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The East

If you’ve seen one, you haven’t seen them all. But you should, and The East — unjustly ignored in theaters earlier this summer amid such competition as Man of Steel, This Is the End and World War Z — is now available on Blu-ray from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. It’s still one of the 10 […]

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Fright Night 2: New Blood

Charley (the unappealing Will Payne) and his pal Evil Ed (the even more unappealing Chris Waller) take a class trip to Romania, where low budgets for such sequels go far. Says Charley will all the enthusiasm he can muster, “So … Romania, huh?,” and viewers may agree.  But then our show’s vampire, college professor Gerri […]

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Sex Kittens Go to College

1. The character with the silly name of Woo Woo Grabowski? He’s played by the actor with the silly name of Woo Woo Grabowski.  2. Not only has Warner Archive rescued this kooky comedy from nowheresville, but brings us the “extended international version.” That means boobs.  Once Orson Welles’ producer, Albert Zugsmith ditched prestige to […]

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How to Seduce a Virgin

As played by Franco regular Alice Arno, Martine is one kinky countess. Moving back into her castle mansion after a stint in a mental institution, she gets off on luring young women there under the pretense of modeling, only to take them into her basement for “games.”    Leering and only semi-lucid, How to Seduce […]

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Corruption

One of the first I added to my list was 1968’s Corruption, a mad, mod thriller starring Hammer horror icon — and later Star Wars‘ Grand Moff Tarkin — Peter Cushing. As luck would have it, Grindhouse Releasing has made my search nonexistent with a Blu-ray/DVD combo that marks its North American video debut.  Another […]

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This Is the End

Playing exaggerated versions of themselves, Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel go to a party at the house of James Franco. Surrounded by all of their Judd Apatow bros, including Jonah Hill, Michael Cera and Craig Robinson (star of the similar, simultaneous Rapture-Palooza) — all playing even more greatly exaggerated versions of themselves — they party it […]

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The Secret of Crickley Hall

Based on a 2006 novel by recently deceased UK horror icon James Herbert, Crickley Hall concerns a family in mourning. Nearing the first anniversary of their unthinkable tragedy, the foursome moves temporarily to the title abode to escape reminders of death. You know what they say about best intentions, right? Because, as the youngest of […]

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The Hangover Part III

In response, for this summer’s The Hangover Part III, director Todd Phillips and the gang did something totally different. Complained the multiplex populace, “It’s not enough like the first one!” America, you fickle, fickle bastard. What’s funny about the whole thing is that both sequels are, well, funny. Yet The Hangover Part III just can’t […]

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Shiver

That’s where the fun of Shiver starts. That’s where the fun of Shiver stops.    In Portland, a killer (John Jarratt, Wolf Creek) who calls himself The Gryphon (sounds like “Griffin”) delights in offing women and, as the aforementioned line has it, keeps their heads in jars as trophies. His latest target is a secretary […]

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