Mortuary - 2005
I have a couple of relatively unkind comments about this movie. If you are easily offended, you might want to skip to the next movie. First, time has not been kind to Denise Crosby. I have fond memories of her in the first season of Star Trek, Next Generation. I guess I don't realize how long ago that was.
Secondly, this movie is supposedly directed by Tobe Hooper, who gave us the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Poltergeist. You sure couldn't tell by watching this flick. Once again, we have a crappy movie that can't decide what it is. And where's the gore? A movie like this NEEDS gore. Instead we have a movie about a giant loser. Hey, us losers don't need to see that. :->
There were no subtitles, but there is a commentary by Tobe, Andrew Cohen, and a producer (didn't note which). Tobe sounds like a pretty odd duck. Keeps talking about "Corpse Jerky", and refers to craft services as the Bacteria Train. Yikes!
Sunday, Feb. 4, 2007
Xtro 2 - 1991
Lots of "off screen" gore, and of course, Jan Michael Vincent is a big negative, so you can just imagine how hard this sucks. If you said "Hard!" you would be right. God, JMV is without a doubt the most wooden actor EVER. He makes the guys in Terrahawks, Supercar and Fireball XL5 seem lifelike. (wonder how many folks will get THAT reference!)
And once again, the device of "never tell anyone what you know for fear they'll call you crazy" is used to bad effect. Hey, here's a clue! THEY ALREADY THINK YOU'RE NUTS! How about cluing your folks into what's going on. I HATE that!
In the end, this is a JAAC. "Just Another Alien Clone".
Monday, February 5, 2007
Xtro 3 - 1995
Starts out slow and stupid, looking like a combination of Roswell and Predator. then we get to this Alien Autopsy-type thing, and it starts to get effective. The idea that an alien is driven insane because he is forced to watch a crew mate dissected alive is a good idea. It at least explains why the alien is a psychopathic killer. So now we have an angry grey. Interesting.
Much better than 2, which is damning with faint praise, but still....
In the end, this combines several elements into something new and different. Bummer ending, though. And with no subs and no commentary, the disc is a disappointment. Still, it's better than 2.
Tuesday, Feb 6, 2007
Corridors of Blood - 1958
This UK product is a Criterion release. And unlike the last couple I've seen, this one was excellent. Boris Karloff, in a movie directed by the man who gave us First Man Into Space. And I didn't even recognize Christopher Lee. It's not until you hear his voice that you know who it is.
This is not so much a horror movie as a character study in obsession and addiction. And no one can do the tortured soul like Karloff. (well, except for maybe Lon Chaney Jr as Larry Talbort).
There is a commentary (and there are subtitles, for those keeping score) by Tom Weaver (Mister Criterion commentary himself) and Richard Gordon (the Exec. Producer). It's awfully dry, but lots of historical data, which helped me get thru it. Gordon doesn't like Christopher Lee (which is unusual, I think he's the first I've heard who's talked bad about him).
Other extras include Corridor Gossip, which is a documentary with director Day and Francis Matthews (who played son Jonathan). They reminisce about the 6 week shoot. More nice historical info. There's also an audio interview with Yvonne Romain and Tom Weaver, which is much more lively than the commentary. Finally, there's Censor Cuts, which documents what the British Censors demanded to be cut back in 1958. That was pretty telling.
Overall, this was the best Criterion disc I've seen (both in content and extras) in quite a while.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Clive Barker's The Plague - 2006
This is a VERY novel zombie movie, featuring Ivana Milicevic (Vanilla Sky, Paycheck). And my favorite "mother figure", Dee Wallace-Stone (who we just saw in Abominable), as well as Frighteners, ET, The Howling, and the original The Hills Have Eyes!
Subtitles, and a commentary with the cast and editor (but no, no Clive Barker). Good natured talk, but precious little tech talk. A $3.5M budget, with a 20 day shoot. Towards the end, there's a little tech talk.
Other extras include some good deleted scenes.
But I got a major rant against this disc. It's not the movie, its the DVD itself. Every freakin' menu takes you to Previews first. That is flatly unacceptable. I usually don't watch trailers. I certainly don't want them thrust down my throat over and over again.
Thursday, Feb 8, 2007
Sayonara Jupiter - 1983
You sure can tell this is a product of the Star Wars/Return of the Jedi era. The score alone SCREAMS John Williams. It just has that vibe/feel.
This is a great = bad movie. Any movie where a female says "I honestly wanted to stop your project because....I love you" and then features a weightless sex scene is okay by me.
And what a cool idea! Converting Jupiter into a sun so that other planets have a closer sun. Unfortunately, they seem to ignore the enormous gravitational field of Jupiter.
Extras include a Making of featurette with lots of good details. It too is subtitled. But Holy Crap, this movie took 5 years?!? How the hell can you afford that, if nothing else. There are also several article (text) features, which are fairly interesting.
Friday, Feb 9, 2007
The Isle - 2000
This Korean import has hard coded subtitles (since there's no English track). For some reason, I thought this was a horror movie. But IMDB doesn't list it as Horror, and looking back, neither does Netflix, so I really don't know why I added this to the queue. It has a couple of uncomfortable moments, like many movies from the that side of the planet.
WAY too artsy for me. I'm just sitting here, waiting for something to happen. And then you get hit by it. WTF?!? These people don't act like people at all! They all just act senselessly weird.
many will call it art. I just call it dumb and pointless.
Only extras are interviews and a making of, but there are no subs on the making of, so there's no telling what they're saying. Why would you release a Region 1 DVD with only Korean dialogue?
Thomas In Love - 2000
Second to last disk from the late lamented William Shatner DVD Club. This was a really novel, interesting movie. A young man with agrophobia (can't go outside) looks for love via a videophone and a cybersuit.
Much better than The Isle. Engaging and well played. In french, with subtitles. There is also a subtitled making of that was pretty interesting. Funny to see the guy's face, since you never do in the movie (it's all shot from his perspective). An interesting little flick if you're looking for something foreign and novel.
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