June 15, 2004

HORROR

Tomie: Another Face (1999). Another entry in the Japanese Sci/Fi/horror series based on a manga about a girl who just won't stay dead. "Entertaining in a young teen mystery/horror sort of way," wrote KFCCinema.com. [Rent]

Dark Craving (1993). "The most unique vampire movie since Salem's Lot," says George A. Romero. [Rent]

Keeper of Souls (2004). Will this do for R.G. Armstrong what Tourist Trap did for Chuck Connors? Maybe not, but then R.G. probably doesn't wear a dress in it either. [Rent]

Scarecrow Gone Wild (2004). Tagline: "He's the death of the party!" [Rent]

ACTION and ADVENTURE

The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury (2004). The wave of promotion for this summer's theatrical release, known simply as The Chronicles of Riddick, even though it's the sequel to Pitch Black, which itself has now been spruced up and is currently known as The Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black... (deep breath)... rolls on. This is an animated story directed by Peter Chung (Aeon Flux). The idea here is to bridge the narrative gap between Black and Riddick. And of course, to sell more tickets. [Rent]

Samurai Reincarnation (1981). Sisyphus: "This plays sort of like a Dirty Dozen version of Seven Samurai in which all the samurai are nasty raping murderers resurrected from Hell for one final battle. Who else but Kinji Fukasaku would direct such a thing and get Sonny Chiba to play one of the samurai?" [Rent]

CULT

Erotic Nights of the Living Dead (1980). Joe D'Amato's unrated director's cut. Midnight Video Reviews: "Going far beyond the limits of the comparatively timid but revolutionary (for its time) 'roughie' film (a film with both soft-core elements mixed with intermittent bursts of graphic violence), D'Amato's films not so much pushed the boundaries of sex and violence cinema, but blew them open." [Rent]

RACY AND EROTIC

Pleasure Spots. A sexploitation road movie set out in the Great American West. [Rent]

FANTASY

Dragon Storm (2004). Why do all dragon-related movies use the same font on their cover art? At any rate, look for Gimli in this one that sounds an awful lot like this one. [Rent]

SCIENCE FICTION

Wedlock (1991). Similar in plot to Fortress, this one has a fine cast (Rutger Hauer, Mimi Rogers) and a fine genre director in Lewis Teague. [Rent]

Johnny 2.0 (1999). A B-movie with a great premise featuring a favorite sci-fi topic these days: Clones. [Rent]

DOCUMENTARY

Going To Hell (2003). Similar to Jackass (it even stars Wee-Man), this video's title might be a nod to what a vice president at MTV Films said after viewing the preliminary screening of Jackass: "We're all going to hell." [Rent]

TV

Curb Your Enthusiasm. The Complete Second Season (2001). "The only show on TV right now that lets the viewer have as much fun as the characters," says thejasonholland. Reviewing the first season, underdog writes that the show offers "an array of bitter and often genuinely brilliant comic moments and [stars] a cast of talented folk." Discs 1 [Rent] and 2 [Rent].

Dead Like Me: The Complete First Season (2003). From producer John Masius, who gave us Providence, with its chain-smoking mother who delivers advice from beyond the grave, and Touched by an Angel. So, yeah, the guy has a thing about death. And making light of it. A teen Grim Reaper is probably the very definition of black comedy. Discs 1 [Rent], 2 [Rent], 3 [Rent] and 4 [Rent].

Monk. Season One (2002). Tony Shalhoub, who's won an Emmy and a Golden Globe playing Monk, introduces the character himself at the official site: "Monk's a detective who's been kicked off the police force. He's become dysfunctional since he lost his wife, who was killed in a mysterious car-bomb accident. He was very much in love with her and hasn't been able to face her loss. And even though he's a genius at figuring out crimes, he's at a loss with what happened to her. He's too close to it." As for what appealed to him about the role (besides the steady work, of course): "Taking a familiar genre and turning it on its ear. Monk's an unlikely hero. He's got a very severe case of obsessive-compulsive disorder, which in some ways inhibits him from functioning in the world and in his job." Discs 1 [Rent], 2 [Rent], 3 [Rent] and 4 [Rent].

Nip/Tuck: The Complete First Season (2003). Two plastic surgeons, partners, have their personal and professional lives "dysfunctionally intertwined," as AfterEllen.com puts it. But that's not why the site celebrates the show: "For a series to have two regular lesbian characters who are not dating each other (and are of different ages and ethnicities) is unprecedented on television... Perhaps this means television is finally starting to move beyond the token-lesbian-character plot device to embrace the diversity within the lesbian community. Or maybe the series is just trying to be as controversial as possible to get the highest ratings it can, and figures the more lesbians the better. While the former would be more encouraging, lesbian viewers win either way." Discs 1 [Rent], 2 [Rent], 3 [Rent], 4 [Rent] and 5 [Rent].

The Simpsons. Fourth Season (1992-1993). 22 episodes from when the show was just starting its glorious run as the best satire on television. Discs 1 [Rent], 2 [Rent], 3 [Rent] and 4 [Rent].

Touching Evil 1 (1997). A highly rated British crime drama that refuses to spoon-feed its audience. The Lost Boys [Rent], To Death and Back [Rent] and What Amathus Wants [Rent].

Ultraman Tiga Vol. 3: GUTS Headquarters Under Attack (2002). The new spin-off of the classic 1960s Japanese series continues. [Rent]

The Thin Blue Line: The Complete Line-Up (1995-1996). Not the MIA-on-DVD documentary of the same name, but a very different kettle of fish: the always hilarious Rowan Atkinson's cop comedy series, written by his frequent TV partner Ben Elton. Here Atkinson is a police inspector in charge of a very dysfunctional station. Discs 1 [Rent], 2 [Rent]and 3 [Rent].

To the Manor Born (1979-1981). 'Noblesse Oblige'! Popular BBC romantic comedy series makes its way to DVD this week. Discs 1 [Rent], 2 [Rent], 3 [Rent] and 4 [Rent].

Xena Warrior Princess Season Four (1995). For different reasons - from lesbian subtexts to that costume and the campy humor - everybody loves Xena. Oh ye Gods, warlords, and butt-kicking babes: Xena! Discs 1 [Rent], 2 [Rent], 3 [Rent], 4 [Rent], 5 [Rent], 6 [Rent], 7 [Rent], 8 [Rent], 9 [Rent] and 10 [Rent].

ANIME

Twelve Kingdoms Vol.6: Oppression (2002). Beautifully rendered fantasy series is "the only anime I've seen that rivals Escaflowne in terms of quality," says sailortitan2. "Perfectly balanced and completely spellbinding - and longer." [Rent]

BASToF Syndrome. Vol.2: The Hacker (2004). One of Newstead3886's Essential Anime: "Quite an intriguing storyline, and you can never go wrong with giant mecha in near-apocalyptic situations." [Rent]

Gunparade March (2003). Operation 3. WWII was just the beginning. Now, in 1945, it's up to the kids to save the world! [Rent]

Legend of the Mystical Ninja Vol. 5: Treachery and Allegiance (1997). The sci-fi action blasts on. [Rent]

Mouse Vol. 2: Lusty Ambitions (2004). Lusty and busty, and silly, action-comedy anime. [Rent]

Sadamitsu the Destroyer Vol. 3: Showdown (2001). The reviewer dhead.com said of this Men in Black-ish series: "If you are willing to turn your brain off for the duration and just want to enjoy a solid story with some exciting fight scenes with interesting villains, this is it." [Rent]

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