The Vengeance of Fu Manchu

Confucius say ... WTF?!?

Thriller
Rod Lott
For very different reasons, I'll watch any movie with Vincent Price, Bill Murray, Jackie Chan or Carla Gugino. Falling into the first category is 1962's Confessions of an Opium Eater, a rare Price vehicle rare no more, thanks to a DVD debut from Warner Archive.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Chernobyl Diaries

Another reason not to visit Russia, if you needed it.

Horror
Rod Lott
Famously, tragedy plus time equals comedy. Do they also equal horror? Up to you, but Chernobyl Diaries goes for it anyway.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Gone in 60 Seconds: Car Crash King Edition

For pure automobile action, it’s ‘Gone,’ baby, ‘Gone.’

Action
Rod Lott
Compared to its 2000 big-budget remake, H.B. Halicki's Gone in 60 Seconds is deficient in slickness, star power, performances, plotting and humor. Yet the 1974 indie original decimates the Hollywood version as an all-around entertainment. Why? Two simple reasons, boiled down to numbers: some 500 vehicles wrecked and a 40-minute chase scene.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Rites of Passage

Wrongs make 'Rites.'

Thriller
Rod Lott
Rites of Passage's box art of boring actors’ faces should switch with the illustration adorning the actual disc: a play on the ol' skull and crossbones logo, but using a sock monkey and shotguns. That's what convinced me the film might be worth its 102 minutes. Ultimately, it's not, but its first half makes for an interesting mess.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Americano

Salma Hayek stripping isn't even the film's best element.

Drama
Rod Lott
Mathieu Demy's Americano opens with a little death, followed immediately by a big one, as Frenchmen Martin (Demy) receives one of those middle-of-the-night phone calls that deliver the worst of bad news: His mother has died.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Maximum Conviction

And minimal competence.

Action
Rod Lott
In Maximum Conviction, Steve Austin forever speaks like there’s a pinch of Skoal eating through the corner of his bottom lip, but I have no idea what’s going on with Steven Seagal’s accent attempt: Southern? Cajun? Ebonics? An overly phlegmy head cold? Your guess is as good as mine, and unfortunately, I’ve seen the movie.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

It’s a TV-on-DVD fall frenzy!

Featuring nine shows about zombies and maids and gigolos and gladiators and government agents and visitors from the grave and ...

Television series
Rod Lott
With the arrival of fall, a whole new crop of television series has debuted. And yet, I can’t say I’ve caught many more than maybe two. See, I’ve been too busy catching up on all these shows on Blu-ray and DVD — shows such as these fine nine ...

Friday, October 26, 2012

Ms. Jackson if you're nasty

CFN
Gazette staff
In the Oct. 31 issue of Oklahoma Gazette, you'll find a review of Okie-born Wanda Jackson's brand-new album, Unfinished Business, which our writer deems "sexy."

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

'Shout' it out loud

The American Indian drama 'Shouting Secrets' imparts a universal message of family.

Features
Louis Fowler
Shouting Secrets
7:30 p.m. Thursday
Oklahoma City Museum of Art
415 Couch
okcmoa.com
236-3100
$5-$8

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

The Sorcerers

Boris Karloff gets hooked on a feeling.

Horror
Rod Lott
Boris Karloff plays one of The Sorcerers in an obscure 1967 thriller from Warner Archive. To be more precise, he’s Dr. Marcus Monserrat, “practitioner of medical hypnosis.” Yet what he and his wife (Catherine Lacey, The Lady Vanishes) really itch to try out is something more sinister.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012