And guess who sold off his record player a while ago? Boooo to me!
Clearer message: Go here. BUY STUFF. Be happy. That is all. Rinse and repeat if necessary (and it will be necessary). Show this post to friends and don’t be at all surprised when it works on them as well. OBEY.
Okay, NOW, that is all.
-GW
While it’s a small selection this month, everything Arrow is shipping next month has my seal of approval. Your dinner is spread out across the month of November and includes an appetizer of murder and mayhem, while the main course gets you a somewhat Gothic mystery, a classic western and a spicy side of 70’s horror. As for dessert, how does TWO scoops of a great sci-fi/action film suit you? Well. I’m starving now, so let’s see what’s coming next month:
Here a bit about each film (in case you’re scratching your head on a few of these):
Apprentice To Murder (11/05/2019)
Flowers In The Attic (11/12/2019)
The Far Country (11/12/2019)
Hitchhike To Hell (11/19/2019)
RoboCop (Limited Edition) (11/26/2019)
RoboCop (Steelbook) (11/26/2019)
Hmmm… I wonder if that RoboCop Steelbook is ED-209 proof? All those special features will definitely have me watching this film again, that’s for sure. I’ve actually seen everything here back in the day except Hitchhike To Hell. The Far Country I think I recall from a TV edit many years back, so it’ll be interesting to see the remastered version. This selection from Arrow and Arrow Academy is definitely making me quiver in anticipation.
-GW
She does look FAAK-ing familiar, but that’s a good thing.
Speaking of metal, Crian Soft’s new game in progress looks like something out of the pages of Heavy Metal magazine circa 1983 or so. This is a good thing as the developer’s not known for 100% tight gameplay (I’ve played and liked Age of Barbarian despite it being a bit of clunky fun), so I’m not expecting it to break a mold or anything like that. Actually, it is a mold breaker in one way, as it’s the company’s first console release, which is cool (about time!).
Here’s a peek at the game’s first trailer and some screens to ogle. So cheesy it hurts, but hell, I’ll be onboard if it nails more that just the looks just right.
Oh yeah, it’s on, even if it’s not so hot at the end of the day. Hey, if I’m surprised that it’s good stuff, all the better, right?
-GW
(Thanks, Luciano Napoli!)
No, Tuco… you’ve not been forgotten, pal. We’ll get to you soon enough. Hey, folks – Video Store Action Heroes is a thing and it’s LIVE (woo and hoo). Check out the three cooler entries and mine, which is just OK:
Just press PLAY (and don’t forget to rewind when you’re done, pal.
Mike’s Take on the Movies does up 1983’s Uncommon Valor (in which we also discover Mike either works out regularly, has some great Photoshop skills, or both).
Todd goes all Cinema Monolith on 1980’s ffolkes (aka North Sea Hijack or Assault Force) in a Moore or less fine as usual review.
Wolfman’s Cult Movie Club takes on one of my favorites, 1987’s The Hidden and I’ll say now that it’s a good thing he saw this great hidden gem first and not the screamingly awful sequel.
What’s up for future installments? Well… you’ll just need to tune in and find out now, won’t you?
-GW
Ooh, it’s my first entry in this soon to be never-ending series. Be gentle!
While it’s certainly an entertaining popcorn and beer-worthy flick with great camerawork, direction and an appropriately 80’s blend of synth-heavy and orchestral scoring courtesy of Stanley Myers and Hans Zimmer, there’s something a wee bit “off” about Nico Mastorakis’ 1986 film The Zero Boys that keeps it from total greatness. Don’t get me wrong, folks: It’s certainly got just about everything it needs to be a perfectly fine cheesy action flick and even adds in some mildly disturbing moments that lend it a solid horror vibe. However, there’s very little in the way of gore here and you certainly don’t want to go in expecting a ton of exploitative nudity even though you’d think a film such as this made at this point in time would include a moderate heaping of both as par for the crowd-pleasing course.
In fact, according to an interview on the Arrow Video Blu-Ray, Mastorakis deliberately made the film this way as a sort of counterbalance to his far more brutal 1976 film Island of Death. If you take away the expletives and make a few minor edits, you pretty much have a PG-rated flick that you could easily show on a regular network or basic cable channel these days. Amusingly enough, by comparison, an average episode of Gotham has a load more violence than what you’ll see here (I kind of liked the first two seasons, but the show’s gotten a bit too grim as a alternate world take on its source material, but I digress…).
Let’s see now: Bandanna? Check. Attitude? Check. Gun? Check. I think that’s everything, but you know how these things go (until they don’t go the way you think).
That’s not to say the film is totally tame, mind you. It moves from high action and a slightly comedic tone at the start into those more moody and serious scare scenes with relative ease and works well enough on that level. In general, Mastorakis’ films tend to go in all sorts of directions as they blend drama, comedy, action, sexy stuff and lots of suspension of disbelief common to genre films. Of course, if you pay too close attention to the writing, some parts don’t click as well as they should because the story needs to move along, damn the continuity consequences or assorted logic fails. In other words, this is one of those films where any sort of overthinking makes it a lot less fun.
Psst. Hey. Yeah, you. Keep this a secret, would ya? Um, August 18th is when you may want to pop in and see what’s what. Shhhhhh. Just you, though.
Okay, you may tell a friend or three. I’ll go make some popcorn.
-GW
An early Christmas gift for myself, arriving in time to rescue a bumpy week. Yep. Review incoming – stay tuned. Thank you, Vinegar Syndrome! That packing job was superb and the shipping was super quick. Now, I need to get my grubby paws on that DVD catalog set of yours so I can poke at a few other releases for the library here.
Back in a bit.
-GW
“Sometimes it snows in April.” Thanks to not sleeping last night (working on a few projects for the site plus tackling a small freelance job) I was quite out of the loop today and only heard the news that Prince died when I walked in the door. While I wasn’t a die-hard super fan like a few friends, the fact that he did just about EVERYTHING on his studio recordings and was so prolific that it made me wonder if the man ever slept. That sort of work ethic has always impressed me, but it’s always sad to see someone so talented leave so soon. Anyway, I’ll just leave this clip here (it’s been circulating the internet like a satellite today). In a way, I feel sorry for the kids today who never got to see any of these legends live or don’t know of how much they all changed the music and entertainment scene. All were human and had human problems, but on stage or on whatever you listened to them on, your brain and body were moving to beats that still resonate and motivate when the need arises.
Back in a bit. My favorite Prince song? Wow. Much of Purple Rain aside, I guess this one because it made me laugh (that dancing in the video is awesome but amusing) and even more so when it was covered by an icon from a previous era whose career got a massive boost afterwards.
Oh yep. I’ve since forgotten who introduced me to Amphetamine Reptile Records way back in the day, but it was a fine and more than a little insane musical journey that was great while it lasted. MVD Entertainment Group is getting me (and some of you) to relive those glory days of noise rock with what’s going to be one of the best documentaries on the subject, Eric Robel’s The Color of Noise in a Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack. This trailer gives you a little taste of what to expect when the doc appears on home video November 24 and even better, MVD and AmRep will also re-issue some of the best releases from the label’s catalog on vinyl and CD starting in December 2015 and continuing into 2016 and beyond. Continue reading
If you’re a child of the 1960’s, 70’s or 80’s, or know someone of a certain age craving some random nostalgia, Retro Pop Box is going to be right up your/their alley. The just-launched subscription-only service delivers the goods in the form of monthly boxes of themed swag, all of it fun and guaranteed to get the memory banks kicking in as you’re transported back to your childhood.
A sampler box containing a few items from all three eras popped up in my mailbox a few days back (thanks, Chris!) and it made a rather bland Wednesday end on a rainbow-colored rocket with a paisley disco ball painted on it. Or something close to that.
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 