THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS:
THE KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE
1977; $16.98-$19.98; R
Three years before they launched “Airplane,” David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker — who did sketch comedy in college as “Kentucky Fried Theater” — hired an unknown director named John Landis (“Animal House”) to help them assemble a hodgepodge of unrelated gags into a feature-length movie. Crude, rude and just plain nuts in spots, this was decades ahead of its time and is now available in a beautiful Blu-ray. Just keep repeating: “The popcorn you’re eating has been pissed in. Film at 11.”
THE PRODUCERS
1968; $24.98-$29.98; PG
Finally available on Blu-ray, the production that made Mel Brooks a household name! Corny, racist and gleefully over-the-top, Mel leads Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder (with major help from the irrepressible Kenneth Mars) through a singing, dancing, sure-fire Broadway flop called “Springtime for Hitler,” all for the sake of pocketing loads of investor cash. A cinema classic — infinitely better than that Nathan Lane/Matthew Broderick remake — and one of the funniest films we know. Don’t miss it.
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56 UP
2012; $26.98; UR
Every seven years since 1964, filmmaker Michael Apted has revisited a group of British now-adults, documenting how they see themselves and the world around them. May not sound like much, but this is one of the most intelligent, intimate and thought-provoking docs you’ll ever seen. The surviving participants are now 56 years old, which really hits home, regardless of your age. Recommended.
6 SOULS
2010; $19.98; R
We’re not big fans of Julianne Moore, but luckily she’s largely swamped by the performance of Jonathan Rhys Meyers in this unnecessarily R-rated psychological spooker. She’s a disturbed shrink, her life and mind rushing down the tubes, when she meets Adam (Meyers), a man with multiple personality disorder. In short order it becomes clear that Adam’s personalities are all murder victims! This great plot element, plus Meyers’ amazing physical work, taking on the varying characteristics of each victim, makes the movie.
AMELIA’S 25TH
2012; $19.98-$21.98; UR
Electra Avellan, one of those amazingly hot babes from “Machete,” stars here as an aspiring actress who ditches her boyfriend on the morning of her 25th birthday. From there she visits a wonky psychic and spends the rest of the day in a more-or-less comic attempt to find something meaningful and life-affirming in Hollywood. Good luck! With help from Danny Trejo, Jennifer Tilly, Robert Rodriguez, Margaret Cho and others.
DEATH BY CHINA
2012; $13.99; UR
China, the world’s largest and richest totalitarian nation, joined the World Trade Organization in 2001 and immediately subsidized its exports in violation of that agreement. American companies retaliated by … closing American plants and moving to China! Today we owe the Chinese more than $3 trillion. This doc takes stock of how exactly all that happened, which Americans profited most by it, and how those same Americans have successfully blocked any form of trade controls to line their own pockets.
FALCÓN
2012; $27.98-$39.98; UR
Marton Csokas (Celeborn, husband to Lady Galadriel in “Lord of the Rings”) is amazing in this new noir detective series from Britain. He’s smart, hard and absolutely hates corruption of any kind — and has suffered greatly because of that. Why so tough? Well, the man has some very, very dark secrets in his past, making him one of the most watchable characters on the telly today. Based on the books of Robert Wilson and set in Seville, Spain, where Falcón and his small group of homicide dicks deal with the most gruesome crimes imaginable — all of which is splayed out in Technicolor horror for the viewer — the atmosphere is shocking and intoxicating. Highly recommended.
INESCAPABLE
2012; $26.98-$29.98; R
Marisa Tomei and Joshua Jackson liven this low-rent indie international drama about a Syrian living in Canada (Alexander Siddig) whose daughter goes missing back in Damascus. He returns there, of course, and finds the place a living hell. Tomei, his former lover, does the best she can to help him, but embassy-wonk Jackson seems to have other goals. With Oded Fehr; good stuff.
LAST RESORT: THE COMPLETE SERIES
2013; $27.98-$38.98; UR
An American submarine crew, led by Andre Braugher and Scott Speedman, is ordered to nuke Pakistan. When they radio for confirmation, they are fired on by another U.S. sub. Clearly pawns in a conspiracy, the crew scrambles to shore on a tropical paradise as armed troops gather at sea. This impressive and imaginative drama — with a surprising number of hot women aboard — came from the men behind “Oblivion” and “The Shield,” but never found its audience, which is a shame because it is tense, action-filled and profoundly entertaining. We liked it.
TAI CHI HERO
2012; $27.98-$29.98; UR
The fabulous true saga continues! This second installment in the “Tai Chi” trilogy, begun with “Tai Chi Zero,” continues the steampunk theme as young master Yang Luchan, his face famously marked with an odd, fleshy growth, teaches the secret Tai Chi fighting style to a vulnerable village beset by an army of death machines, the vanguard of a ruthless railroad company determined to run a rail line through their homes. Fast, funny and entertaining as hell!
WIENER DOG NATIONALS
2013; $24.99; G
This G-rated kid-flick is the real deal: an honest-to-goodness flick about kids, for kids, and starring … a wiener dog named Shelly. To prove it, we counted the number of times and ways that the word “wiener” was used, and while the total was in five figures, not one of them was sexually suggestive (snigger). A family’s small dachshund dreams of competing in a hotdog-sponsored competition for a $100,000 prize. But angry Dad, who blames the dog for making him lose his job, says “No!” The kids take matters into their own hands, resulting in a silly bit o’ fluff for even the most jaded, regardless of age.
A more complete listing and free vids at videotapeworm.com.