THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS:
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
2009; $16.95-$21.95, R
Quentin Tarantino’s violent, goofy remake of 1978’s “Quel Maledetto Treno Blindato,” itself a ripoff of “The Dirty Dozen.” Brad Pitt hams it up royally, leading Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger and a gaggle of others through a torture-as-slapstick burlesque as the all-Jew fighting force sets out to frighten the Third Reich by killing and scalping as many Nazis as they can find. Unredeemably brutal, yet thoroughly entertaining, as only Tarantino can do it.
THE HANGOVER
2009; $15.95-$35.95, R/UR
Wonderfully stupid “what the hell did we do last night?” tale of a Vegas bachelor party gone horribly, horribly RIGHT. The next morning the groom is nowhere to be found, but there is a baby in the closet, one guy’s missing a tooth, and they seem to remember a … tiger? Simply unredeemable men-behaving-badly at its best with Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha, Jeffrey Tambor and more.
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20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA
1954; $17.95, G
The Jules Verne classic done Disney style finally comes to cheap DVD! Captain Nemo (James Mason) takes the Nautilus out on a fishing trip and catches Kirk Douglas, Peter Lorre and a guy nobody remembers. Kirk and the boys don’t take kindly to Nemo’s brand of high-seas justice and must battle The Calamari from Hell to pull the plug on the Nautilus. (Parental warning: With no women or romantic subplots to slow things down, Kirk is forced to SING!)
20TH CENTURY BOYS 1: BEGINNING OF THE END
2008; $22.95, UR
An extraordinary live-action take on the first book from the popular manga series. It is 1969; a young boy and his friends build a secret fort where they write “The Book of Prophecy,” launching themselves into adventures against an evil organization bent on world domination.
AUTOGRAPHED MLB WORLD SERIES FILM COLLECTION
2009; $2,299.00, UR
This collection holds the record for the most expensive title ever offered in our column, and with good reason. Contains all 65 films from the MLB World Series Collection, including history-making moments from every World Series game ever recorded or broadcast since its inception in 1903, PLUS 12 Hall Of Fame signatures including Yogi Berra, Bob Gibson, Reggie Jackson and Whitey Ford, all packed in a hand-made wood-and-acrylic display case. Only 100 copies exist, and only from
CHAI LAI ANGELS: DANGEROUS FLOWERS
2006; $24.95, R
Wacky Asian comedy that dares to spoof the “Charlie’s Angels” movies. Just plain silly in all the right ways.
G-FORCE
2009; $22.95-$27.95, PG
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s first 3-D movie (though not available on 3-D DVD) is a kid-komedy featuring the voices of Sam Rockwell, Jon Favreau, Nicolas Cage, Penélope Cruz, Steve Buscemi and Tracy Morgan as superspy guinea pigs out to save the world from billionaire inventor Bill Nighy.
JIN WON KIM’S THE BUTCHER
2007; $27.95, UR
Blu-Ray release of a popular powerhouse Asian torture-porn horror. A group of people awaken in a filthy blood-spattered slaughterhouse, completely at the mercy of snuff-film makers who intend to torture them to death, slowly. Not for the squeamish.
LEGENDS OF LAUGHTER: ABBOTT & COSTELLO
$26.95, UR
Here’s the best family bargain of the season: A six-disc set of Abbott and Costello movies, TV shows, rare clips and guest appearances — more than 26 HOURS of fun for under 5 bucks a disc! Simply awesome.
LOST TREASURE OF THE MAYA
2008; $22.95, PG-13
Incredibly silly bit of action-fluff set amid exotic Yucatan jungles where overpaid, hammy tomb-raiders run afoul of cursed Mayan treasures. Stars (if you can believe this) Michael Madsen (“Sin City”), monomonikered Protasio (“Not Another Not Another Movie”) who co-wrote the script, Keith David and Heather Storm (the “MANswers Girl”).
MURDER BY DECREE
1979; $8.95, PG
Cheap re-release of our all-time favorite Sherlock Holmes movie! Bob “A Christmas Story” Clark directs Christopher Plummer and James Mason as Holmes and Watson in their quest to solve the Jack The Ripper murders. Their investigation quickly puts them in the path of The Royal Family — and their loyal Masons — who will do anything to cover up a regal indiscretion — and a bastard heir to the throne! With Donald Sutherland and Geneviève Bujold. Trust us, this is one of the best films we know.
PSYCHO WARD
2008; $17.95, R
You might be tempted to write this off as just another “lost dumb-asses wander around an abandoned mental hospital and get hacked-up” snoozer, but we thought better of it. Made in Canada — which is a good start in our book — it stars no-budget slasher-vets Jacqueline Betts, Nicole Bonin and Sabrina Couture. Well-written and fun; from our buds at Switchblade Studios.
PUSSYCAT DOLLS WORKOUT
2009; $10.95, UR
Pussycat Dolls lead singer/dancer Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente Scherzinger, who attended Meyzeek Middle School and graduated from duPont Manual High, leads the PCDs in this “athletic workout” courtesy of choreographer Robin Antin. Not exactly the Olympics, but we guarantee you’ll be sweating before it’s done. One helluvalotta fun and a great way to learn new dance moves.
TAKING WOODSTOCK
2009; $18.95-$27.95, R
Director Ang Lee goes commercial in this simply charming tale that’s too good to be true. Demetri Martin, Emile Hirsch, Liev Schreiber (in a dress!), Eugene Levy, Dan Fogler and a flock of others tell the sort-of-true tale of how the Woodstock Festival came to be held at Yasgur’s farm, and why the whole thing was such a wonderful cock-up. Trust us, this is priceless.
THE GIRL FROM MONACO (LA FILLE DE MONACO)
2007; $19.95, R
Well-made French romantic drama about an oversexed woman who brings down a respected pillar of the community. Starts off as a comedy, then descends into pain and madness as the unquenchable allure of forbidden lust washes over them. That’s pretty much how we got the job here at LEO.
OTHER DVDS OF INTEREST:
BASILISK: THE COMPLETE SERIES
$38.95, UR
ICE ROAD TRUCKERS: THE COMPLETE SEASON THREE
2009; $25.95, PG
LOVEJOY: THE COMPLETE SEASON FOUR
$62.95, UR
ROBOT CHICKEN: SEASON FOUR
$21.95, UR
SAMURAI CHAMPLOO: THE COMPLETE SERIES
$44.95, UR
STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES: SEASON THREE
$52.95, UR
THE PAPER CHASE: SEASON TWO
$36.95, UR
THE TUDORS: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON
$24.95, UR
A more complete listing and free vids at www.videotapeworm.com.