THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS
TRIPPING THE RIFT: THE MOVIE
2008; DVD $26.95, UR
Yes, believe it or not, those profane purveyors of sci-fi CGI savagery have gone and made a full-length friggin’ MOVIE! When our hero Chode knocks space-boots with the daughter of his arch-enemy Darph Bobo — and the psycho king of the Clown Empire finds his little girl with a McBlobby bun in the oven — he unleashes a cosmic manhunt for the crew of the Jupiter 42 across space and time. And it’s actually MORE offensive than the TV show!
WRISTCUTTERS: A LOVE STORY
2007; DVD $26.95, R
Patrick Fugit and sexy Shannyn Sossamon lead a killer cast (including Tom Waits, Shea Whigham and Will Arnet) in this very dark existential romantic comedy/drama about an Afterlife reserved for suiciders. And “comedy” may be too strong a word; there is black humor, just not of the spasmodic-donkey-laugh variety. Frankly, this thing exists in a genre all its own as the denizens kick around lines like “So, what you gonna do? Kill yourself?!” to a soundtrack by Gogol Bordello.
BLACK LEGION
1937; DVD $19.95, UR
Humphrey Bogart’s all-but-forgotten first lead role in a major movie was this devastating treatise on bigotry and hate in America. He is Frank Taylor, a violent white-supremacist who will do anything to bring about his dream of a world containing only “free, white, 100-percent Americans.” Not to be missed.
MIKE DOUGLAS: MOMENTS & MEMORIES
2008; DVD $19.95, UR
OK, you youngsters can laugh, but Mike Douglas may have been the most influential person in TV history. He created the “talk show” as we know it, and his production company launched the careers of hundreds of today’s stars. This retrospective includes John Lennon and Yoko Ono (performing with Chuck Berry!), the Rolling Stones, Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Luther King Jr., a 2-year-old golf wiz named Tiger Woods, Marlon Brando on “The Godfather,” Bob Hope, Bill Cosby, Carol Burnett, Mother Teresa and Muhammad Ali v. Howard Cosell!
Don’t miss it!
PU-239
2006; DVD $19.95, R
Paddy Considine and Radha Mitchell star in this art-house/crossover drama with dark humor about a young Russian nuclear worker who exposes himself to lethal radiation to prevent a disaster, only to be made a scapegoat. To provide for his family’s security, he steals some weapon’s grade plutonium and tries to sell it on the black market.
ROBYN HITCHCOCK: SEX, FOOD, DEATH AND INSECTS
2007; DVD $24.95, UR
A look at the creative process from legendary The Venus 3 frontman and English underground cult legend Hitchcock. Famous for some of rock’s most biting and intelligent lyrics, he opens up with friends Peter Buck of R.E.M., members of The Presidents Of The United States, John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin and others.
SHARPSHOOTER
2007; DVD $14.95, UR
If this first-ever original movie from Spike TV and RHI Entertainment is any example, it’s gonna be one hot summer! James Remar stars as a former Special Ops sniper, brought out of retirement for one last … wait a minute! Isn’t that the plot of every double-crossed-assassin flick of the past 20 years? Yep, but this one’s made for Spike and has Mario Van Peebles! Die, scum! Die!
SHROOMS
2007; DVD $26.95, UR
A flawed and ridiculous dope-laced horror film from Ireland that’s best viewed chemically. A bunch of boneheads head for the moors to partake in a wee bit o’ recreational mushrooms (as opposed to the professional kind). But while wasted, they are set upon by a Blair Witch/mad-slasher/talking-cow/ghost-thingie who slaughters them one by one … Or is it all just a bad trip, dude? No tits or gore, just mindlessness and wonderfully bad acting. We loved it!
THE CATHERINE TATE SHOW: THE COMPLETE SECOND SERIES
2008; DVD $29.95, UR
The best British comedy you never heard of. Gut-busting character-based skits that stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best of early SNL. Alternately raunchy, refined, clever and moronic, this is not for the easily offended — we damn near peed on the couch!
THE HAUNTING OF REBECCA VERLAINE
2008; DVD $24.95, UR
We suspect that this is, in reality, a renaming of the classic 2003 shocker “Garden of Love” from splattermeister Olaf Ittenbach, which — starring Bela B. Felsenheimer (from the band Die Ärzte), Natacza Boon and James Matthews-Pyecha as “Tom Munster” — is not a bad thing! The original was never available uncut in the United States, and this unrated offering seems to be full-length. We’re too chicken-shit to watch it, of course. Somebody let us know, OK?
THE INVISIBLE MAN: SEASON ONE
2000; DVD $59.95, UR
Just to jog your memory, this is the TV series about “Project Quicksilver,” where a thief/conman (Vincent Ventresca) is the subject of experimentation by a shadowy government agency called “The Agency” (duh) to become a special agent. With Paul “Entourage” Ben-Victor and Shannon “7th Heaven” Kenny.
THE KITE RUNNER
2007; DVD $29.95-$39.95, PG-13
Wildly popular art-houser about a former Afghani in America who must return home and face his demons, including the death of his childhood friend at the hands of bullies just as the Taliban seized control.
THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER
2007; DVD $24.95, UR
A devastating documentary on Germany’s Wehrmacht Exhibition; a collection of the personal letters, photos and film of the common footsoldier, detailing how innocent young men and women de-evolved into brutal, inhuman killing machines for the Nazis. The true war crimes were not performed by the leaders, but by the man in the field. Should be required viewing for anyone joining the armed forces.
THE WATER HORSE: LEGEND OF THE DEEP
2007; DVD $28.95-$38.95, PG
Overblown kids tale with great special effects by the Weta Workshop, marred by a weak script and the butt-ugly title character. A lonely boy finds a baby Lock Ness monster and hides it in the bathtub. Note to geographically challenged script-writers: Loch Ness is freshwater, it doesn’t open to the sea.
TRIP OUT
2005; DVD $19.95, R
Three damn lucky — if doomed — boys go on a drug-fueled bender with a sex-goddess cheerleader (the stunning Taylor Coffman) who has wicked intentions in this hallucinogenic tale of murder, mayhem and sex. Possibly the best after-school special ever!
OTHER DVDS OF INTEREST
BABY MAMMOTH
2008; DVD $14.95, UR
FRISKY DINGO: SEASON 1
2007; DVD $19.95, UR
PAINKILLER JANE
2008; DVD $49.95, UR
PARTY OF FIVE: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON
1994; DVD $39.95, UR
SLIDERS: THE FOURTH SEASON
1995; DVD $59.95, UR
A more complete listing and free vids at www.videotapeworm.com!