THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS
DAVID BECKHAM: LIFE OF AN ICON
2007; DVD $19.95, UR
While Beck’s quarter-of-a-BILLION-dollar soccer contract is surely a sign of the Apocalypse, no one in America seems to give a shit. A veritable god throughout the rest of the Western world, the media-savvy kickballer and his handlers nonetheless overestimated the interest in “football” on these shores, leaving him and his hot Spice Girl wife with nothing to do but yell “look at me” in nightclubs and discos. Lots of soccer action and media scandals in this breathless and supposedly “unauthorized” bio.
I’M NOT THERE
2007; DVD $29.95, R
Bob Dylan has been telling us for years that there’s nothing interesting about him, he’s just a passenger — stop following him and go listen to the music! Director/writer Todd Haynes takes him at his word in this surreal genre-defining treatise with six different actors, each portraying Dylan — and the world — at six different points in history, letting the music and musician metamorphisize over time. Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Michelle Williams, Julianne Moore and a host of others fill in the blanks. One of the best damn movies we’ve ever seen; a must-own.
ABOMINABLE
2008; DVD $19.95, R
Now available in an extended, bloody, R-rated version, this SciFi Channel stinker about a paraplegic former mountain-climber who somehow pisses off Bigfoot. Horror-vets Lance Henriksen, Jeffrey Combs and Dee Wallace-Stone join in the fun, along with a bunch of nubile coeds. A decided guilty pleasure.
ACE OF HEARTS
2007; DVD $26.95, UR
Former Superman Dean Cain stars in this popular Reader’s Digest tale of a K-9 cop whose four-legged, butt-sniffing partner is accused of mauling a scummy suspect by a headline-grabbing DA.
DANS PARIS
2006; DVD $24.95, UR
A subtitled French family drama, but better than most. A man becomes depressed and moves back in with his father and womanizing younger brother after his girlfriend leaves him. If the leads were women, we’d call this a “Chick Flick”; instead, we hereby christen this the world’s first “Chuck Flick.” Worth a look.
DELIRIOUS
2006; DVD $19.95, UR
An astounding cast — Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, the awesome Alison Lohman, Gina Gershon and Elvis Costello — populate this odd almost-comedy drama juxtaposing rabid paparazzi and the homeless as they pursue a pop-music star. Wonderfully weird.
FIRST SUNDAY
2008; DVD $24.95-$38.95, PG-13
A better-than-usual urban comedy starring Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan as a pair of would-be thieves who decide to rob Chi McBride’s church, only to find themselves caught up in the mad rush for salvation. Fun stuff with Katt Williams, Loretta Devine, Michael Beach, Regina Hall and Nicholas Turturro.
I REALLY HATE MY JOB
2007; DVD $26.95, R
Neve Campbell heads the cast of this Limey ensemble comedy that’s worth a look. It posits the question: “Is your job what you do, or how you see yourself?” as three waitresses, a cook and a dishwasher welcome a famous actor to their humble diner.
LIVING WITH THE KOMBAI TRIBE
2007; DVD $19.95, UR
Wow! Killer Discovery Channel anthropological piece on two “extreme travelers” who spend three months with a recently discovered “Stone Age tribe,” living as they do. Dining on giant maggots and fighting off carnivores with their bare hands while wearing nothing but grass skirts are just two of the highlights.
MOOLA
2006; DVD $29.95, PG-13
William Mapother, Daniel Baldwin and Curtis Armstrong head this fun comedy-drama based on the true story of two guys whose failing light-stick business is saved by dairy cows in heat. We won’t spoil it ...
OVER HER DEAD BODY
2008; DVD $27.95, PG-13
Kinda lame starring vehicle for Eva Longoria Parker (“Desperate Housewives”) about a bride, accidentally killed on her wedding day, who returns to comically haunt former fiancé’ Paul Rudd when he finds another babe, psychic Lake Bell.
P.S. I LOVE YOU
2007; DVD $28.95-35.95, PG-13
Horrible, savage, gut-wrenching, mind-numbing chick hankie-fodder that could easily drive a man to madness. Hilary Swank’s husband (Gerard Butler) dies, but before doing so prepares hundreds of “tips” to help her move on — letters, plans, tickets, reservations — all to a James Blunt soundtrack! Ghastly. We’re now terrified of our own mailman. Ugh.
PUNKY BREWSTER: SEASON ONE, VOL. 1
2008; DVD $9.95, UR
OK, laugh if you will, but we actually kinda liked this ’80s family sitcom starring Soleil Moon Frye and her ugly dog. Exuberant, fun, touching and well written, it was “family” without being sickly sweet — and actually funny. Soleil is still around today, mainly doing voice-work for cartoons (“Bratz,” “The Proud Family”) and directing (“Sonny Boy,” “Wild Horses”). Also available, “That Girl: Season One, Vol. 1" ($9.95) and “The Passion Of Greg The Bunny: Best Of The Film Parodies, Vol. 2” ($19.95).
SAAWARIYA
2007; DVD $26.95-$38.95, PG
Crazy-assed Bollywood take on Dostoevsky’s “White Nights” with shy musician Ranbir Kapoor dry-humping Sonam Kapoor amid wild, lavish dance sequences while her parents float bloated down the Ganges. Or something like that.
TEETH
2007; DVD $24.95, R
Woowee! Man, we have never laughed so hard in all our lives! Gorgeous Louisville-lass Jess Weixler stars as a prim high-school virgin who is unaware that girls aren’t supposed to have a set of razor-sharp mutant teeth “down there”! But all is well until her boyfriend gets pushy and winds up missing a member. Dubbed “the most twisted story of female empowerment ever told,” it takes on abstinence pledges, mythology, atomic radiation and feminism with equal aplomb. A fabulous, horrifying and funny tale that simply must be seen! (A remake of “Kiseichuu: kiraa pusshii,” if anyone’s interested — and we can also recommend “Angst” in a similar, and equally funny vein.)
OTHER DVDS OF INTEREST
ACAPULCO HEAT: THE COMPLETE SERIES
DVD $24.95, PG
BELLA
2006; DVD $27.95, PG-13
BEWITCHED: THE COMPLETE SIXTH SEASON
2008; DVD $39.95, UR
DEADWOOD: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON
DVD $59.95, UR
ROME: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON
2007; DVD $59.95, UR
SQUARE PEGS: THE COMPLETE SERIES
2005; DVD $29.95, UR
THAT GIRL: SEASON ONE, VOL. 1
DVD $9.95, UR
A more complete listing and free vids at www.videotapeworm.com!
