Horror Rod Lott
Attention, class, "Night School" is now in session. Today's lesson: how
to capitalize on the slasher craze started by "Friday the 13th" without
the benefit of having a holiday in your title. This 1981 B movie gets an
A for effort, because it does give it the ol' college try.
Now that holiday season is into full swing, I’m going to start pimping some DVD releases that should not be overlooked for gift possibilities. While not for everyone, certainly there’s somebody on your list who might appreciate such a disc.
We start with the “Official 2011 World Series Film,” which hit stores yesterday. I don’t follow sports, but friends who do tell me this year’s World Series was a big deal, especially if you were rooting for the St. Louis Cardinals. From what I understand, they had one helluva season, and one that began in a less-than-favorable way. But turnaround after turnaround resulted in — spoiler alert! — the team beating the Texas Rangers and walking off with its 11th series championship, a franchise record.
“Official 2011 World Series Film” relives that championship season in a documentary format that features highlights, interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, all narrated by “Mad Men” star Jon Hamm, whose mere voice turns women to Silly Putty.
Horror Rod Lott
Judging by the hype surrounding the DVD release of “The Burning Moon,” one would think Intervision has done cult-film enthusiasts a solid by preserving this 1997 obscurity for all mankind.
Thriller Rod Lott
Not to be confused with 2007’s Steel Trap, 1952’s The Steel Trap is an obscure slice of semi-noir in a Leave It to Beaver
world. That’s exactly why I liked it, and it’s made an overdue DVD
debut courtesy of Warner Archive, which probably still has vaults
overflowing with this sort of stuff.
Television series Rod Lott
Fans won't need much convincing (if at all) to plunk down their choice of currency for a purchase of Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXIII
(that's "23," dummies), because by now, Shout! Factory's rep for
packing these boxes with genuine care and irresistible extras is
rock-solid.
Renaissance man Takeshi Kitano peruses Japan’s mean streets.
Thriller Rod Lott
A pact is worthless when it exists between two criminal families. Piss
one off, and war breaks out. In his 15th directorial outing, Outrage: Way of the Yakuza,
Takeshi Kitano examines one such flare-up and its ever-brutal
consequences. The gangster world marks material he's delved into before,
but so has Martin Scorsese, and Kitano is arguably Japan's equivalent.
Amid this nation's debate over the so-called "Obamacare" plan, one
question has been unanswered, until now: "When are Roger Corman's nurse
movies going to get a proper DVD release?" As we say regularly on these
digital pages, Shout! Factory to the rescue.
Television series Rod Lott
Consider the lines "I'm going to T.J. Maxx for a while. I'll catch up
with you guys later" and "I always thought it was a myth, like
fibromyalgia." Interest piqued? If yes, Eagleheart awaits!
