Week of Friday June 6 through Thursday June 12, 2008

Friday June 6, 2008
Splatter Rampage Double Feature
Film Crew - 2008

Yes, it's more Chris Seaver fun from Low Budget Pictures. Yah, mon, its da bomb. And although the movie itself is short, there are two commentaries.

Commentary #1, cast & crew. It's 1AM and they tired and crazy. They are trashing everybody. For some reason, I have no notes on Com #2. I can't remember if that means I didn't listen, or it was just dull, or what.

Wet Heat - no date (neither of these movies is in IMDB for some reason)

More Teen Ape goodness. This one is a clever "To Catch a Predator" & Escape From New York hybrid. Very fun.

Commentary by cast & crew again. More details than either of the previous commentaries. (okay, so I guess that means I DID listen to the second). Lots of tech details. Other extra is Teen Ape Sex School. She's heavy, but nice big boobies. This disc is a steal!

Saturday, June 7, 2008
Appleseed, Ex Machina - 2007

Produced by John Woo, so you know it's gonna be beautiful. And it is. Animated violence choreographed to perfection. This movie is absolutely gorgeous. Very nice, great plot, great art, just beautiful.

Commentary by Jerry Beck and a producer. I thought as much, but they reveal that this is motion capture, like Beowulf. They call it Live Anima. Lots of other technical details, and how John Woo interacted with the rest of the crew.

This disc is a keeper.

Sunday, June 8, 2008
Noriko's Dinner Table - 2005

Sequel to the classic Suicide Club. But OMG, 15 minutes in and I'm dying. Two and half hours of THIS? Dull, dull, dull. Thirty minutes in, and the only thing to happen is a rehash of Suicide Club, but not done as well.

One hour in, and I'm propping my eyelids open with toothpicks. This has to be the most tedious thing I have EVER watched.

After 2.5 hours (that seemed like an eternity) it ends. I want my evening back. No horror, no sense, no payoff. Nothing. Truly an exercise in tedium. Beware! Stay clear of this one.

Extras include a director's Introduction and Interview. He's much happier with his work than he has any right to be. Has he never sat down and watched this with an audience? They'd stone him.

Monday, June 9, 2008
H.P. Lovecraft Collection #3
Out of Mind - 1998

Clever, novel reworking of several of HPL's stories. I really like this series. They are all very well done, both technically and story-wise.

Commentary #1 has directory Raymond Saint-Jean and actor Christopher Heyerdahl (who even looks like HPL. Not much data, but some neat philosophy of movie-making.

Commentary #2, same two plus Cinematographer Serge Ladouceur that sort of is a "6 years later". Much more technical, with the camera man there. Amazing that this was just a 10 day shoot.

This disc is then filled out with a number of shorts, some dating back as far at 1980. All are good, or at least as good as shorts can be. I'm not a big fan of shorts, because they can't develop as much as I'd like. There are also some interviews that are rather interesting.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Love Me Deadly - 1972 ("uncut") aka Secrets of the Death Room

Hey, there's Mary Wilcox, who we know from The Beast of the Yellow Night. And OMG, there's Lyle Waggoner. Funny thing, this is the first movie he made that was NOT panned by Mystery Science Theater 3000. His first four movies all were. That has to be some kind of record.

You wanna know what this movie is about? IMDB's summary is perfect: "A coven of devil-worshipping necrophiliacs moves to Los Angeles and sets up their base of operations out of a funeral home." There's only one problem. That description is FAR more interesting than the movie. There are a couple of "ooky" minutes, but not enough to carry the entire 95 minutes.

Commentary by reg Goodsell (who?) and producer Buck Edwards. Here we learn that to get folks who didn't mind being naked and performing a weird ceremony, they just hired extras from the Church of Satan! We also learn that the director is the first corpse. A 10 day shoot. That's pretty impressive. It cost $42, 500 to shoot, but the funniest thing is that the producer didn't like the director or his work. Then why hire the lamer? Idiot.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008
City of Lost Children - 1995 France

I love Ron Perlman. What a great actor. To be that big, and they play a simple, soft character like this is simply amazing. This movie is gorgeous, but I couldn't help thinking that it sure looked like a Gilliam move, specifically Brazil. And this movie features the best realization of a dream, ever. This movie really is beautiful, in a gritty, grimy sort of way.

Commentary is with director Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Perlman. $14M budget, and it looks it. Amazing sets. Despite the director's accent, good blend of background, technical and anedotes.

This is an awesome movie and disc. Highly recommended.

Thursday, June 12, 2008
The Skull - 1965 UK

Look at this cast! Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Patrick Magee, Michael Gough. Man, it's like a who's who of British horror cinema. Based on a story by Robert Bloch, the skull of de Sade wrecks havoc on curiosity collector. Classic British horror, very nice. Rent and watch with family.