THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST
2006; DVD $29.95-34.95, PG-13
Wonderfully over-the-top sequel to Disney’s entertaining-as-hell pirate-movie-based-on-a-theme-park-ride. Johnny Depp returns as Keith-Richards-cum-swashbuckler Captain Jack Sparrow, along with Orlando Bloom and the exquisite Keira Knightley. But the real stars of this outing are the special-effects-clad doomed buccaneers, enslaved to tentacle-faced baddie Davy Jones. More video game than movie, the plot is just an excuse for director Gore Verbinski’s riotous, slapstick set pieces and Keira’s occasional costume changes. We can’t wait for the third one!
ROCKY
1976; DVD $26.95-39.95, PG
Sylvester Stallone — a name now synonymous with “ham” to the current generation of moviegoers — was once a struggling indie filmmaker in Philadelphia. This, his breakout film, was nominated for 10 Oscars — still a record for an indie film — winning Best Picture. It’s a national treasure; the penultimate American Movie and a masterpiece of low-budget storytelling. Simply put: One of the finest films ever made, now available on HD, Blu-Ray and in a Gift Set containing all five films in the series for under $50.
BEERFEST
2006; DVD $28.95, R/UR
An unapologetically raunchy, goofy look at Oktoberfest courtesy of the guys who brought you “Super Troopers.” Drunken American beer-makers take on Germany in a top-secret beer-chugging contest. With Cloris Leachman and Jürgen Prochnow as walk-ons.
BOYS BRIEFS 4
2006; DVD $26.95, UR
Six short films about gay male hustlers, focusing on the emotional toll of appearing in provocatively-titled vignettes like these. These days, being a male actor must really suck.
EMMANUELLE II
1975; DVD $24.95, UR
Sylvia Kristel’s quickie Hong Kong follow-up to 1974's international sensation, better known as “Emmanuelle: The Joys of a Woman.” Partly assembled from leftover footage of the original, this is an even more arousing flick than the first, thanks largely to the addition of Laura Gemser (who would later star in her own “Emmanuelle” movies) as a bathhouse masseuse, and an almost total lack of plot to get in the way of the story.
GREY GARDENS
1976; DVD $49.95, PG/UR
The very definition of a “cult classic,” this is Albert and David Maysles’ famous look at “Big Edie” and “Little Edie” Bouvier Beale, a pair of just-slightly warped mother/daughter high-society dropouts, shuttered cousins to the larger-than-life Jackie Kennedy Onassis, who hide within their crumbling and disheveled East Hampton mansion and dispense philosophy to the rest of the Kennedy clan. Also available: “The Beales of Grey Gardens,” a sequel of sorts from the original filmmakers, revealing more of their mystery and how it has grown over the years (DVD $19.95).
HOW TO EAT FRIED WORMS
2006; DVD $27.95, PG
One of the bestest kidflicks ever! Based on Thomas Rockwell’s terrific book; this guy clearly remembers what it was like to be 11 and facing the school bully. To avoid violence, a kid brags that he can eat 10 worms in a day, attracting a gang of other bullied students who help him find a palatable solution. Just plain FUN!
IDLEWILD
2006; DVD $29.95, R
The guys from OutKast have to be saluted for this flawed gem of a movie, re-imagining the speakeasies of the Roaring ’20s with their own brand of jazzy hip-hop-flavored pop and fantastic visuals. A dramatic singing-dancing extravaganza of hope, misery and the power of song to heal a damaged soul. Definitely worth checking out.
MAD COWGIRL
2006; DVD $19.95, UR
A minor B-movie masterpiece of blood, sex, martial arts and tainted beef. Kung-fu junkie Sarah Lassez, a nympho meat inspector, begins to behave in a most unsisterly manner toward her brother and reacts violently toward the rest of the world.
MIAMI VICE
2006; DVD $29.95, R
Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell take on the venerable images of Rico Tubbs and Sonny Crokett for director Michael Mann in this ode to his groundbreaking ’80s TV show. That high-concept tale of undercover detectives living large amid the savage drug-fueled denizens of South Florida was a white-hot flash of action, style and music that has never been topped. The movie’s not a bad cop-outing, but we missed the synth-pop soundtrack of Jan Hammer, often referred to as the series’ “third star.”
PULSE
2006; DVD $29.95, PG-13
A better-than-it-has-to-be other-wordly haunter starring Kristen Bell, based on the 2001 Jap-Horror hit “Kairo” about a wireless computer network that connects its users to a dark dimension.
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON
1975; DVD $69.95, UR
Without question, the greatest season of the greatest TV show ever created, now available completely unedited and festooned with every behind-the-scenes feature, interview and commentary you could imagine. Chevy Chase, John Belushi — in his original Samurai deli sketch! — Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin, Dan Aykroyd and Laraine Newman head the cast with guests George Carlin, Rob Reiner, Lily Tomlin, Richard Pryor, Elliott Gould, Candice Bergen, Simon and Garfunkel, ABBA, Patti Smith, Jimmy Cliff, Carly Simon and many more.
SUPREMES: REFLECTIONS: THE DEFINITIVE PERFORMANCES 1964-1969
2006; DVD $14.95, UR
The first-ever video collection of Motown’s perfectly named girl group, fronted by Diana Ross. Includes performances of all their No.-1 hits from “The Ed Sullivan Show” and “The Mike Douglas Show” including “Where Did Our Love Go,” “Stop! In the Name of Love” and “You Can’t Hurry Love.”
THE OH IN OHIO
2005; DVD $24.95, R/UR
Wow! A fabulous sex-comedy about an in-orgasmic housewife (Parker Posey) whose husband tries sexy young Mischa Barton on for size, sending Parker into a battery-powered addiction to sex toys — until she is saved by the love-master himself ... (Spoiler Alert!) Danny DeVito! Just oh-so-slightly naughty, but very funny.
THE PET
2006; DVD $24.95, UR
Inspired by actual offers on eBay, a vulnerable young woman takes a job as a rich man’s pet — sleeping naked in a cage, going for “walkies” — in hopes of financially turning her life around. She is treated kindly until “pet-napped” by baddies who sell her on a Global Slave Market. Is this exploitation, or are the filmmakers saying something important? You decide.
OTHER DVDS OF INTEREST
ANIMANIACS: VOL. 2
1993; DVD $44.95, UR
DUKES OF HAZZARD: THE COMPLETE SEASONS 1-7
2006; DVD $279.95, UR
METALLICA: THE VIDEOS 1989-2004
2006; DVD $19.95, UR
PINKY AND THE BRAIN: VOL. 2
1995; DVD $44.95, UR
ROSEANNE: THE COMPLETE SIXTH SEASON
1993; DVD $39.95, UR
THE COMPLETE UNCENSORED PRIVATE SNAFU
1943; DVD $14.95, UR
A more complete listing and free vids at www.VideoTapeWorm.com!
