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    Devil Hunter

    Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 9th, 2009

    Devil Hunter dvd cover art

    A group of low-life gangsters kidnap a starlet (Ursula Fellner) and hightail it off to a jungle island, where they subject their victim to endless indignities while waiting for the ransom money to arrive. Al Cliver is dispatched to rescue her, but his helicopter arrival draws the attention of a group of hostile natives and, more to the point, a red-eyed, cannibal zombie-god who holds them in a grip of fear.
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    Breakfast At Tiffany’s - Paramount Centennial Collection

    Posted in Disc Reviews by Aric Mitchell on January 9th, 2009

    Breakfast At Tiffany's - Paramount Centennial Collection dvd cover art

    Holly Golightly is perhaps the most tragic, depressing character in all of literature and film, especially to those of us who know (or have known) people just like her. As an example to aspire to, Golightly fails miserably. She is internally and externally destructive, intentionally so. Truman Capote, author of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the novella in which she was formed, has created in her a realistic portrait of people that fear happiness, and so imprison themselves to lives of restless and reckless abandon.
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    Rawhide - Season Three, Vol. 2

    Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 18th, 2008

    Rawhide - Season Three, Vol. 2 dvd cover art

    This is the second half of the third season of Rawhide. Among the better episodes found in this collection are: Incident On The Road Back. Favor is accused of horse rustling. That means hangin’ in those days. In Incident Of The Boomerang, some cattle are off to the Land Down Under, but one of the men may not be who he says he is. Rowdy is arrested for murder… again.
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    Gunsmoke - The Third Season, Vol. 1

    Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 18th, 2008

    Gunsmoke - The Third Season, Vol. 1 dvd cover art

    The setting for Gunsmoke was the by now famous Dodge City, circa 1870’s. Phrases like “get out of Dodge” would enter the popular lexicon as a result of this resilient series. Marshall Dillon (Arness) was charged with keeping the peace in Dodge City. The only other character to see the entire 20 year run was kindly Doc Adams (Stone). Star Trek’s own Doc, Leonard McCoy, took many of his traits from Doc Adams.
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    Petticoat Junction - The Official First Season

    Posted in Disc Reviews by Aric Mitchell on December 15th, 2008

    Petticoat Junction -  The Official First Season dvd cover art

    Come ride the little train that is on its way to the junction. Petticoat Junction. This forgotten show is a blast to behold at the junction. Petticoat Junction. Lots of curves for you to watch, much better than Who’s the Boss?, is the junction. Petticoat Junction – The Official First Season.
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    The Mod Squad - The Second Season, Vol. 1

    Posted in Disc Reviews by Aric Mitchell on December 15th, 2008

    The Mod Squad - The Second Season, Vol. 1 dvd cover art

    What do you get when you mix three juvenile delinquents, an enterprising police captain, and a load of social commentary mixed into the confines of an hour-long police drama? Why, TV’s “The Mod Squad,” of course; or, for the purpose of this review, The Mod Squad – Season 2, Volume 1. Yes, aggravating as it is, Paramount is still pushing their half-seasons on the public,
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    Dynasty: Season Three, Vol. Two

    Posted in Disc Reviews by Aric Mitchell on December 5th, 2008

    Dynasty: Season Three, Vol. Two dvd cover art

    High art it isn’t, but one thing’s for sure: Dynasty is ass-in-seat television. Launched in 1981, the John Forsythe-Linda Evans-Joan Collins starring vehicle crossed lines and took chances few of its contemporaries were willing to take. For several years Dynasty defied conservative conventions with sordid tales of extramarital affairs, catfights, and the hot-button issue of homosexual parenting. It’s this last issue that is featured so prominently in Dynasty – The Third Season, Volume Two.
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    Road House

    Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 26th, 2008

    Road House (Fox Film Noir) dvd cover art

    No, this isn’t the Patrick Swayze vehicle. Instead, it’s another golden opportunity for Richard Widmark to unleash his patented psycho act. Here he plays Jefty, playboy owner of the titular establishment. His right-hand man is Pete (Cornel Wilde), who is the serious-minded half of the partnership. Said partnership is strained when Jefty brings back the latest singer for the club, one Lily (Ida Lupino, in superb hard-boiled form). Pete thinks she’s bad news, and she is, only not in the way any of the three suspect. Jefty decides he’s in love with her, but she only has eyes for Pete, and he, despite misgivings, reciprocates. Jefty doesn’t take rejection well. Not well at all…
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    Moontide

    Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 24th, 2008

    Moontide (Fox Film Noir) dvd cover art

    Jean Gabin, in his American debut, plays Bobo, a French sailor who has been knocking around the States for quite some time in the company of Tiny (Thomas Mitchell). Their wandering comes to a stop when, the day after a night of drunken excess that he cannot remember, Bobo sees Anna (Ida Lupino) wading into the waves to commit suicide. He rescues her, and before long the two are living together on the bait barge where he is working, and fall in love. Dark clouds are on the horizon, however. A local man was murdered, and Tiny, resentful that his meal ticket has been taken from him, darkly hints to Anna that Bobo might be responsible, even though he doesn’t know it himself.
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    Boomerang

    Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 9th, 2008

    Boomerang (Fox Film Noir) dvd cover art

    Small town Connecticut. A beloved priest is gunned down in the middle of a busy street, and the pressure is on for the police to find the killer. The new regime at city hall needs a conviction, and doesn’t care too much about the niceties. When a suspect (Arthur Kennedy) is at last found, police chief Lee J. Cobb isn’t entirely happy with the case, but he passes it on to DA Dana Andrews, who is under even more political pressure. At first pleased with the case, Andrews becomes uncertain the more he looks into it, and startles everyone (not least the defence attorney) by entering a plea of innocent at the beginning of the trial. Politicians and lynch mobs are soon baying at his door.
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    Last House on the Beach

    Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 1st, 2008

    Last House on the Beach dvd cover art

    After a violent bank robbery, a trio of criminals descend upon the beach house retreat of a nun and her students. The bad guys take the women hostage, and make themselves at home, tormenting, raping and abusing to their hearts’ content, pushing their victims ever further over the edge.
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    Cannibal Terror

    Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 25th, 2008

    Cannibal Terror dvd cover art

    Two inept thieves and their prostitute girlfriend decide to hit the big time, crime-wise, by kidnapping the little girl (clearly and disturbingly dubbed by an adult) of an automobile tycoon. When their contact manages to get himself run over by a car while crossing the street, they have to hightail it out of town until the heat cools (or something like that – don’t press me too hard for clear logic in this film). So off they head to what I suppose is the South American jungle, by my goodness there seem to be a lot of pine trees in the jungle. There they hole up at the home of a friend-of-a-friend, a middle-aged man who has the role Jess Franco would be playing if this were a Jess Franco film. He has a beautiful wife, and one of the thieves takes it in his head to rape her. So their host now has vengeance on his mind, and there are cannibals (you were wondering when I was going to get to them, weren’t you?) lurking in the woods.
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    The Beverly Hillbillies: The Official Second Season

    Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 7th, 2008

    The Beverly Hillbillies: The Official Second Season dvd cover art

    Come and listen to my story about a man named Jed. Poor mountaineer barely kept his family fed. Then one day he was shootin’ at some food and up from the ground comes a bubblin’ crude. Oil that is… Black Gold…Texas Tea…”
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    My Three Sons: The First Season, Vol. 1

    Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 3rd, 2008

    My Three Sons: The First Season, Vol. 1 dvd cover art

    Just to look at it you would think that My 3 Sons was a Disney production. Its star Fred MacMurray had appeared in many Disney films of the 50’s and 60’s and is most likely recognizable from those appearances. Two of the three boys were also known for work with Disney. The eldest boy, Mike, was played by Tim Considine, who starred with MacMurray in Disney’s The Shaggy Dog. Middle son Robbie was played by a former Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer,
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    Alvin and The Chipmunks: Holiday Gift Set

    Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 3rd, 2008

    Alvin and The Chipmunks: Holiday Gift Set dvd cover art

    The holiday season is coming fast. It should come as no surprise with all of the Chipmunk DVDs being released that a Holiday Collection was going to be included. Of all of the sets, this is the best. There 12 episodes in all, and each is among the best of the classic show. You get three discs, one for each of the upcoming special days: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. There’s plenty of Chipmunk antics and some great song selections included in each disc.
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    Bloodhounds of Broadway (1952)

    Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 26th, 2008

    Bloodhounds of Broadway dvd cover art

    Damon Runyon’s stories would most famously make it into musical form in 1955 with Guys and Dolls. But in the meantime, this 1952 effort featured many of the same sorts of characters – wise-cracking-but-harmless gangsters and their glamorous molls. Here, Numbers Foster (Scott Brady) hightails it out of town to avoid a Congressional hearing, and on the way back, he picks up country songbird Emily Ann Stackerlee (Mitzi Gaynor), much to the displeasure of New York girlfriend Yvonne (Marguerite Chapman). Heavier on plot and lighter on numbers than some other musicals of the period, this is a jovial effort, but understandably in the shadow of its more famous cousin.
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    Friday The 13th - The Series: The First Season

    Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 26th, 2008

    Friday The 13th - The Series: The First Season dvd cover art

    If you come to this DVD set in the hopes of discovering something to do with Jason or even his machete wielding momma, you will be very disappointed. There is no Camp Crystal Lake, and no one’s wearing a hockey mask. The fact is that this series, syndicated from Canada, had absolutely nothing to do with the film franchise. They have no characters in common. They have no connection to the stories in the film franchise. Basically the name is the only thing they share.
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    Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Alvinnn!!! Edition

    Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 25th, 2008

    Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Alvinnn!!! Edition dvd cover art

    The Alvin Collection is another group of episodes of The Chipmunks from their popular Saturday Morning series, Alvin And The Chipmunks. The shorts are not theme related as some of the other recent sets have been. The stories range from the film inspired Romancing Miss Stone to the globe trotting episodes like Maids In Japan or The Curse Of The Lontiki. They aired originally between 1983 and 1987, but many of them have sprung up in syndication up to the present day. There are 14 episodes in all, lasting a little over 20 minutes each.
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    Duckman - Seasons One & Two

    Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 25th, 2008

    Duckman - Seasons One & Two dvd cover art

    Duckman began life as an underground comic created by Everett Peck. It gathered to itself quite a cult following, and like all such things caught the attention of Hollywood. The USA Network took a chance on the quirky property and cast Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander to voice the crude character. And so Duckman’s wife was killed, and he was forced to rent his own house from his sister-in-law who was left the estate by Duckman’s wife.
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    The Girl Next Door (1953)

    Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 19th, 2008

    The Girl Next Door dvd cover art

    Star of song and stage Jeannie Laird (June Haver) returns from a triumphant tour to settle down in her new suburban home. Next door is widowed cartoonist Bill Carter (Dan Dailey), and sparks fly between the glamorous star and the low-key nice guy. The course of true love doesn’t run smoothly, however, due to Bill’s son Joe (Billy Gray, of The Day the Earth Stood Still), who doesn’t take kindly to the new woman in his father’s life.
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    Charlie Chan Collection, Vol. 5

    Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 19th, 2008

    Charlie Chan Collection, Vol. 5 (Charlie Chan At The Wax Museum/Murder Over New York/Dead Men Tell/Charlie Chan In Rio/Charlie Chan In Panama/Murder C dvd cover art

    The character of Charlie Chan was created by writer Earl Derr Biggers in 1925 in the book A House Without A Key. He based the character on real life Honolulu detective Chang Apana. Like the fictional Chan, Apana was a detective of Chinese descent on the island. In the first three films, all based on Biggers novels, the character was played by three different actors. It wasn’t until 1933 that Warner Oland took the part in a long series of films that the character gained his worldwide fame. When Oland died in 1938 the series continued with actor Sidney Toler in the title role.
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    Alvin and The Chipmunks: Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom

    Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 19th, 2008

    Alvin and The Chipmunks: Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom dvd cover art

    The Chipmunks began life oddly enough as a singing group, of sorts. They were the brainchild of struggling songwriter Ross Bagdasarian and were named after the three chief executives at Liberty records. His own alter ego David Seville’s name came from his World War II Army station in Spain. The Chipmunks first appeared in a 1958 record called The Witch Doctor, but wouldn’t officially become The Chipmunks until later that year when The Chipmunks Christmas Song was released.
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    With a Song In My Heart

    Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 11th, 2008

    With a Song in My Heart - The Jane Froman Story dvd cover art

    A mixture of biopic and musical, this vehicle stars Susan Hayward as Jane Froman, an incredibly popular singing star in the 40s who had to battle back from terrible wounds suffered in a plane crash after her first performance for American troops overseas during WWII. The film begins with Froman’s triumphant comeback, and flashes back to the events leading up to this. The pic is efficiently put together, and Hayward’s lip-synching (Froman dubbed in her own singing) is unusually convincing. But the crash itself is disappointingly undramatic.
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    Fat Albert’s Halloween Special

    Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 11th, 2008

    Fat Albert's Halloween Special dvd cover art

    “Hey Hey Hey, It’s Fat Albert!”

    That’s right, it’s Fat Albert. Bill Cosby invented the portly young Albert for his stand-up and album releases in the 1960’s. The character, like many of Cosby’s stories, is based on elements of his own youth. My parents were huge Cosby fans, so I had heard all about these Cosby Kids long before they hit television in 1972. Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids was an almost instant hit on the Saturday Morning cartoon menu.
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    The Executioner’s Song (Director’s Cut)

    Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 19th, 2008

    The Executioner's Song (Director's Cut) dvd cover art

    Gary Gilmore is most known not for the people he killed so much as for the way that he died. As killers go, Gilmore wasn’t even a serial killer by definition. He was responsible for two deaths, both in the commission of a crime. We remember Gilmore mostly because he fought to be executed at a time the United States Supreme Court had stricken down our nation’s death penalty laws in a landmark decision, Furman vs. Georgia.
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