Video Tapeworm: Releases through Tuesday, Sept. 18

Sep 11, 2007 at 6:18 pm
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS
GRINDHOUSE PRESENTS: DEATH PROOF
2007; DVD $28.95-$39.95, R
A two-disc Special Edition release of the lesser half of the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez “Grindhouse Presents” project with Kurt Russell as a deranged stuntman who mows down unsuspecting babes on the highway. Until he picks on the wrong pack of pretties, that is. With references to every action movie ever made from “Telefon” to “Kill Bill” to “Pulp Fiction” to “Escape From New York” to “Reservoir Dogs” to “Convoy” to “Bullitt” to “Death Race 2000" to “Big Trouble in Little China” to ...
ROGER CORMAN COLLECTION
1967; DVD $39.95, UR
Eight of The Schlockmeister General’s best efforts on four discs: “Bloody Mama,” the simply awesome beatnik-horror-comedy “A Bucket of Blood,” “Gas-s-s,” “The Trip,” “Premature Burial,” “X: The Man With X-Ray Eyes,” and a pair of wild-youth flicks. A steal at this price.



CLOSURE (AKA STRAIGHTHEADS)
2007; DVD $24.95, R
A rare dark rape-revenge/action movie for Gillian “Scully” Anderson. After a gang attack, Gilly and newfound friend Danny Dyer get a rifle and exact savage, bloody revenge. Anderson is terrific in this 80-minute thriller.
JOHN SCHNEIDER’S COLLIER & CO.: HOT PURSUIT!
2006; DVD $19.95, PG
The story goes that John Schneider was so pissed about the poor quality of the “Dukes of Hazzard” movie that he wrote his own — and it’s not bad! He plays a racecar driver who “stops” racing to save his family. But they don’t know that he still races secretly at night to populate his used car lot. When he wins the wrong car, his family is kidnapped, leading to a first-rate “Duke”-style car chase. Yeee-haaaaw!
JOSIE & THE PUSSYCATS: THE COMPLETE SERIES
1970; DVD $26.95, UR
First complete video release of the seminal ’70s Saturday morning cartoon. A spin-off of the early Archie comics — and template for our beloved Erin Esurance — this two-disc set includes all 16 fun-loving/crime-busing episodes, plus a featurette on famed Archie artist Dan DeCarlo — worth the price by itself!
L’ICEBERG
2005; DVD $29.95, UR
While Belgian “comedies” are never laugh-at-loud funny, this has its moments. A woman sleepwalks through her daily life as manager of a fast-food restaurant until she is locked in a freezer overnight. Then she becomes obsessed with cold, eventually quitting her job and moving to an iceberg. Life in Belgium must be a riot.
LUCKY YOU
2007; DVD $28.95, PG-13
A minor hit by the always-winning Drew Barrymore. This time she’s involved with professional gambler Eric Bana, a man with personal problems that get in the way of his poker playing. She becomes his muse and helps him find where his luck truly lies. With Robert Duvall, Debra Messing, Charles Martin Smith and a host of others.
MASTERS OF HORROR
2007; DVD $14.95 each, UR
A pair of offerings from the Showtime series. First, in “Sounds Like,” a call-center supervisor begins to hear his deceased son’s voice on the line for director Brad Anderson. Then, in “The Washingtonians,” director Peter Medak posits that George Washington ate more than kidney pie with those wooden teeth — and a gaggle of crazed historians will stop at nothing to hide the truth.
ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS
1964; DVD $39.95, UR
A Criterion HD special release of a true low-rent sci-fi chestnut. Sfx master Byron Haskin (“The War of the Worlds”), working from a script by Ib Melchior with spaceships and sets borrowed from “WOTW,” made box-office history with this fondly remembered minimalist Techniscope/Technicolor Saturday-matinee marvel. Bonus materials include commentary by Melchior, actors Paul Mantee and Victor Lundin, unsung production design master Al Nozaki, Oscar-winning special effects designer Robert Skotak, and much more.
SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER: 30TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL COLLECTOR’S EDITION
1977; DVD $19.95, R
What more could you possibly want to know?
SERGEANT PRESTON OF THE YUKON COMPLETE COLLECTION
1955; DVD $79.95, UR
One of the very, very best early TV adventure shows, little remembered today aside the better-known Lone Ranger and Sky King. With his horse, Rex, and trusty dog, Yukon King, Sgt. Preston always got his man in the wilds of the Canadian Rockies, circa 1890, ending most shows with: “I arrest you in the name of the Crown.” All 78 30-minute harsh, frost-bitten episodes, nearly devoid of any yucky girls. Priceless.
SEVERANCE
2006; DVD $26.95, R
A hilarious horror-romp about one of those lame corporate team-building weekends out in the woods that are all the rage. The sales force for a multi-national weapons manufacturer gets a new perspective on their products when a group of crazed killers decide to downsize the staff — down to the shoulder blades!
SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY
2007; DVD $19.95, PG-13
This animated version of the bestselling graphic novel of all time, DC Comics’ “The Death of Superman” can’t match the printed version’s stunning artwork, nor its intelligent, erudite prose. So what does it offer? Oh, about 75 fun minutes of animated mayhem, voice work by Adam Baldwin, Anne Heche, James Marsters and others, and some truly excellent bonus goodies.
THE CAMDEN 28
2006; DVD $24.95, UR
Award-winning doc on the 28 activists — mainly devout Catholics and clergy — who broke into the Camden, N.J., draftboard of 1971 and trashed their files to prevent them from sending more young men to die in Vietnam. Should be required viewing in every high school and altar room in America. Exceptional and exciting.
THE CONDEMNED
2007; DVD $28.95, R
Starring vehicle for wrassler “Stone Cold” Steve Austin as a death-row convict who is purchased by a wealthy TV producer to take part in a fight-to-the-death TV reality game show.
WE ARE MARSHALL
2006; DVD $28.95-$39.95, PG
A predicable sports film given lots of heart by the fact that it’s largely true. Matthew McConaughey stars as a low-tiered football coach called into play when the Marshall (W.Va.) University football team is gutted in a horrific plane crash. Working with poor-quality, inexperienced players, he rallied them to amazing feats that had a profound effect on the school, the little town of Huntington and the lives of everyone concerned.

OTHER DVDS OF INTEREST
GENE SIMMONS FAMILY JEWELS: THE BEST OF SEASONS 1 AND 2
2007; DVD $12.95, UR
MARRIED WITH CHILDREN: THE COMPLETE SEVENTH SEASON
1992; DVD $39.95, UR
STARGATE ATLANTIS: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON
2004; DVD $49.95, UR
THE JOHNNY CASH SHOW: THE BEST OF JOHNNY CASH
2007; DVD $14.95, UR

A more complete listing and free vids at www.videotapeworm.com!