Newsletter - FOR THE WEEK

OF November 1st, 2010

Imaynalla!  - Borzage masterpieces (3), Lars von Trier from Criterion, David Lean, Pixar wonders, Christmas fare, Connery immortals, Ian Fleming flying cars, and more colorful Baz - all on Blu-ray. The lesser format has noir, Iranian cinema, a bizarre documentary, Corman and plenty of other horror flics on DVD. There are our usual additions of calendar updates and another new contest... Enjoy!

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November 1st CONTEST - identify the clip on the CONTEST PAGE to win brand new Blu-ray of Sex in the City 2

If there are DVD titles you'd like us to cover - please feel free to recommend!

Gary at 2ze dot com

The Visitor - Learning that one of Satan's spawn is an eight year old girl named Katy (Paige Connor), Jesus Christ (Franco Nero, DJANGO) sends Jerzy Colsowicz (director John Huston, who also picked up a check guesting in Assonitis' JAWS cash-in TENTACLES) to Atlanta to investigate. He finds that Satan's minions have plans for precocious Katy's mother Barbara (Joanne Nail) giving birth to an equally "gifted" son. When her boyfriend Raymond (Lance Henriksen, who also popped up in the Assonitis-produced CHOKE CANYON) is unable to convince her to marry him, sinister forces arrange for Barbara to become paralyzed (thanks to a handgun that shows up in one of Katy's birthday presents) but Barbara may have some protection in the form of mystical housekeeper Jane (Shelley Winters, who also popped up with Huston in TENTACLES) and Jerzy, who has become Katy's babysitter. DVD Release Date: November 2nd, 2010

The Terror Within / Dead Space - In the aftermath of a chemically induced plague that wipes out most of the world, the only survivors are a small group of scientists trapped in a laboratory 500 feet below the ground in the Mojave Desert. But they are not alone. The Terror Within stars Academy Award winner George Kennedy (Cool Hand Luke), Andrew Stevens (The Fury) and Terri Treas (The Nest). Phaebon had been thought to be a safe and controlled research facility until a distress signal calls for Commander Kreiger (Marc Singer) and his robot Tinpan. Together, they try to save the planet from a spreading virus and an odd and growing cocoon in Dead Space, a loose remake of Forbidden World. Also starring Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) and Laura Tate. DVD Release Date: November 2nd, 2010

Lucky Star BD - "Sorry about that rock - but that was an awful lick'in" Mary tells Tim reminding him of their first meeting... and his over-the-knee administered spanking of the wide-eyed waif. In their next interaction - Tim, wounded in the war and confined to a wheelchair, gives her a consensual shampooing - washing her hair with eggs, working his strong hands deeply into her knots of thick urchin-hair. She is starting to blossom, but still has some mud on her. He states "Say! You'd be three times as white if I gave you a good scrubbing." But when he starts to disrobe her - it finally hits him. "How old are you anyway?" - "Most eighteen" she replies. Panic crosses his face and he shoos her away. The very late realization endears us to both characters.... and, never-the-less, love is plainly in the country air. Blu-ray Release date: November 3rd, 2010

White Christmas BD - Now available in stunning high definition, White Christmas is a treasury of Irving Berlin classics, among them 'Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep', 'Sisters', 'Blue Skies', and the beloved holiday song, 'White Christmas.' Two talented song-and-dance men (Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye) team up after the war to become one of the hottest acts in show business. One winter, they join forces with a sister act (Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen) and trek to Vermont for a white Christmas. Of course, there's the requisite fun with the ladies, but the real adventure starts when Crosby & Kaye discover that the inn is run by their old army general who's now in financial trouble. And the result is the stuff dreams are made of. Blu-ray Release Date: November 2nd, 2010

Make-Out With Violence - Just after graduating from high school, pretty Wendy Hearst (Shellie Marie Shartzer) disappeared and was presumed dead. The friends she left behind include slacker Patrick (co-writer Eric Lehning) and his introverted fraternal twin brother Carol (co-writer Cody DeVos), their kid brother Beetle (Brett Miller), buddy Rody (composer Jordan Lehning), and Addy (Leah High). After the in-absentia funeral service, Carol takes Beetle cicada-hunting and they discover that while Wendy is dead, she's still walking around. DVD Release Date: October 25th, 2010

Antichrist BD - Lars von Trier shook up the film world when he premiered Antichrist at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. In this graphic psychodrama, a grief-stricken man and woman—a searing Willem Dafoe and Cannes best actress winner Charlotte Gainsbourg—retreat to their cabin deep in the woods after the accidental death of their infant son, only to find terror and violence at the hands of nature and, ultimately, each other. But this most confrontational work yet from one of contemporary cinema’s most controversial artists is no mere provocation. It is a visually sublime, emotionally ravaging journey to the darkest corners of the possessed human mind; a disturbing battle of the sexes that pits rational psychology against age-old superstition; and a profoundly effective horror film. Criterion Blu-ray Release Date: November 8th, 2010

Highlander BD - Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery star in the epic tale of immortality that launched one of the most beloved action-adventure series in film and TV history. After Scottish clansman Connor MacLeod (Lambert) discovers his true identity as a member of a legion of immortals, he embarks on a legendary journey spanning continents and centuries, eventually landing in modern-day New York City. Connor faces his ultimate test when other immortals begin to appear in the city, leading to a titanic showdown where only one can claim victory. Blu-ray Release Date: November 2nd, 2010

Street Angel BD - This entrancing production was directed by Frank Borsage, who guided the destinies of the pictorial version of "Seventh Heaven." In it the leading roles are finely portrayed by Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell. Never has the camera been used quite so effectively and artistically as it is in this subject, for in the background of the sombre side of Naples there are the compelling shadows, the inspiring old arches, the slender iron railings over the foot-worn steps and, in many of the scenes, there hangs a soft mist through which the characters sometimes fade gradually from view. Blu-ray Release date: November 3rd, 2010

Not of This Earth - When a mysterious stranger (Arthur Roberts, Up In Smoke) arrives in town, he hires Nadine (Traci Lords, Blade, Cry-Baby) as his private nurse. Although the pay is great, she becomes more and more suspicious of the stranger when his request for blood transfusions become more frequent. After some junior detective work, Nadine finds out that her new boss is not who he appears to be... and he is not even from our planet! DVD Release Date: November 2nd, 2010

Frontier Blues - The pathos of a declining macho culture is captured in all its taciturn insignificance in Babak Jalali’s offbeat debut. However, in dwelling on the soul-crushing repetitiveness of life on the Turkmen-Iranian border, Jalali generates his own ennui, as he fails to provide much insight into the principals or their morose steppe existence. The focus is divided between slow-witted donkey owner Abolfazl Karimi, his outfitter uncle Behzad Shahrivari, restless chicken farmer Mahmoud Kalteh and testy minstrel Khajeh Araz Dordi. DVD Release Date: November 8th, 2010

7th Heaven BD - This is an exceptionally well-acted place of work and Janet Gaynor's performance as Diane is true and natural throughout. This young woman was discovered by Winfield R. Sheehan, general production manager for the Fox Film Corporation. Never once does she falter in her difficult task of reflecting the emotions of the character she portrays. There is no effort to make her unduly beautiful with a halo over her head. She is winsome from the moment one beholds her countenance. Blu-ray Release date: November 3rd, 2010

Romeo + Juliet BD - It is in a way fitting that Leonardo and Claire operate in this movie like there isn’t anyone else in it. Romeo and Juliet are very young and completely besot with Love. As a couple they take note of their friends and families only so far as how to avoid detection – but even there, they flirt with the disaster of apprehension. They act despite Juliet’s words of caution. If only their speech were not so much of a different style than everyone else’s. It’s not like the rest of the cast is in tune with the stage rhythms we associate with Shakespeare, but that the other actors exude a confidence in the language such that we believe they believe they know what they are talking about. Claire, less so. Leonardo, still less. Blu-ray Release date: October 19th, 2010

The Bridge on the River Kwai BD - The Bridge on the River Kwai is a towering triumph of a motion picture. It has the definite stamp of class about it and stands out as one of the greatest war pictures ever made. The first of David Lean's epics, it is primarily set in a Japanese World War II POW camp. It is at the same time a definitive character study of an obsessive British Army Officer and a savage indictment of the futility of war acutely symbolised by the fate of the eponymous bridge. Made in glorious Cinemascope the film looks really spectacular on the Big Screen, Jack Hildyard makes masterful use of his cameras. Blu-ray Release Date: November 2nd, 2010

Toy Story 3 BD - As Andy gets ready to leave for college, Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the rest of the gang wonder if this is the end of the line. But, when a mix up lands them in the Sunnyside Day Care Center where they meet 14 new toys, they soon discover that a wild new adventure is just beginning! Take an amazing journey with some of the most beloved characters in movie history and discover what being a friend is truly all about. Blu-ray Release date: November 2nd, 2010

This Side of the Law - The Taylor family has long awaited this moment. The final bequest of Malcolm Taylor, a millionaire missing nearly seven years and about to be declared dead, will go into effect and his heirs will own his Sans Souci estate. But – just like that – dreams of wealth and power slip from everyone’s grasp. There, standing inside Sans Souci and very alive, is Malcolm. Kent Smith (Cat People) portrays a hard-luck vagrant and Malcolm look-alike manipulated by a shady attorney (Robert Douglas) into posing as the millionaire. Will anyone see through the ruse – the wife (Viveca Lindfors) who detested Malcolm, the brother (John Alvin), the secret lover (Janis Paige)? Mystery and murder darken the film noir doorstep in This Side of the Law. DVD Release Date: September 7, 2010

The Sellout - Respected newspaperman Haven D. Allridge (Walter Pidgeon) goes after the vicious petty Napoleon who holds a small town in his corrupt grasp. In the midst of his campaign to expose the crook, Allridge suddenly skips town. Is he a sellout, or has his crusade led him into a sinister trap? This bare-knuckle crime drama features a superb in-the-know and in-the-noir cast that includes John Hodiak, Karl Malden, Cameron Mitchell, Everett Sloane, Thomas Gomez, and as a sloe-eyed chantootsie who ends up battered and behind bars, film noir icon Audrey Totter. Like the honest newshounds and lawmen who inhabit it, The Sellout doesn’t miss a thing: the film ends with a nifty courtroom-thriller sequence. DVD Release Date: August 17th, 2010

Winnebago Man - Type The Angriest Man in the World; into any search engine and one name appears Jack Rebney (a.k.a. The Winnebago Man), an 80s RV salesman whose hilarious, profanity-strewn, on-the-job meltdown was captured on video and passed around on VHS tapes, before exploding into an Internet phenomenon seen by millions. When a young filmmaker goes in search of the legendary man who disappeared 20 years ago, he finds Rebney living alone on a mountain top, as sharp-tongued as ever, but more intelligent and lovable than anyone could have imagined. DVD Release Date: November 2nd, 2010

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang BD - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang entranced and thrilled children and their parents when it puttered into the cinema in 1968. More than three decades later, and despite the eventual arrival of a stage version that throws the full weight of blockbuster effects at the story, the original remains the real thing for fans of all ages. The flying car is the star and it's impossible not to feel a surge of thrilling relief as the wings kick in when she plunges over the cliff and soars off on her great adventure. Blu-ray Release date: November 2nd, 2010
 

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