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Micah's February 2006 DVD Pics
1. Homestar Runner: Strong Bad's First 100 Emails (2005) 2. Reel Paradise (2005) 3. Saw II (2005) 4. Waterborne (2005) 5. Vice Squad (1982) (PICK OF THE MONTH) 6. Three... Extremes (2004) 7. Death Tunnel (2005) 8. Oh Mikey (19Japan) 9. How to Kill a Judge (1997) 10. Ice Harvest (2005) 11. The Losers (1970) 12. Luciano Ercoli Death Box Set 13. Made in Britain (1982) 14. Scum (1979)Man... February is a weird DVD month this year. 3 weeks of nothin'... then an awesome final week. Here we go.
Homestar Runner: Strong Bad's First 100 Emails (2005)
Release Date: 2/7Is there ever a good reason to pay money for a DVD of something you can see online for free? I'm not sure, but if so, this would be it. If you've never seen it, its essentially 3-4 minute segments where an angry luchadore answers emails on his laptop (the Lappy 486) while wearing boxing gloves. The perfect party DVD, Strong Bad's weekly rants are damn funny and always make me smile. If you've somehow missed the Homestar Runner phenomenon, at least rent this movie so you can see what the hype is about.
Reel Paradise (2005)
Release Date: 2/7This was the final film I saw at SXSW last year, and while it ultimately fails to live up to its potential, it's still worth watching. It's a documentary about John Pierson, a well-known film critic, who decided to take a year off his regular life to open a movie theater in an isolated town in Fiji. For an entire year, Pierson and his family screen prints of everything from American Blockbusters to French Art Films to Buster Keaton comedies, to people who'd never seen movies before - all for free. I loved the parts of the movie that focused on how this infusion of cinema influenced and changed the local culture of the small island. Unfortunately, too much of the film focuses on random personal drama that the family goes through. Inexplicably, a huge chunk of the movie is dedicated to figuring out who stole the family's laptop - an ultimately unimportant issue. Hopefully the DVD will have extra footage on the islanders. Directed by Steve James (Hoop Dreams, Stevie).
Saw 2 (2005)
Release Date: 2/14I guess I'm the only guy on the internet who liked the original Saw. I saw it opening weekend, and loved it... then I went home, logged on, and found out that the movie sucked, and that the Dread Pirate Roberts is a horrible actor. Call me crazy, but I just don't buy it. Anyway, as has been the case too often recently, I really wanted to see this film in the theater, but just never quite made it. I've been staying away from reviews on this one, so I can't tell you if its supposed to be good or not. I'm just telling you that I'll be picking it up.
Waterborne
Release Date: 2/21Another film that screened at SXSW last year, then didn't go anywhere else. Its about the effect a water shortage in LA has on a diverse group of individuals. And by water shortage, I mean complete contamination of the city's water supply. Its more of a character drama than a natural-disaster flick, and I really enjoyed it. Similar in structure to Crash, where everyone in the movie seems to be connected in one way or another. Its full of faces you'll recognize, but not know the names of, like the Indian guy from Office Space, and the Russian girl who brought Spiderman soup.
Vice Squad (1982)
Release Date: 2/21If you've never seen this movie, you're in for a treat. Its a modern fairy tale, where a coked-up Wings Hauser plays a pimp named Ramrod. He's on a rampage through the worst parts of Hollywood, trying to track down a hooker named Princess (Season Hubley - Hardcore) who ratted him out to the cops. Too bad for her Ramrod busted out of custody and is dead set on torturing the hell out of the poor girl. The whole movie is basically an extended chase scene as Princess tries to hide in the sleadoid wonderland that was 1980's Hollywood. There's a vice cop chasing the both of 'em down (hence the name) and he ends up being just as twisted as everybody else. This movie has way too much cool stuff to mention - including a cameo from Re-Run (Whats Happening) as a pimp - but by far the best is that Wings actually sings the title track "Green Slime." Too cool for words. Wings is an amazing sleaze bag in this one, insanely over-the-top, even by his standards. I've been wanting this one to come out on DVD for years, and is without question my Top Pick of the Month.
Three... Extremes (2005)
Release Date: 2/28I saw this one at the Alamo Drafthouse during the Horrorthon last year. Its an anthology of three horror films by three top-notch Asian directors: Chan-wook Park (Oldboy), Takashi Miike (Audition), Fruit Chan (Public Toilet). Each segment has a totally different feel from the others. Park's "Cut" is a fairly 'traditional' horror short with some gruesome torture. Miike's "Box" is about siamese twins, and the same hypnotic effect of his other films, where reality and dreamlike sequences weave together. My favorite segement is from Chan ("Dumplings"), an incredibly unsettling look at the maternal instinct gone berzerk.
Death Tunnel (2005)
Release Date: 2/28Death Tunnel has a great premise: 5 girls at an uber-hip fraternity party are picked at random to spend the night in an abandoned mental asylum as part of a hazing ritual for the frat's sister sorority. The girls have 5 hours to escape from the asylum, while their actions are recorded and monitored by the fraternity. The asylum is suitably creepy with a great backstory: in the early 1900's the hospital was infected with "White Plague," ultimately leading to the deaths of 63,000 people. Unfortunately, the last half of the movie tries to get "meaningful" and "symbolic," and - for the most part - fails at it. But, I put it on here because of the promise shown by the 1st half. Hopefully the firsttime writer/director Philip Adrian Booth will follow-up with stronger film.
Oh Mikey (19Japan)
Release Date: 2/28This bizarre Japanese oddity is a series of 5-minute shorts starring aboout a family dealing with everyday struggles like moving to a new town, meeting with teachers, going shopping, dealing with unwanted visitors, etc. But all of the 'actors' are mannequins with unnervingly creepy smiles permanently fixed on their faces. I have no idea why the series was made (I'm guessing each 5 minute episode was shown on some sort of weekly variety show), but its the kinda thing I wish we had more of in America. Its really only good in small doses, but its the kind of DVD you can pull out to make your friends wonder "Where the hell does this guy find movies like this?" Check it out:
How to Kill a Judge (1997)
Release Date: 2/28Blue Underground continues to release top-quality Italian obscurities. The crime flick stars Franco Nero and takes a serious look at the effect mob corruption had on law enforcement and the legal system in the 70's. There's no shoot-out or car chases in this one, just cool murder mystery with a solid cast and an interesting story.
Ice Harvest (2005)
Release Date: 2/28Damn... did I see any movies in the theaters during the last few months of 2005? It sure doesn't seem like it... I love Billy Bob, John Cusack, and dysfunctional holiday movies, so this one's a no-brainer for me.
The Losers, AKA 'Nam's Angels (1970)
Release Date: 2/28Looking for a brainless way to spend 90 minutes? Check out The Losers, a movie about a bunch of Hell's Angels who get recruited by the CIA to go on a secret mission to Cambodia during the Vietnam War. I'm there..
Luciano Ercoli Death Box Set
Release Date: 2/28This 2-disc set by No Shame films features two previously unavailable giallo thillers by one of the genre's great directors. In Death Walks In High Heels, a nightclub singer flees Paris while being chased by an unknown killer. In Death Walks At Midnight, a drugged out model witnesses a brutal crime. Filled with over-the-top murder weapons (including a sweet set of spiked gloves), car chases, sexy women, and more twists than you know what to do with, Luciano Ercoli Death Box Set is an amazing steal at just over $20. As a bonus, No Shame has thrown in a Sound of Death soundtrack, featuring Stelvio Cipriani’s memorable score.
Made in Britain (1982)
Release Date: 2/28These last two are thematically similar - both are set in British juvenile reformatories known in the UK as Borstels. Apparently these places were notoriously violent in the late 70's and early 80's, often causing further depravity in the boys they were supposed to be reforming. Tim Roth made his debut in Made in Britain, putting on an absolutely stunning performance as Trevor the Skinhead. Trevor's been in and out of Borstels all his life, usually for meaningless acts of violence. He's just at the age where his next screw-up will land him in prison... thing is, Trevor just doesn't care. Roth delivers some insanely powerful monologues in this movie... I honestly think its the best thing he's ever done. I didn't expect to like this film as much as I did... it's one of my favorites.
Scum (1979)
Release Date: 2/28Although both are set in Borstels, Scum, has a very different feel than Made in Britain, partly because Scum is more of an ensemble film. Benefiting from another dynamic lead actor, Scum stars Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast, The Final Cut) in his debut role. The first 30 minutes or so of this movie I wasn't too interested in it. Slowly, however, Winstone's character grows on you... as he becomes more and more violent it becomes harder and harder to look away. The movie starts with him getting transferred to a new Borstel, then follows him as he plans to become "the daddy" - the kid in charge. The way the change of power takes place, and the things Winstone has to do to stay on top, are what make this movie such a great one. The DVD comes with 2 versions of the movie. The TV version - which was made first and was very successful - and the film version - which director Alan Clarke remade several years later. I've only seen the film version, but I'm interested in watching the original to see how different it was.
See you in 30!
- Micah
