Megan Is Missing
‘Megan’ is annoying
Girls, Guns and G-Strings: The Andy Sidaris Collection
Super-cheap, super-great set of 12 films blending T&A and TNT
Hansel & Gretel: Warriors of Witchcraft
With utterly Grimm results.
National Lampoon’s Dirty Movie
Well, at least they tried something different.
Beneath the Dark
Mildly spellbinding, well-made indie thriller
I Spit on Your Grave (1978/2010)
If it doesn't bother you, there's something wrong with you
Big Tits Zombie
Shot in Japan, but you probably knew that.
Scream / Scream 2 / Scream 3
The younger are they are, the worse off
The Sentiment of the Flesh
What’s French for ‘Your spleen is cute’?
Galaxina / The Crater Lake Monster
Two totally unexpected Blu-ray remasters
Tuesday 21 May
OKG Newsletter
DVDs
Of Dolls & Murder
Who knew playing with dolls could help fight crime?
Documentary
Rod Lott
Susan Marks' Of Dolls & Murder is a rather straightforward documentary on an oddball subject: forensic pathologists teaching medical investigation skills to police officers via "nutshell studies."
Cherry Bomb
It's a real dud.
Action
Rod Lott
With the John Cougar Mellencamp song "Cherry Bomb," our hearts were really thumping. With the film Cherry Bomb, however, it barely registers a pulse.
Zoom In: Sex Apartments
A nice place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there.
Thriller
Rod Lott
It's both a blessing and a shame that Zoom In: Sex Apartments carries such an exploitative title: a blessing because it may trick some horny guys into watching a better movie than they'd expect, and a shame because, well, Sex Apartments. (Hey, it could be worse: The original subtitle was Rape Apartments.)
Black Limousine
A better ride than expected.
Drama
Rod Lott
Composer Jack McKenzie (David Arquette, Scream 4) is not at his best. His career has tanked due to sobriety issues stemming from an auto accident that killed one of his two children with his now ex-wife. To clear his mind and pay the bills, he takes a gig as a limo driver.
The Deep Blue Sea
Rachel Weisz commits the vice of adultery in a drama so pedestrian-paced, it makes sex look boring.
Drama
Rod Lott
Don’t confuse last year’s drama The Deep Blue Sea with Deep Blue Sea, the 1999 action movie about sharks. Based on a stage play, this is the one that could use some sharks.
Django, Kill! (If You Live Shoot!)
Viewer, watch!
Western
Rod Lott
Is there a title more intriguing yet baffling than the punctuation-heavy Django, Kill! (If You Live Shoot!)? Don't answer that. The important thing is just that the 1967 Italian cult favorite now has been unleashed uncensored on Blu-ray from Blue Underground.
Extraterrestrial
A close encounter of the awkward kind.
Sci-Fi
Rod Lott
One of the hotter tickets at last fall's Fantastic Fest was Extraterrestrial. I couldn't get in. I understood why at the time: It's the new film from Timecrimes director Nacho Vigalondo! Now that I've seen it, I wonder how many who did get in wish they hadn't. It's a huge disappointment.
Too Big to Fail
Why greed is not good.
Drama
Rod Lott
Whereas the 2010 documentary Inside Job gave a big-picture view at how Wall Street nearly eroded the American economy, the HBO telefilm Too Big to Fail dramatizes the behind-the-scenes dealings.
Chesty Morgan's Bosom Buddies
You're in for a real t(r)eat.
21 Jump Street
For a good time, 'Jump' on it.
Comedy
Rod Lott
To enjoy 21 Jump Street, one need not have been a fan of the 1987-91 Fox TV series of the same name. You might even enjoy the film more if you hated the show, notable only for making Johnny Depp a star. While not an outright parody per se, the action comedy does poke fun at how ridiculous the series' premise was.
American Animal
If he were my roomie, I’d be on trial for murder now.
Comedy
Rod Lott
Here now, a list of things that the protagonist (antagonist?) of American Animal does over the course of the film:
The Hunter
Catch a tiger by his Dafoe.
Drama
Rod Lott
Forgive the bland title; The Hunter stands tall as a terrific thriller from Down Under, arguably three-fourths excellent.
Bullhead
A drama with balls about a guy with none.
Drama
Rod Lott
One of this year's Academy Award nominees for Best Foreign Language Film, the Belgian drama Bullhead does nothing to change the public perception that the category's entrants wear perpetual frowns. After all, its protagonist so clearly, so early, states his life's motto: "You're always fucked."
New York Stories
One outta three ain’t bad, when that one is Scorsese.
Drama
Rod Lott
I have fond memories of seeing John Ritter in Blake Edwards’ 1989 sex comedy, Skin Deep, in theaters ... because right after it was over, two friends and I snuck into the movie we really wanted to see: another newcomer, New York Stories.
Freak Dance
Comedy
Rod Lott
It pains me to say that Freak Dance, a film from the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy troupe, isn't much better than the Wayans brothers' dreadful 2009 Dance Flick. Both parody dance-off movies (duh), but only one earned a nationwide theatrical release. Freak Dance's DVD debut comes two years after its completion; it's not that bad, but yeah, it's bad.
