Disc Reviews

"I'm gonna let 'em know that Dolemite is back on the scene!" 

Rudy Ray Moore can't act to save his eternal soul. In fact, everything about Dolemite makes an Ed Wood film look like a Cecil DeMille epic masterpiece. So what is it about this cheap blaxsploitation film that gives it legs over 40 years after it was first released? If I could truly answer that, I would have the answer to Life, The Universe And Everything. What I can tell you is that when I found out that Dolemite was coming here to be reviewed, I couldn't hide that big wide grin on my face for hours. I was just a kid the first time I saw the film. One friend asked me what kind of parents I had that would let me watch a movie like that as a kid. My answer is usually, "Who said they knew I was watching it?" The real truth is that my Pop was probably sitting right next to me when I did. He was a sucker for schlock... the badder the better, and it don't get no badder than Dolemite.

I feel I should start this off with a little disclaimer; if you are the least bit squeamish and can’t handle the sight of blood and gore, click out of this review as fast as you can, because things are about to get a little bit messy as I delve into the American Guinea Pig series.  For those of you who hung around, I’m guessing you’re either a gore hound or simply have a morbid curiosity as to what this film is all about.  Some of you may already know about the Guinea Pig series, but for those who don’t, here is a little crash course for you.

The Guinea Pig series isn’t just a part of horror cinema, but instead it fits into a more obscure niche of extreme-horror.  It belongs in the section of reserved for some of the most over-the-top gore cinema has to offer and simply just isn’t for everyone.  The original series came out in Japan and had its run through the 80s-90s that depicted some horrific acts of violence and was graphic enough to not only get banned in numerous countries but was even investigated for possibly being a real snuff film after a copy came into Charlie Sheen’s possession.

Anthony Perkins is arguably most well known as Norman Bates, the hotel owner with mommy issues from Psycho. While Hitchcock’s film was groundbreaking for the horror genre (and Hollywood in general), I find it strange that Perkins’s career did not improve with such a commercial hit. He had certainly acted in other projects prior to Psycho, but his name is not one that I see very often. In other words, I have never “happened upon” an Anthony Perkins film, I seek out films in which he has acted. As a matter of fact, I can count those films on one hand: The Trial, and the three schlocky sequels to Psycho. This Blu ray double feature contains two films produced in the late 80s between Psycho III and Psycho IV, towards the end of his career.

I must admit that the first film in the pack, Destroyer, was a little disappointing. It started with an amazing concept: A famous director rents the space of an abandoned prison to film his “women in prison” sexploitation film. The film’s writer (Clayton Rohner) and stuntwoman girlfriend occupy the lead roles, and as the night full of production continues the crew is murdered by an ominous presence kept secret by the ex-prisoners living in the town. The film was competently crafted and well written, but the cover of the disc made promises that it could not keep. For example, when I see a picture of a gigantic, muscular man with a skull-like visage on the cover, I kind of want to see that in the film as well. To be fair, I most certainly got a muscular antagonist: Lyle Alzado, Former NFL defensive linesman of the Cleveland Browns, has a very large and intimidating presence. Now, the film did provide pretty creative ways to dispose of expendable characters, but after watching the “final showdown” between protagonist and antagonist, I felt let down because there was no amazing 80s special effects makeup grafted to the football star’s face.

“To all things, there is a purpose. It was the time of judges. The Lord had punished the children of Israel for their sins against him. He had delivered them into the hands of the Philistines.”

The timeframe of Samson and Delilah is around 1075 B.C. Samson, like many characters in the Bible, is chosen by God but is far from perfect. The stories of many characters in the Bible are ones of sinners, and they must always try to overcome their flaws with God’s help and intervention. Samson was given the strength of 100 men and was chosen to deliver the Jewish people from their oppressors, the Philistines. Samson grows up knowing that he was chosen, but he is not ambitious and is somewhat vain and lustful. His general nature is good, and he is often pulled in different directions. Samson’s parents, Mara (Diana Rigg, The Game of Thrones) and Manoach (Paul Freeman, Raiders of the Lost Ark) want to protect their son from the war that is to come. A village girl, Noemi (Jane Arikan) represents those who want to spur Samson to fulfill his destiny. Samson is portrayed by two actors, Jonathan Rhys Meyers (The Tudors) as the young Samson and, in greater detail, Eric Thal (The Puppet Masters) as the older Samson.

Dr. Temperance Brennan, or Bones, (Deschanel) is the world's leading bone specialist. She works in Washington, D.C. for the famous Jeffersonian (I assume it's intended to be the Smithsonian). Her talents have proven themselves very helpful in solving crimes where skeletal remains are all that there is to go on from the victim. Her FBI agent/liaison is Seeley Booth (Boreanaz). Together they have an uneasy relationship that grows into a kind of friendship and eventually a marriage with a young daughter. The problem is that Bones doesn't have a ton of social skills. She relies on Booth to guide their social interactions. More on that later. The lab is run by Dr. Camille Saroyan (Taylor), who has become a bit of a guiding mother to the team. Dr. Hodges (Thyne) is the trace-elements expert and tries very hard to be cool and hip. He's generally the opposite of Bones. He says pretty much what comes into his head and is a bit of a science-fiction geek. Angela (Conlin) is an artist who uses her skills to reconstruct facial details from the skulls. She also works on enhancing images and restructuring evidence. She's a bit of a romantic and has probably slept with every male in the lab. But Angela and Hodges are now married with a son. The lab also has a few interns who show up from week to week, likely depending on actor availability. This year we lost Dr. Sweets. Dr. Sweets (Daley) was a young FBI agent and psychologist. He profiled victims and suspects as well as served as a counselor to the team. He was a bit over-eager at times, looking up to Booth as a mentor of sorts. His replacement comes in the form of young and eager FBI Special Agent Aubrey played by show newcomer John Boyd. Aubrey talks like something out of a 1950's gangster movie g-man role. He eats all the time. This 10th season he's trying hard to get Booth and the gang to trust him.

The worst problem is the Bones character herself. She's not likeable at all. She's arrogant to a fault. She always talks about being the best and how she's the natural hero role model for others. But her scientific brain is to the point of cruelty. She has to have non-emotional explanations for everything. She insults with impunity. They also stretch the idea that this highly-educated woman doesn't know any slang or figures of speech. She's always misquoting a popular saying as if she were just learning English. It's too contrived, and the writers reach pretty far for each of those "jokes". Gone now is the sexual tension between Booth and Brennan. Now they are openly together and expecting another little one.

Daniel Tosh is known for his no-holds-barred approach to stand-up comedy. His latest special, People Pleaser, is no exception: He even admits that he makes a living out of saying outrageous things in the middle of this act. Although he is often criticized for delivering racist and misogynistic humor to the young, white male demographic, Tosh gracefully disagrees through this persuasive performance. Having already seen two of his prior specials, I must admit he hit a beautiful stride in his fourth special that I really wasn’t expecting. There is an impressive retention of attitude and abrasiveness, but he added a large amount of metacognition to his act that forces the audience to really think about his performance.

More often than not, Tosh’s sets start with rather offensive jokes, and from there, he barrels his audience further down into a pit of taboo topics and suggestions. I find this style of performance to be extremely tasteful. Not only does he introduce these taboo topics (such as death, homelessness, being pro-choice, feminism, among other “hot” topics) to make fun of them, but he presents them to the audience in a way that they are forced to think about both sides of the argument. However, Tosh’s presentation is extremely juvenile, as always. I would argue that this practice of performing his material from inside the mind of a 17-21 year old male is the reason his material is so polarizing.