knew that the dream of finding naked chicks on this Blu Ray were slim to none – just due to the Disney connection… It is rare that I get hot boobie action from the MouseHouse… But imagine my surprise at seeing Piper Perabo’s lovely nudeness in 1080p. Imagine still that I actually got caught up in the film. Maybe it was that time of the month for me, but damn if the sappy ass story didn’t squeeze my estrogen laced tears out. I know… retarded… But the John Goodman as her Dad got me. I’m a sucker for that sort of thing. And damn Izabella Miko’s baseball striptease may not get to nudity – but it’s pure GOOD-BAD Girl PinUp material. Can’t believe I’ve waited 8 years to check this out!

HELLO MARY LOU: PROM NIGHT II

Ok – so they’re remaking the original PROM NIGHT… I’m curious to see how Moritz and crew did with it – but I actually have a soft spot for PROM NIGHT II… I actually had the standee for this in my room during my Junior and Senior years… and well… I watched the film whenever I got the chance. This film isn’t great – but it does have a charm that I felt was missing in the two further sequels. Glad it’s finally on DVD.

SLAVE WIDOW

The box has you thinking this could be a PINKY VIOLENCE type of film – but don’t be fooled – this isn’t that. Thank of the tamer style work of the European surrealistic skin flicks – but then apply the Japanese aesthetic to it. The film is black & white – and there is nudity – but the real thing that’ll get ya twitching is the lead actress discovery of how much she enjoys the erotic arts as well as her exploration of that world. A very compelling work of erotica!

Not a ton of releases of interest this week – but next week we’ll be exploring some amazing releases, including: THERE WILL BE BLOOD, THE WATER HORSE, LIONS FOR LAMBS, THE 11TH HOUR, WALK HARD – THE DEWEY COX STORY, NIGHT OF THE CREEPS, Classic Musicals From The Dream Factory – Volume 3, RESERVATION ROAD, ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN (Blu Ray), THE 6th DAY (Blu Ray), P2, RESURRECTING THE CHAMP, TRACY LORDS: THE EARLY YEARS, HOUDINI: THE MOVIE STAR, Bette Davis Centenary Celebration Collection, DAY OF THE DEAD (2008), MYTHBUSTERS (Collection 3), LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT (The Lost Film Found), PHONE CALL FROM A STRANGER, SPACE ACE (Blu Ray), The Super Robot Red Baron – Complete Series!, THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED, NANA, FOG CITY MAVERICKS and much much more!!!