OFF THE SHELF - Issue # 38: ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTION WHILST IN WRITING
This could also be known as “Gazz’s Link-O-Rama” as in amongst the brief catch-up reviews on all the titles that have come my way, there’s links to the reviews of films that are already published. For those of you who give a hoot about my opinion on EVERY release or thereabouts then this is probably a good area for you to catch up on my opinions on all of those big 2007 releases that I didn’t pay mention to by way of review last year!
I get sent a lot of preview discs, Region 1 DVDs for review, pirate screeners etc. all with the hope of me reviewing them for the site. I also am not adverse to picking up a stellar “bargain” in the sales as and when I see them. As you’ll see from this issue, especially towards the end of the piece, I have a pile of “Great Unwatched” that is steadily getting bigger and bigger but I will get there in terms of watching and reviewing them. Honest.
This is a “catch-up” piece to cover all the titles that I’ve come to acquire since starting this column back in June 2007. If the particular subsection had already been published by the time I owned them then they’ve been slipped in here. If it hadn’t then they were integrated in with the rest of the titles for that particular piece. I’m nothing if not methodical eh? Lol! I mean, I said I was going to review EVERY film in my collection… and by god that’s what I’m going to do 
Without further ado, here’s the “stray” titles:
Magnum PI: Season 5
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Television Boxsets
Beginning with the feature-length opening episode that sees a young (and a little wooden) Sharon Stone play a messed up client who could or could not have a murderous missing twin sister OR be the victim of a split personality disorder that may prove deadly for Thomas Magnum to be involved with, the series doesn’t mess around with the well-written, well-acted ‘case of the week’ premise established in the previous four seasons but does actually improve as clearly bigger budgets and better casting are handed to the show thanks to its (then) continued success.
Magnum PI: Season 6
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Television Boxsets
I haven’t watched this yet so have no comment to make. I got it exceptionally cheap in the New Year’s Sales and added it to my pile of ‘Great Unwatched’ and there it has remained whilst other DVD titles continually jump ahead of it on my list of things to watch.28 Weeks Later
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Near Perfection
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!The Illusionist
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Under-Rated Gems
I burnt this, based on the fact that I had loved The Prestige and Wyverex’s original review over at our old stomping ground made very favourable comments about it. Okay, Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti and Rufus Sewell all irritate a little with their cut-glass-attempts-at-European-accents and Jessica Biel throws everything she can at the screen in an attempt to be taken seriously, to mixed effect, but this is still a cracking little drama that grips you from the get go and then throws a third-act revelation that feels as if it’s been earned in more of a manner than Christopher Nolan managed to pull off with The Prestige.The Ex
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Under-Rated Gems
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!
Vacancy
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Under-Rated Gems
This is a free Region 1 import handed to me for review purposes on our old site but I left before I could review it and got too side-tracked to get a review up on the new site unfortunately! However, it’s a real surprise. A cracking little gem that does exactly what it says on the tin, without any airs or graces. It’s a B-movie, first and foremost, that sets out to deliver a tense, rollercoaster ride of scares and edge-of-the-seat moments within the confines of the expectations that come with being a genre piece (i.e. characters do stupid things for plot advancement purposes, whiney women become heroes, secret tunnels appear at the last minute etc. etc.) but it’s still a genuinely good little thriller well worthy of your time!Flood
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Guilty Pleasures
Given to me as a birthday present this year, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Family Guy – Season 6
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Television Boxsets
I made comments in the Television editions of Off The Shelf about being concerned about Family Guy jumping the shark completely as it veered towards the end of it’s fifth season. Well, Season 6 is a vast improvement but only because they seem to realise once and for all to just take the gloves off, so to speak, and go for the gag (i.e. Britney Spears punching her baby’s head in and using the dent in said head as an ashtray!) and the pop culture references are less obscure and elitist then what they were in Season 5. The show lacks the spark and bite of the first three seasons but it’s still ambling on without any sense of being bloated and condescending to its audience as The Simpsons is slowly starting to reveal itself to be.Wrong Turn 2: Dead End
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Pure Escapist Fun
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!
Blades of Glory
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Guilty Pleasures
Another ‘freebie’ passed on to me prior to it’s DVD release; I enjoyed this in so much as it was 80-odd minutes of stupid fun with a few laughs here and there, plus I’m a big Will Ferrell fan and loved the shit out of Napoleon Dynamite so I’m kind of the target guy for this film. If you want a slice of dumb, escapist nonsense then give this a rent but if, like me, you class yourself as being in the “know” about modern comedy then you too will probably look at this film [as being one cast with Ferrell, Dynamite's Jon Heder (who is starting to look like a spent-talent already after School For Scoundrels), Arrested Development's Will Arnett, SNL's Amy Poehler (and Arnett's real-life wife!), The (US) Office's Jenna Fischer and The 40yr Old Virgin's Romany Malco] and expect something far, far, far funnier then what you’ll get. It’s not bad, it’s not totally UNfunny but it could have been better! One question though – who really thought the flying off into space at the end thing was a good move? Whoever did should be barred from working in movies ever again!Eastern Promises
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Miscellaneous Good Stuff
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Tremors 2: Aftershocks
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Cult Favourites
I have a huge, huge, huge amount of love for the first film and I’d caught Tremors 3 on TV recently, without having paid much respect to the whole franchise that has been birthed around it (supposedly there’s a short-lived TV show in existence!). I found this really cheap (£2!) and thought I’d give it a go. Well, unlike the original, it takes a bloody age to get going and reveal the big hook for the sequel (the graboids have “evolved” and can now walk, jump, fight etc.) and the absence of Kevin Bacon does actually hurt the film. Its fun and relatively entertaining but, all in all, not a patch on the original!The Simpsons Movie
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Animation
This was a Chrimbo present off my good friend Stu (aka “Jackson”), you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Ocean’s 13
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Pure Escapist Fun
I really enjoyed this film a great deal simply because of the return to the look and feel of the first film – a movie which I genuinely rate as a modern classic in the field of blockbuster cinema! The thing is though those criticisms of Al Pacino not being used enough in this film are not justified. He should be used very sparingly so that his character begins to carry more dramatic weight. The film’s real problem is that whilst it gets back to everything that was ace about Part One it also carries over everything that made Part Two self-indulgent and a little bit clunky. Instead of seeing a band of master thieves planning the heist of a lifetime like in Ocean’s Eleven, we’re here given another Ocean’s Twelve style impenetrable and ridiculous plot about causing earthquakes in Las Vegas etc. The thing is though that, like Ocean’s Twelve, the cast have such great fun together (reigning it a bit here so they don’t go over the top like they did second time round!) that you can’t help be dragged along. This really is the cinematic equivalent of a great Chinese meal, you’ll enjoy the hell out of it whilst you’re there but once you’ve finished, let fifteen minutes pass and squeezed out the obligatory post-meal fart, you won’t remember or understand a thing about it!Black Sheep
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Cult Favourites
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Die Hard 4.0
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Pure Escapist Fun
The “harder” cut is more profanity driven then violence heavy and it doesn’t do anything to adapt the ridiculous comic-book third act that nearly derails the entire movie but this is still undoubtedly one of the strongest releases from 2007’s sequel-heavy summer blockbuster season. You all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Pure Escapist Fun
You all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Flags Of Our Fathers
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Miscellaneous Good Stuff
I burnt this alongside its companion movie, Letters From Iwo Jima, and whilst I enjoyed the film, I just found it a little disappointing. The non-linear storytelling wasn’t handled as well as it could have been and there’s some seriously unevenness when it comes to performances and pacing. Maybe it’s because I went in with such ridiculously high expectations but how could you not with this film? It’s written by Paul Haggis, it’s produced by Steven Spielberg and it’s directed by Clint Eastwood – whose last two films were genuine modern classics, Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby.Letters From Iwo Jima
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Miscellaneous Good Stuff
I burnt this alongside its companion movie, Flags of our Fathers, but it has yet to be watched by me. I enjoyed but was slightly disappointed by the “first chapter” so this second film keeps fluctuating up and down in my pile of the ‘great unwatched’. I will get round to it eventually, I assure you, and I’ll let you know my thoughts then.Transformers
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Pure Escapist Fun
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!The Monster Squad
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Old Childhood Favourites
I loved this with a passion when I was a child growing up. I used to have my very own “monster squad” with a couple of my friends of mine (well, more of a “squad” really seeing as we had a distinct lack of “monsters”) and I just think it deserves to stand toe-to-toe with something like The Goonies in terms of how it is remembered. It is fun, inventive B-movie cinema that will eventually transcend its Old Childhood Favourites trappings into the Cult Favourites arena and one day be considered a true B-movie Vintage Masterpiece!Disturbia
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Pure Escapist Fun
I imported this on Region 1. You can read my review of it by clicking right here!Masters of Horror: Pro-Life
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: The John Carpenter Collection
What a crushing disappointment! Just like his previous Masters of Horror entry, Cigarette Burns, it’s all down to serious script concerns from Moriarty from AICN and his scripting-buddy. Carpenter should be looking at what Joe Dante has done within the confines of the Masters of Horror requirements (his work on The Screwfly Solution and Homecoming are nothing short of astounding!) and follow-his lead. Pro-Life is disappointing because Carpenter has been remaking his best films for years now and here is lent the opportunity to pull together a relatively entertaining amalgamation of Assault on Precinct 13 with dashes of Prince of Darkness (having a team of abortion clinic staff have to stand their ground and protect their office from a band of anti-abortionists with the spawn of Satan caught in the middle) but delivers a turgid, poorly executed, ponderous hour with a wasted Ron Pearlman and a completely stupid man-in-a-suit-monster climax. An insult to the B-movie abilities of a now clearly uninterested John Carpenter!Sunshine
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Pure Escapist Fun
Another DVD “burn”, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Bride of Re-Animator
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Cult Favourites
I adored the first film so I hunted out this second chapter as soon as I possibly could. It’s not a patch on the first flick but then it was impossible to replicate the zaniness, rapid pace and inventiveness of that film and still feel remotely fresh. I kind of love the “trashiness” of this sequel whereby they open on a big exposition-laden crawl of text to try and get some sort of link from the closing scenes of the last film and the opening of this movie. Jeffrey Combs still has more fun here as Dr Herbert West then should be allowed!Beyond Re-Animator
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Cult Favourites
As you can tell from the above paragraph, I adored the first film and have a bit of a soft spot for the second one but I have to admit to being a bit bored with this flick. There’s not only the been-there-seen-that mentality that sinks in but also the first two films never felt “cheap” as they lavished the screen with low-budget, inventive scares and gore but this flick constantly feels cheap and rushed. The acting is more below par then you’d expect even though the first two weren’t exactly spilling over with Academy calibre performances and the whole film comes across as passably entertaining but pretty disappointing!Reno 911! : Miami – The Movie
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Cult Favourites
You all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!!Rounders
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Under-Rated Gems
I think it’s testament to how good this film is that, despite not having a fucking clue about poker or how to play it, I get deeply involved with this flick and give a shit about what happens to the characters. It’s economically written to good effect and it’s acted well by all involved. It won’t top any “best of” lists but there’s no reason why, when you talk about great consistent performances in the careers of the likes of Matt Damon or Edward Norton, you shouldn’t pay mention to this under-rated little film. Plus, John Malkovich as a Russian bad-guy is great value and well worth a watch just for him alone!Grindhouse: Death Proof
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Collector’s Editions & Boxsets
A Region 1 import, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Grindhouse: Planet Terror
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Collector’s Editions & Boxsets
A Region 1 import, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!
Orgazmo
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Cult Favourites
I’m a bit of a South Park fan (I absolutely adore the movie!) and I think Team America: World Police is a work of genius so I hunted this out because people kept talking this up as the “lost” Trey Parker/Matt Stone movie that just had to be seen. I’ve got to admit, I didn’t like it. I thought it was pretty much unfunny from start to finish and even the gratuitous nudity and porn setting didn’t do much for me. It’s taking up shelf space but when I next downscale the DVDs this is probably going to be one of the first ones to go. Thank God I paid 50p for it at a Car Boot Sale. If I’d spent over £2 on this I would have felt severely ripped off!Knocked Up
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Collector’s Editions & Boxsets
A Region 1 import, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Twenty-Four-Seven
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Near Perfection
One of the best British directorial debuts you’ll ever find. Shane Meadows delivers a perfectly realised work of low-budget genius with some fantastic acting across the board from unknowns, untested wannabes and Bob Hoskins leading the charge. The soundtrack is great, the script is fantastic and the black and white photography makes the film look like a work of art. The film takes a pretty dark turn in its final act that completely goes against the light, loveable tone that has preceded it, which I’m not entirely sure it should make but it’s a minor grumble in an otherwise perfect British film!Halloween: Work Print (2007)
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Pure Escapist Fun
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Red Dawn
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Old Childhood Favourites
I had this taped off of TV when I was a kid (“Wolverines!”) but about ninety percent of it used to fly over my head and it took on this illicit quality because my parents thought it was too violent for me but I sneaked it back into my collection. I saw it again on the big screen a couple of years back when I was living in London and I went to an ‘80s Movie Retrospective’ marathon at this art-house cinema and out of everything shown that night (Ghostbusters, The Karate Kid and John Carpenter’s The Thing) this, bizarrely, got the biggest and best reception of the evening. I bought a copy of it in the foyer of the cinema that night and added it to my collection for pure nostalgia reasons!Hostel – Part II
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Cult Favourites
Given to me as a birthday present this year, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Meatballs
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Cult Favourites
Believe it or not, up until about two months ago I hadn’t actually seen this flick. I was arguing with a friend in the pub about what a true talent Bill Murray was and I was extolling the virtues of Ghostbusters and Stripes as genuine Vintage Masterpieces in the comedy genre and my mate asked why I wasn’t including Meatballs in that. I told him I hadn’t seen it and he lambasted me and told me I just “had” to check it out and that it was Murray’s “best movie”. Well, it’s a great little film and has some really funny moments that still stand up to this day but it’s by no means a Vintage Masterpiece, a la Ghostbusters or Stripes, nor is it Murray’s “best movie” but it’s still a nice little bit of cult comedy!Breach
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED:
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!
The Upside of Anger
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Under-Rated Gems
I cannot believe there is no love for this film! It only got a quick, rush release here in the UK last year despite being out for like two years in America. It’s not as if there was any reason to hide it away. Joan Allen is phenomenally lovely in this film (and so sexy to boot!) and Kevin Costner delivers one of his most likeable and engaging performances in a long time. The script is smart and funny and the ending is so bitter that it could well break your heart when you realise how much of Allen’s character’s life has been wasted on such a tragic accident unbeknownst to her. Give this film a go! It’s well worth a look!Hot Rod
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED:
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my initial opinion by just clicking right here! Then you can see my re-evaluation by clicking here!The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007)
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Pure Escapist Fun
The ex-girlfriend and I went to the cinema to see this, opening weekend, having really, really liked Alexandre Aja’s remake from which this sequel is basing itself. I described the 2005 film as “a superior and interesting remake in the vein of, but not superior to, Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead retread the year before, it lies just the right side of being intensely savage and stomach-churning as a well-made gore-heavy horror should.” I also paid mention to the fact that Aja’s version was a successful attempt at everything “the vomit-inducing, empty-headed but very-nearly fun sequel failed to achieve”. There are a few indisputable facts regarding the sequel that I burnt and added to the shelf out of a sense of completion so that I could watch both back to back, even though the first doesn’t require such a double-bill. Namely; 1. Any film that opens with a captive woman birthing a mutant child, having her vagina shown tearing under the strain of the birthing process in a quick, split-second, close-up, then being brutally murdered is going to struggle to get an audience on its side. 2. Any film that shows rape as a form of entertainment is a worry and 3. The sequel sets itself up weighted with a stupid premise: a character in the first film is seen venturing through the underground quarry and out the other side in order to get his daughter back, without any incident and in seconds of screen-time. This time out a group of ARMED soldiers venture into the same territory and can’t handle it? Come on! Where were these underground mutants back in 2005? The script is leaden, the acting amateurish at best and it amounts to nothing more than an excessively violent stalk-and-slash picture. It is admittedly well-paced and there’s a few cracking little set pieces here and there, but it’s a questionable and rather mundane effort in comparison to the 2005 version and undoes all the good that movie accomplished!Tell No One
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: The Conspiracy Collection
You all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!The Lives of Others
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Modern Classics
This is worthy of every single piece of acclaim that has been bestowed upon it. It’s a film of pure class from start to finish and very much deserving of its Best Foreign Film Oscar at last year’s ceremony. I included it, justifiably so, in my Top 25 of 2007 and I urge you all to check it out if you have not already! This is a Modern Classic in every single sense of the word!Stephen King’s The Stand
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Television Boxsets
I’ve been wanting to see this for years. I missed it completely when it premiered on TV and, because I have a great deal of time for the mini-series transitions done to Salem’s Lot (the seventies version!) and It, I really wanted to give this a go. I think I built it up too much though because, whilst I enjoyed it, I thought it was incredibly uneven and a bit of a disappointment. It was lengthy when it didn’t need to be, it had an abundance of subplots that just weren’t necessary and its climax is nothing short of being utterly anti-climactic. Supposedly a severely edited 90 odd minute version of this exists. I wouldn’t normally suggest this but something tells me that that would probably be better!3:10 To Yuma (2007)
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Near Perfection
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!The Hunting Party
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Miscellaneous Good Stuff
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, I started watching it but got distracted by a multitude of other things about thirty minutes in and have never got back to it since. I’ll update you on my opinion when I finally finish watch it.
Typhoon
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: The Asian Cinema Collection
People told me this was like a “Korean Michael Bay action extravaganza” but the reality was considerably less than that. It’s actually like a Korean James Bond film but one in which the villain is given a full and interesting character arc too. Proceedings get a little ponderous here and there and the action is great when it comes in fits and starts, but it’s more a moralistic drama about the dysfunctional disconnect between North and South Korea at heart then it is a balls-to-the-walls action movie. A good bit of escapist fare with a weighty centre but not the type of film that would worry Hard Boiled’s standing as “greatest Asian action movie ever”.The Heartbreak Kid (2007)
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: The Farrelly Brothers Collection
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!The Painted Veil
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Under-Rated Gems
I burnt this for my (then) girlfriend and she absolutely adored it so I thought I would give it a go. You know what? I really liked it. I thought it was a lovely little film and really quite warm and romantic. It also has two really natural and involving performances by Edward Norton and Naomi Watts. If you get the chance, check this out!Get On The Bus
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: The Spike Lee Collection
I got this as a birthday present off a friend who is now pretty much dead to me as he tended to use my Amazon wishlist to help my collect my collections of particular directors. This was a bit of a disappointment if I’m honest. I think Spike Lee overcooked it and got too heavy on the moralising. I tend to defend the guy as best I can when people throw accusations that his films are overblown, overlong and always have problems with their endings. However, this is the one film where I think such accusations are correct. I own it out of a sense of completion only!30 Days of Night
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Cult Favourites
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Alan Carr: Tooth Fairy Live
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: The Stand Up Comedy Collection
I’ve been a big fan of Alan Carr’s for a while now. Back in 2000, whilst out in Australia, I shared a back-stage area with him on two separate occasions in two separate locations and got the chance to see him up close and personal as a performer and as a person. You might not think it because his act is pretty much camp and innuendo driven, but at heart he’s a lovely guy and a bit of a comedic genius. He should have broken onto the scene a long time ago but now that he has it just feels like it has been worth the wait. This, his first live DVD, is very funny, consistent stuff and probably top of the tree in terms of the slew of “comedy DVDs” that get thrown out at Christmas time each year.
We Own The Night
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED:
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Half Nelson
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Near Perfection
Believe everything you’ve heard about this film. It is that good. The very fact that Ryan Gosling didn’t win the Academy Award says everything that needs to be said about how wrong and out-of-date the Oscars are. It should have also got best screenplay and best supporting actress whilst they were dishing out the Awards. If we’re going to be critical about this fantastic little indie-done-good then you could say that it plays more like a serious of dramatic vignettes then it does a fully cohesive, complete movie but it’s a minor grumble in an otherwise stellar piece of filmmaking!Death Sentence
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: The ‘Revenge’ Collection
Sent to me for review purposes, you can read what I think of this film by clicking here!Seinfeld: Season 9
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Television Boxsets
The final season of what is, unarguably, one of the greatest sitcoms – if not the greatest – in the history of television, this is as consistently well-written, well-performed and well-executed as the seasons that preceded it. Every single episode of Seinfeld over its nine season run was flawless and this ninth twenty-odd episode run is no different. I know there’s people out there that feel completely burnt by the hour-long final episode in which the iconic foursome are jailed under the “Good Samaritan” law but I liked it. Yet again, and as has been the case with every DVD boxset for the show, the extras are fantastic!Rush Hour 3
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Pure Escapist Fun
I picked this up because a) it was cheap and b) I wanted a sense of completion what with owning and liking the first two films. You all know what I think of this film though but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!The Ladies Man
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Cult Favourites
I bought this as a cheap ‘grab’ because I’d heard good things about it and I read that Will Ferrell was in it, and I’m always willing to check out anything he is in. Plus, it’s a Saturday Night Live movie so I’m always up for lowering my standards and giving them a shot. This was a lovely little surprise though. It’s actually one of the best SNL films too with some great gags, a hilarious turn from not only Will Ferrell but Tim Meadows too. It’s not going to ever be considered the “funniest movie” of all time or top any “best of” lists but it is still a funny little cult gem!Super-Bad
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Cult Favourites
A Region 1 import, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Seraphim Falls
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: The ‘Revenge’ Collection
Effectively one extended chase sequence through the “Old West” as Pierce Brosnan is inexplicably chased through the seasons and the wilderness by an anger-fuelled Liam Neeson for reasons that we are not privy to until midway into the film’s final stretch. Some cracking little action sequences and a great sense of pace hold your attention but, whilst the revelation that drives Neeson in his pursuit is a suitably traumatic one, the ending is a bit of a wash-out and a let-down in comparison to all that has come before it!The Kingdom
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Near Perfection
A Region 1 import, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Waitress
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Under-Rated Gems
This Region 1 import is a really rather lovely little indie movie that got nowhere near the attention it deserved here in the UK. As standing tributes to the late (and clearly talented) Adrienne Shelly go, this is a beautiful one. It’s well written and directed and performed with such warmth by all involved that you just cannot help but get sucked up by its charm. Kerri Russell delivers a stellar performance, one of my favourites of 2007 in fact. Check this out by any means necessary. You won’t regret it!National Treasure: Book of Secrets
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Pure Escapist Fun
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Hatchet
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Cult Favourites
Thanks to AICN’s hype-machine and a few friends in the US who talked this up, I expected so much from this flick. So much so that I actually imported it on Region 1 DVD. It’s okay and if you ever want to see that little obnoxious blonde girl from Addams Family Values all grown-up and topless then this is worth a look. There are a couple of decent scares in amongst all the cut-price gore but the script is leaden, the acting pretty atrocious and it takes an age to get itself going. It’s completed over-hyped as a “return to the old school style of horror” simply because the mask-work on Victor Crowley (the film’s stock villain du jour) is so amateurish that you really cannot see him being compared to the likes of Kruger, Myers and Voohees (Kane Hodder – the original Jason Voohees from Friday The 13th plays Crowley in this film!) and, overall, the film is a bit of a wash-out. There’s been better horror films before this and I’m sure there will be after it. Wait to catch it on TV!Gone Baby Gone
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Modern Classics
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Cars
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Animation
I own this out of a sense of completion as I pretty much grab anything Pixar put out there but, along with A Bugs Life, this is definitely one of the weakest films in their catalogue. There’s a great voice cast involved (all hail whoever thought of putting Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt and Paul Newman together as the three leads!) but the script is far too preachy and saccharine, and – worst of all – for a film allegedly designed predominately for kids (although Pixar films are far more worthy then just for kids!) this is a criminally over-long film by a good thirty to forty minutes! I think John Lasseter’s ego got the better of him here!I Am Legend
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Pure Escapist Fun
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Commando: The Director’s Cut
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Old Childhood Favourites
Man, I friggin’ loved this film as a kid. I remember when my Dad used to run his own taxi firm in the mid to late eighties and he used to bring all the latest videos home through one of his drivers. I used to catch all of the big “adult” action blockbusters by sneaking downstairs at like five in the morning or something as a ten or eleven year old and plugging these massive stereo headphones into the side of our TV and sitting watching these illicit goods I wasn’t meant to be experiencing. I caught Die Hard, Robocop, Predator, The Terminator and Lethal Weapon 2 in the same way. This flick still stands up pretty damn well to be honest. It’s big, dumb, glossy, brainless fun of the highest order with a phenomenal sense of pace. It’s definitely worthy of being put up alongside Predator, The Terminator and Conan The Barbarian as blockbusters of real worth from within Arnie’s CV. And just to throw my own two-pennies worth out there on the controversial subject; Bennett (Vernon Wells) is so, so, so totally gay! He wants to fuck John Matrix so bad! Anyone who says any different is totally deluded! ;)Kenny
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Cult Favourites
You all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!The Burning
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Cult Favourites
I bought this on import for literally pennies because a friend of mine kept telling me that it was a gem of a horror flick from that early ‘slasher’ movie period at the start of the 80s. Well, I wouldn’t go that far! I’m glad I got it for next to nothing. It’s definitely no Halloween or Friday The 13th but it’s still an entertaining enough slice of B-movie horror cheese! Low-grade in every sense of the word with early work from Jason Alexander and Holly Hunter, this is the first movie produced by Bob and Harvey Weinstein and, rumour has it, a remake is winging its way to us in 2009 as one of a slew of quick, low-budget “easy” productions being pushed forth to fill the void left by the strike!Rendition
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Under-Rated Gems
You all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Someone’s Watching Me
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: The John Carpenter Collection
Allegedly the “lost” John Carpenter movie, this is to his fans what Duel is to Steven Spielberg’s. Not of the same quality mind you, but comparable in the sense that Spielberg’s talent came to light following his work on a TV movie that got greater notices then made-for-TV genre flicks normally do and Carpenter’s work here helped him secure his budgets and directorial services on Assault on Precinct 13 and Halloween, and gained a degree of critical acclaim too. In fact, you can see him trying various little camera tricks etc. here – in the story of a cocky, smart-mouthed woman (Lauren Hutton) who moves into a new apartment and gets stalked by a creepy, murderous voyeur - that he’d go on to perfect in those movies so I guess it wouldn’t be too unfair to say without this “dry run” then his early classics wouldn’t have had the confidence and sense of style they did. Still, it’s one for steadfast Carpenter collectors only though!Ratatouille
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Animation
You all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!
The Hand
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: The Oliver Stone Collection
I got this out of a sense of completion to my Oliver Stone collection otherwise I probably would never have made the effort to see it let alone own it. This is his directorial debut in what many consider to be “one of the worst movies ever made” (allegedly!). Personally, I didn’t think it was that bad. Okay so Michael Caine is awful in it, the script is dull, everyone acting in it is wooden as hell and the concept of a ‘killer hand’ detached from its owner is totally botched by a completely confusing execution. However, the film is directed with a real sense of style and as pulpy so-bad-that-they-are-good movies go, it is okay! However, it really has to be said that unless you’re an anal retentive collector of particular director’s complete works (like me!) then there is no reason whatsoever to indulge in this!The Hoax
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Under-Rated Gems
You all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Scrubs: Season 6
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Television Boxsets
I’m a huge fan of Scrubs and, whilst I’m aware there is allegedly only one more season left after this one, I do think that the show could possibly have outstayed its welcome already and, dare I say it, jumped the proverbial shark. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still hysterically funny, the cast are still wonderful and the supporting characters still “own” this fucking show from start to finish on each episode BUT it just feels that, story wise, they’re running on empty. The storyline involving Kim (a fantastic turn by Elizabeth Banks!) leaving/miscarrying and turning back up/pregnant is a stretch that’s not really needed and the re-introduction of the “will they or won’t they” shit by season’s end with Elliott and J.D is just so stale and unwelcome now. However, killing off a beloved character reinvigorates the show midseason a little and John C. McGinley is still an absolute unarguable God! Not bad, not even close in fact, but compared to the first five sublime seasons it’s a little disappointing!American Gangster
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Near Perfection
You all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!
Frankie & Johnny
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Near Perfection
I know this film has its haters but I flat out love it. I think it’s a lovely, lovely film with wonderful performances. Al Pacino is really, really likeable (but small!) and Michelle Pfieffer is nothing short of luminous. There’s people that just won’t tolerate this flick because they can’t take her ‘playing’ at being a dowdy waitress, but I think that’s really narrow-minded because she does a brilliant job here. This is just a nice film with a warm message and I really think it deserved more awards and recognition then it got. Definitely a film deserving of reappraisal!The Brave One
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: The Revenge Collection
You all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!
Titanic: The Definitive Collector’s Edition
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Collectors Editions & Boxsets
I finally gave in to temptation and bought this big four-disc set for £4 at the local supermarket. I’ve hated on this film for so long namely because a) I can’t stand Kate Winslet b) the script is atrocious c) the effects didn’t hold up for more than a year d) that Celine Dion song makes my bumhole bleed and e) it conned Curtis Hanson and LA Confidential out of the awards they deserved at that year’s Academy Awards. However, I caught the end of it on TV a few months back and I couldn’t help but admire the grand sense of scale and Cameron’s epic vision, regardless of how enormously flawed it is. Plus, for four quid, you can’t really pass it up because as ‘Rainy Sunday Afternoon Movies’ go this is one worthy of consideration!Atonement
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Miscellaneous Good Stuff
You all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!
Pee Wee’s Big Adventure
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Cult Favourites
Criminally still unavailable on Region 2, this is a cracking slice of cult cinema from the imagination of Paul ‘Pee Wee Herman’ Reubens and the directorial eye of a young Tim Burton. It still holds up to this day with a level of wit and inventiveness that can’t fail to impress in this wacky, off-kilter road movie which charts Pee Wee’s search to get his beloved bike back. Okay, the sequel (Big Top Pee-Wee) might be awful and Reubens may have effectively killed his career with self-abuse-in-porno-theatres (although his recent cameo on 30 Rock was inspired!) but this is still a real cult gem that you should definitely make space for on your shelf!No Country For Old Men
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: The Coen Brothers Collection
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Easy Money
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Miscellaneous Good Stuff
Man, as a kid I was crazy for this flick. I had an old, battered VHS version of it and I was obsessed with it. I wanted Rodney Dangerfield as my Dad (if Tom Selleck turned me down!) and I could quote this film from start to finish for a while. I imported it for like a pound or something recently and boy was I disappointed. It just didn’t hold up well at all. The gags are all in Dangerfield’s zingers and not in the concept (a slob has to give up all his vices for one year in order to win his mother-in-law’s $10 million fortune) and it takes a fucking age to get going (nearly 40 minutes, which is criminally slow for a comedy!). Once it does it’s over as soon as it’s underway. If ever there was a film ripe for a remake/reconditioning at the hands of Will Ferrell, Seth Rogen or John C. Reilly then this could well be it!Family Guy Presents Blue Harvest
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Television Boxsets
You all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!The Wizard
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Old Childhood Favourites
Another film I was utterly obsessed with as a kid and one which works kind of well in a neat little themed 80s double-bill with The Last Starfighter. It’s basically Rain Man for kids as we follow Fred Savage’s smarmy child steal his allegedly autistic estranged younger brother from his care home and takes him across America to take part in this big video game tournament. The overzealous Nintendo placement dates the flick more than anything but it’s still a charming, well-intentioned movie that holds up surprisingly well as a form of entertainment. The subplot involving Beau Bridges and Christian Slater battling a mean children-hating bounty hunter is really fun. A real guilty pleasure!Stardust
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Under-Rated Gems
A Region 1 import, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!My Name Is Earl: Season 2
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Television Boxsets
Season 1 did what it normally takes a show at least two to three seasons to do – it instilled itself in my heart as one of my favourite sitcoms! Season 2 is broader and more confident with stories reaching outside of one episode and going across the whole 22 episode arc. The cast are funnier and more assured and, whilst there’s less of the unique gleam that was present in Season 1 because we’re now well aware of the concept, it’s still probably one of the most loveable shows on TV at the moment and Jamie Pressley is still a scene-stealing tornado of hilarity with every second of screen time that she has!The Mist
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Pure Escapist Fun
Another R1 DVD very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Top Gear: The Polar Challenge
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Television Boxsets
I’m not sure how familiar you American readers are with the show Top Gear here in the UK but, for those not in the know, it is essentially a nerdy show for those types who are obsessed with cars and all things car related. Think of it as “car porn” for the types who like to fuck the exhaust of an Aston Martin DB9 rather then the vagina of an attractive girl. It’s presented by a very tall obnoxious loud-mouth xenophobic bigot called Jeremy Clarkson, and co-presented by Richard Hammond, a diminutive bloke who likes to think of himself as an “average joe everyman” type (and who took on a saint like status a couple of years back here in the UK when he crashed a car whilst trying to break a speed record, went into a coma and showed how depressingly awful us Brits are for pawing over any and every celebrity tragedy!) but who comes across like a bit of an arrogant sod, and James May, a tall, bulging hippy-headed posh type who proves to be the butt of the other two’s jokes but comes across as the most likeable of the three. If you’re not an exhaust-fucking type then the TV show has very limited appeal, as it does for me. But what really makes the show worth checking out occasionally is the “challenges” the hosts set themselves – which are often funny, inventive and great entertainment. This DVD release is of the show’s most audacious challenge yet; Clarkson and May teaming up in a severely modified Toyota truck to take on Hammond in a dog slay, as they attempt a 450 mile race to the North Pole. It’s thoroughly interesting and intelligent documentary filmmaking and it really makes you wish that they’d take the main show and give it over to nothing more then these types of challenges… and the sometimes hilarious “Stars in Reasonably Priced Cars” segment!Top Gear: The USA Special
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Television Boxsets
So if you’ve read the above paragraph then you’ll know what the show, Top Gear, is essentially all about and you’ll know that Jeremy Clarkson is the very tall obnoxious loud-mouth xenophobic bigot, Richard Hammond is the midget who likes to think of himself as an “average joe everyman” type but who comes across like a bit of an arrogant sod, and James May is the tall, bulging hippy-headed posh type who proves to be the butt of the other two’s jokes but comes across as the most likeable of the three. This is another of the likeable ‘challenges’ the trio are set – here having to find and purchase $1000 (or under) cars and drive them 700 miles to New Orleans. Clarkson opts for a Chevy, May goes with a Cadillac and Hammond buys a pick-up. Along the way they try to prepare and eat a ‘road kill feast’ and avoid being seriously beaten by some locals in Alabama for decorating their vehicles with pro-homosexuality and anti-religious graffiti. Not as awe-inspiringly impressive as The Polar Challenge but still great entertainment none the less!Saw IV
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Pure Escapist Fun
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!101 Dalmations
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Animation
This is one of my absolute favourite animated movies of all time. I went to the cinema to see it when I was really, really young and I broke the VHS tape of it by over-watching it. Rewatching it again recently with my nephew whose four was a brilliant experience because it reawakened the “big kid” in me (some say he never actually went to sleep in the first place) and it gave me the opportunity to experience just how timeless the latter day hand-drawn Walt Disney productions are to today’s children. An indisputable classic in the genre of animation!Primeval Kill
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Guilty Pleasures
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Into The Wild
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Near Perfection
This completely passed me by at the time of its release. One minute I was being offered a DVD screener of it for review, it never showed up. The next minute I was hearing about it getting a R2 release on DVD and I was like “Woah, wait, this is meant to be a shoe-in for Oscar nominations and all sorts and you’re not even giving it a cinema release?” But supposedly in my local area (Newcastle Upon Tyne) it did indeed get a release – of eight days with the Odeon chains and one day at our local art-house cinema. Disgraceful. And they pulled the same shit with There Will Be Blood. And don’t even get me started that one of the best reviewed films of the last month, Out of the Blue, isn’t even getting a release outside of London it would seem! Fucking idiots! Meet The Spartans is on two screens at my local multiplex. The apocalypse is coming! Nevertheless, I bought this “cold” (i.e. without having rented it or seen it at the cinema first) which is something I always try and avoid to do if it can be helped, but it paid off here as this was a majestic, beautifully shot, tragic piece of cinema. Like all of Sean Penn’s directorial output, it’s a little unsteady here and there and overlong by about twenty minutes, but that doesn’t detract from its beauty and the stellar performances!In The Valley Of Elah
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Modern Classics
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Pathfinder
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Guilty Pleasures
I got sent this for review at the time of its DVD release (yup, think back to how long ago that was eh?) but the awful reviews I’d read for it just completely turned me off to it so it went straight to the bottom of the ‘Great Unwatched Pile’. I was drunk last week and looking for something to fall asleep to so I threw this on and when I woke up in the morning I had this strange feeling I couldn’t shake that Pathfinder was a film I was actually enjoying. So I stuck it back on, hungover as hell, and enjoyed it for what it was; a supremely stupid piece of action nonsense in which Indians battle Vikings. Its script is awful and the acting is dire but the action sequences are well shot and regular enough to take command over all the flaws. It’s most definitely one of those films that is so bad that it is good. So much so that I slipped it into the Guilty Pleasures section rather than give it away!Juno
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Near Perfection
Another DVD screener copy very kindly sent to me, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!The Brothers Soloman
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Guilty Pleasures
I’m a big Saturday Night Live fan and an even bigger fan of Kristen Wiig. This started out so friggin’ well. For the first twenty minutes I could not believe that this was getting such atrocious reviews. I thought it was hysterical. Seriously, I laughed and laughed and laughed for the first half hour. It’s all solid gold, misogynistic, politically incorrect humour and I couldn’t help but giggle. Then Kristen Wiig arrives and… they’ve lumbered the funniest woman in the industry presently (and the successor to Catherine O’ Hara’s title of “Queen of Comedy”!) with the ‘straight’ role for Will Forte and Will Arnett to bounce off. It’s a move that the film doesn’t recover from and as desperate, stupid and lazy as it gets midway through its second act, the one person who could save it all with nothing more than a facial expression or a warped line delivery is stuck out of the comedy loop. I was so letdown by this film that I couldn’t even bring myself to review it – which kind of defeats the object of being sent it for review purposes I know. But I’ve made up for it now. I just hope this grows on me like Hot Rod did.South Park: ImaginationLand – The Director’s Cut
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Animation
Another Region 1 DVD very kindly sent to me for review purposes, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!The Last Starfighter
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Old Childhood Favourites
This used to be my all time favourite film when I was like eleven or twelve years of age. I totally bought into the concept and, because I was a whiz on Double Dragon I kept thinking that one day some mysterious dude was going to turn up and tell me I was needed to kick some shit overseas for a while (I’m still here if you need me President Bush?) . I over-watched this film to the point of saturating any fun from it but have reconnected with it again when I imported it for a couple of quid. It hasn’t stood up too well but the effects are admirable and it’s a real fun flick at heart. I didn’t realise till recently that the Nick Castle who directed this was the same Nick Castle who played Michael Myers in John Carpenter’s original Halloween. Small world huh?Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: ?
Another Region 1 DVD very kindly sent to me for review purposes, which I have unfortunately not had the time to watch yet but which is obviously something I am desperate to get round to watching because Philip Seymour Hoffman and Albert Finney are in this and Sidney Lumet is directing. I really want to see this and I’m actually a little confused as to why I haven’t played it yet!Bug
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Under-Rated Gems
Another Region 1 DVD very kindly sent to me for review purposes, you all know what I think of this film but you can refresh yourself of my opinion by just clicking right here!Extras: The Extra Special Christmas Finale
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Television Boxsets
I couldn’t wait for the inevitable “special features” soaked R2 release of this. I loved this so much when I saw it on BBC over Christmas that I rush bought a cheap copy of the R1 release from Canada. I still think it’s an impressive piece of work that works just as well as a drama as it does as a comedy, but what struck me watching this “Americanised” version of it is just how clunky the inserted “for the US” gags are. Would a British shop-owner really pass comment on Sanjaya from American Idol or know who he is for example? The “Kramer” dolls bit is funny though. I do think Gervais and Merchant’s pretentious “follow the Fawlty Towers” template of getting out in two series has left them leaving this too wide-open and too early in the run. There was still so much ground they could have covered, so much more comment they could have made about popular culture and the entertainment industry and so much more they could have done with the four key characters. Leaving it how they have is a little ‘bitter’, but also a little ‘sweet’. Bittersweet, if you will. But this is still a really impressive “TV movie”.Saturday Night Live: The 80s – Lost & Found
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Television Boxsets
This is a documentary that interviews all the important figures from Saturday Night Live during the decade of the 80s (minus Eddie Murphy of course because, depending on what story you’ve heard or which mood he’s in when he answers questions regarding the show, he’s either pissed off with Lorne Michaels for letting David Spade make fun of him and his failing movie career back in the mid-nineties OR he feels like he was treat badly and used as a “slave” during his tenure on the show!) and, if you’re a fan of SNL like me, then you’ll know that the 80s is a good subject matter to delve deeply into because a) it was the most tumultuous in SNL’s history b) it gave us the show’s worst ever period (1985 – 1986) c) it was the most banal in terms of controversy (asides from Charles Rocket saying “fuck” live on air, most of the exciting stuff took place behind the scenes where SNL staved off cancellation up to five times over a couple of years!) and d) despite acquiring the talents of Christopher Guest, Billy Crystal, Martin Short, Phil Hartman, Julia Louis Dreyfuss, Eddie Murphy, Joe Piscapo and, for a time, Larry David, SNL during the 80s will always be remembered for hiring Randy Quaid, Anthony Michael Hall and the Belushi brother that still had a pulse. If you’re a fan of the show or just really interested in the history of American comedy then this is a cracking little purchase that’s well worth a look, if only for some of the sketches that are used as part of the compilations.The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: ?
Another Region 1 DVD very kindly sent to me for review purposes, which I have unfortunately not had the time to watch yet but which is obviously something I am desperate to get round to watching thanks to Kristina’s stellar review of it!
The Darjeeling Limited
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: ?
Another Region 1 DVD very kindly sent to me for review purposes, which I have unfortunately not had the time to watch yet but just how bad can it be when it’s from the guy who gave us Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tennebaums and Life Aquatic?
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: The ‘Revenge’ Collection
Another Region 1 DVD very kindly sent to me for review purposes, which I have unfortunately not had the time to watch yet.Beowulf
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Animation
Another Region 1 DVD very kindly sent to me for review purposes, which I have unfortunately not had the time to watch yet but I will. I really need to lay off the 30 Rock boxset and make some time for this!Seven Days In May
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: The ‘Conspiracy’ Collection
Criminally unavailable here in the UK, no self respecting fan of the ‘Conspiracy Movie’ subgenre can have a collection without including John Frankenheimer’s stellar suspense classic. With startling swiftness and violence, the US military turns on its own country and attempts at coup d’etat, led by a ruthless Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman (Burt Lancaster) who is angered by what he sees as a weak president (Fredric March) with a pacifist agenda. The survival of the republic is at stake and when an army colonel (Kirk Douglas) uncovers the scheme he has to go vigilante to stop the takeover scheme within its seven day countdown. Best of all though, the film is still as fresh and bold to watch today as it was to its shocked audiences back in 1963. I would love to see a Paul Greengrass or Oliver Stone remake with George Clooney in the Douglas role, Michelle Pfieffer taking on Ava Gardner’s role, Bruce Willis in the Lancaster role and Tommy Lee Jones in the role as the president (what a departure that would be for him?). I can but dream. They probably will remake it one day though – only with Brett Ratner directing Orlando Bloom, Dane Cook, Keira Knightley and Leslie Neilson. Noooooo!!!Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: The Oliver Stone Collection
I never saw the original cut when it was released either at the cinema or on DVD. I stayed away from the Director’s Cut until it was well under a fiver so I could add it to my subsection marked ‘The Oliver Stone Collection’ but no sooner did it become a mainstay on the “bargain bin” circuit then word leaked out that an extended, fully re-formed and re-edited “final cut” was going to be released. For the purposes of comprehensiveness I knew I would have to own it if I was going to have a fully collection of Oliver Stone’s movies but I was really unsure about this film; I’d heard awful things AND I cannot abide Colin Farrell (although Kristina is really trying to turn me around on him since she saw In Bruges). Low and behold someone bought me this as a thank you present recently. I haven’t watched it yet so even after this lengthy and unnecessary ramble, I cannot tell you what I think of it. I’ll maybe throw out a review when I do get round to watching it though.High Road To China
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Old Childhood Favourites
Oh man! Oh man! Oh man! I’ve wanted this film for so long. I was obsessed with it as a child. It sort of made sense to me that it not only exists but that it exists and I secretly love it, regardless of the fact that the rest of the world seems to hate it. You see, I love Tom Selleck in a completely heterosexual “I wish I was him or at the very least that he was my dad!” sort of way. And as a result I love Magnum PI both back as a child and even now as I’m nostalgically revisiting each boxset. My favourite movie trilogy is the Indiana Jones movies – the title role of which was meant for Tom Selleck but he couldn’t take it because he was contracted to Magnum PI. You still with me? So after the success of the Indy movies, and the continuing success of Magnum on TV, Selleck said yes to making his own “version” of Raiders with him as a roguish biplane pilot who helps a distraught young woman find her missing father and who gets into a whole world of action, adventure and romance along the way… and it flopped badly! Not to me it didn’t. I have spent the last seven years trying desperately to lay my hands on a copy. I eventually found a copy in Sweden for the princely sum of £2 but getting it brought over here was going to cost me ten times that. I threw caution to the wind, called in a few favours and got it to my door from Sweden for under £6 and I’ve never been as happy to revisit my childhood as when I threw this on my HDTV, upgraded the DVD to 1081i and just fell in love with this stupendous piece of action nonsense all over again. It’s nowhere near as bad as it’s been made out to be. In fact it’s a film screaming to be, at least, released on DVD so everyone can re-evaluate it for yourself.30 Rock – Season 1
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Television Boxsets
Let’s keep it short and to the point – this is the funniest new show on TV. And for once a British TV channel (Five) imported a hit American show and treat it with great respect, i.e. a regular timeslot that went unmessed with and a generous marketing campaign. Kudos to them and I look forward to them bringing us season 2 of what is an absolute joy of a show. General boo’s to the DVD boxset though that deletes all mention of the initial pilot and the drastic overhaul the show was given before going to air. And if Tracey Morgan is the “new Eddie Murphy” then can we just cut straight to the chase, sack Murphy from Beverly Hills Cop 4 and cast Morgan as Axel Foley?Hidden (aka Cache)
TO BE STORED IN THE SECTION MARKED: Modern ClassicsFinal frame says it all! A work of genius!
And that’s it! I can definitely breathe a sigh of relief and say that that is all my DVDs reviewed and listed. It’s done. It’s over. We’re finished. What the hell do I do with my time now? Fucking hell! I’m going to have to find a new hobby, one that will allow me to watch films, drink Corona and smoke excessively whilst I do it. Sexual intercourse could very well fit the bill!
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