Chesty Morgan's Bosom Buddies (1975)

Doris Wishman's Deadly Weapons (1973) and Double Agent 73 (1974), both starring 73FF(!)-32-36 Chesty Morgan, makes for a bizarre double feature, and a bizarre Something Weird Blu-ray release. This set (entitled "Chesty Morgan's Bosom Buddies") also includes a third feature The Immoral Three (1975), which does not include Morgan (who had, remarkably, taken the star bit between her teeth and was promptly sacked by Wishman). We focus on the first two features starring Chesty.

John Waters had the incomparable Divine. Wishman had the incomparable Chesty Morgan. The big difference is that Divine could actually act. Morgan, an exploitation freak of nature, was the energizer bunny rabbit to Wishman's directorial enthusiasm.

Wishman's influence on John Waters cannot be underestimated. Her films are a visual smorgasbord of bad taste with attentive detail. Wishman's nonsensical lens focus is so mercurial it brings to mind Harry Langdon`s frozen camera in Three's A Crowd (1927). Repeated, dumbfounded concentration on queer inanimate objects disrupts the narrative flow and coats Wishman's films in loving disjointedness. Cut-away shots of hedges, a repellently hued yellow-ochre telephone, the most beautifully ghastly wallpaper ever captured on celluloid, and nonsensical extreme close-ups of Morgan's 73 fleshbags creates a visually surreal train wreck of a movie.

Morgan's voice is dubbed in both films. Apparently, her polish accent was so thick as to be indecipherable. Unfortunately, her acting range is nowhere near as mammoth as her breasts. Morgan begins with leathery boredom and ends with celluloid sleep walking. Now, dress this big breasted zombie up in bad wigs and garish clothing to enact a zany plot!

Well, yes, there is a plot of sorts to Deadly Weapons. It has something to do with Morgan as an office manager (!) wearing 8-inch platform heels and a blouse at least two sizes too small. She has a mobster boyfriend with sideburns that probably smell like mildew. Perhaps this is why Morgan acts like all of her co-stars have poison ivy. Regardless, she gets mauled by pornstar Harry Reems.

Morgan turns into a revenge-seeking 007 type; only, Morgan's weapon is her killer cleavage, rather than a loaded pistol. Yes, you guessed it: she suffocates her victims with her "DEADLY WEAPONS." Morgan also has some issues with Daddy, but that's veering too close to spoiler territory, and God knows that we all watch these wacky Doris Wishman/Chesty Morgan movies for the well-constructed, sophisticated plotting.

Double Agent 73 is, possibly, even more of a live action, softcore looney-tune than the previous film! Wishman's love of the medium is, again, on display, and again her talents do not make for a film as orthodox storytelling medium. But then, film does not have to be a repeater of well-worn narrative formats.

Endless shots of a cookie-cutter house and pimp shoes walking across cheaply tiled floors collide with stock footage of flowers, a jet plane, and nudist volleyball. The nasty ochre telephone from the previous film has been replaced with a tasty peach-colored one. And there's even a lovely shot of a dixie cup, and of a door that looks like it might have been stolen out of a Target warehouse.

Morgan is so comatose that she often looks like she is literally on the verge of falling asleep. Her platform shoes have, amazingly, grown about six inches and now are screaming red. It is no wonder Morgan removes them more than once, because she clearly has trouble in walking them (later, she trades them in for some cant-colored yellow pumps which shave about two inches off her height). Oh, and Chesty is a secret agent with a hidden camera surgically implanted in her mammaries. In addition to being assigned to bust up a heroin ring, Morgan is instructed to take pictures of everyone she kills (!?!), which gives her plenty of reason to remove her top. There's even nearly full-blown full-frontal nudity (whether we want to see it or not).

Morgan, with her license to kill, surprisingly, uses a variety of weapons, although choking someone to death with an ice cube may not qualify as a conventional murder scene. There is less plot in Double Agent 73 and, depending on one's perspective, this may be all for the better. If Wishman was naively channeling the dreaminess of Buñuel and Kafka in Bad Girls Go To Hell, here she lives up to her deserved reputation as the godmother of grindhouse, and parallels John Waters' early body of work. For that reason, I probably have more pronounced affection for her later films.

Deadly Weapons and Double Agent 73 are stuck in a 1970s dream style at its best/worst, and are tailor made for the Something Weird catalog.

* my review originally appeared at 366 weird movies.

Chesty Morgan is truly a stunner. The acting is subpar but that is not why you purchase something like this. You get it strictly for the visuals. As for the visuals this is a 10. As for the acting this is a 5. Worth the buy if you like big boobs.

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This is a true classic. Has to be seen to be believed. You will need a strong stomach to get through most of this. Sent your kids to out to their friends. One frame of this could cause brain damage.

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Gunless (2010)

Oh those kooky Canadians. Leave it to them to come up with this way out of left field movie. I suppose this sort of "fish out of water" thing has been done before, but this is so lively and fresh it just plain feels brand new.

Here's the scoop. Paul Gross, after dodging a hanging, finds himself in some bust-out Canadian town. He's on his horse, but he's been shot in the butt, rolled around in pig doo-doo and tied up. A long time bounty hunter/adversary is on his tail as he finds himself with an odd assortment of towns people who he must stay with (for at least a while) before he can get back on his horse and ride. It's that "at least a while" part that ends up messing with his head.

This movie is a real hoot. It's peppered with an oddball bunch of characters and somehow the goofy plot line makes its own kind of sense. They're such a crazy bunch they create a good juxtaposition to Gross's character. Yes he's killed men. Many men. But he's not a bad guy. His sense of right and wrong just somehow got out of hand. Now he meets a girl to whom he's indebted and he starts to realize that the constant running, and his sense of justice, might not be the best way to live. It almost plays out out like an episode of the "Andy Griffith Show."

It's set in a sparse part of Canada in a small town so the budget must have been manageable. But it doesn't look cheap. It's shot well and all the actors, even the secondary ones, do a really good job. You love these people and want to be with them. The music is good as well. There are a couple of quirky, tongue in cheek, tunes that help keep things light. This seems to be taking place in the late 19th century, but the language and many of the sensibilities are strictly "now." I don't know squat about Paul Gross but he handles his role extremely well. He's created a very memorable character. He reminds me a great deal of Josh Brolin. Sienna Guillroy is the love interest and she's quite fetching. These two make a fine pair.

I cannot say enough about this movie. There is no wasted time here. It moves at a decent clip and will not test your sense of time. It's as entertaining as a movie can be and it has a good heart without being cheezy. I had the time of my life watching it and would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

I watched this on Netflix the other day and was not expecting much from it... I am happy to say that it caught me off guard. There was a great blend of action, humor, and plot (something that seems to be missing from today movies). I am adding this to my wish list!

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Not at the farcial level of Mel Brooke's "Blazing Saddles", but full of tongue in cheek, and slapstick humor plus winking, cultural commentary, Gunless is a lot of fun!

Paul Gross(quite well known in Canada, I remember him from the "Red Green Show") plays a, set in his ways, American gunslinger that flees into a bucolic, Canadian town being chased by, ever getting nearer, bounty hunters. He gets in a huff with the local, giant of a man, blacksmith and determines to have it out with him if, and a big if, he can find a working six shooter for the showdown.

He takes a job, a trade off, put up a windmill for a gun, with a pretty but struggling rancher, Sienna Guillory("Inkhart", "Resident Evil"). The townfold are quirky and charming and with the woman do there best to distract him from his plan.

It's well shot and scripted, nice scenery, and there's enough seriousness to it to keep it more in reality than just being a constant joke; moreover, the hero and heroine provide a sweet, developing, but at odds, romance. My wife won't watch a western unless there's some hint of romance or at least a woman in it.

It's not quite full family fare: the baddies shoot a dog, threaten townfolk, attempt a hanging, but overall, the violence is controlled and made fun of, the language, except for the outtakes, minimum; there's no nudity or sex, one implied encounter, and all things work out for the best with a moral about living peacefully.

Summary, a feel good movie, an unusual, comedic western, that also pokes light fun at cultural differences between US and Canada.

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I bought Gunless because I like Paul Gross' work and I wanted to see his new movie. It didn't disappoint. Gunless has a very funny premise: Injured American gunfighter on the run arrives in a Canadian border town, challenges the blacksmith to a gun duel, discovers that there are no working pistols in the town, and has to wait around for days for parts to repair the only pistol before he can kill the poor man. It's a great twist on a basic Western movie plot. Paul Gross does a very good job as The Montana Kid. He has excellent comedic timing and plays the character as a decent, too serious, frustrated man who has lost his way. There is a sweet romance, but not too much to turn off the guys in the audience. Sienna Guillory is a wonderful foil for Gross' comedy and, along with the rest of the ensemble, projects an innocent inability to understand this American's need for dueling and revenge. The actors all have a wonderful talent for comedy, the Alberta setting is gorgeous, and the ending is very satisfactory. This movie doesn't pretend to be great art, but it's a whole lot of fun. I highly recommend it. (By the way, I understand that this may be the only Canadian Western in existence. It has an all Canadian cast, I think, and you can tell they had fun making.)

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This movie is a favorite now. It is funny and has a good message. Mostly though, it is not something I have to work at watching. I don't need to pick it apart or work hard to find some hidden dramatic meaning. It's purely entertaining, which is what I generally like in movies. The characters and the actors who play them are great diverse in personality. Melodie Choi is just about the cutest kid I've ever seen in a movie and a good actor as well. And Paul Gross -well aside from the good acting, has a voice that is perfect for the character. A few familiar faces are in this movie, but mostly actors who are relatively new to movies and/or not usually seen in the US movie market. The only negative thing I can say about it is the language in the outtakes during the end credits. Otherwise it couldn't be better. It's good fun and I highly recommend it to just about anyone. Paul Gross's character is a gunslinger and does talk about the eleven people he's killed, so parents might want to monitor that and "guide" any young children. I, personally, would have no problem allowing younger kids to watch this, with that guidance.

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Cocktail (1988)

This movie was very entertaining in all ways! I actually learned a lot from this movie as a bartender! Tom Cruise and Bryan Brown worked extremely well together. Get this movie if you want to laugh, feel sad, and then feel good again.

The story behind this film is a real hedonistic example of what most blokes would love to do. Hardly any responsibility being a bar-tender, except to those you tend and all the while having a great time. The plot is thin which is why it is so easy to understand and this is what makes the film the moment you have to think about a film like this, is the moment you miss the point. The soundtrack is great, and the movie soundtrack CD is missing some of the best songs from the film too, the best one when Tom and Elizabeth get frisky under the waterfall in Jamaica (Jimmy Cliff Shelter of Your Love). Overall, most people can relate to many aspects of this movie, and many of the situations the characters are in such as hope, love, lust, vacations to hot tropical places, and of course at the end family.

Great film you must see it if you haven't already!

Buy Cocktail (1988) Now

Cruise plays Brian Flanagan, I guess because people think he does a decent Irish accent. Nevertheless while under the drink mixing tutelage of "Obi-wan" Coughlin (Brown) he gets involved with Coral (Gina Gershon) later telling Coughlin of their bedroom exploits. To ensure that Flanagan sees the light, Coughlin sleeps with Coral to try to show Flanagan she was no good for him. Why Coral would sleep with Coughlin just because Flanagan said they were making nikki-nikki is a mystery (she's seen sleeping over at the apartment and all cuddily with Tom's character for God's sake). Anyway, what a pal, nice to see Coughlin really cares. Later, actually just a brief dissolve to ocean shores & islands, despite this friendship-ending dastardly deed Flanagan befriend's Coughlin while working in Jamaica. Now that (Brown) has found "true" happiness (Lynch), you'd think he'd want the same for (Tom), right? Wrong. Despite Flanagan's seriously developing affinity for Jordan (Shue), he dares (Tom) to bed the mature, rich and connected Bonnie (Lisa Banes). Of course, this destroys Cruise & Shue's chance for romance, despite his explanation that it's okay because "when a guy lays down a dare, you just got to." What kind of logic is that? Still later trying to make up with her, he claims he got spooked by Jordan, so which one is it? Finally, how nice for Hollywood to wrap everything up with death, attempted seduction, pregnancy, attempted bribery, and Flanagan striking out on his own in one of the riskiest businesses around a "Theme" bar. Although, cute at times, one has to wonder the next time someone dares Tom's character.

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Great to own an oldie but a goodie. Movie is in great condition. Thanks for completing my life in the most important way. There, did I write enough yet, Amazon?

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This was my favorite movie growing up and I'm glad they made it into a DVD so I can continue watching it!

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Buster Keaton Short Films Collection: 1920-1923 (Three-Disc Ultimate Edition) (1920)

The films = *****

The Blu-ray Disc = ****

First offthis is grade A+ Keaton material here. If there is just one Buster Keaton set you want to get, this is it! The king of physical technical humor is at his prime here, and houses are one of his main characters in many of these movies.

Kino claims "Newly Mastered in HD from 35mm archival elements" and four titles have been digitally enhanced, but the enhancement didn't go far enough in restoration. In THE BOAT you still see frame shifts (a basic video stabilization process would fix this), contrast flicker and nitrate deterioration. Kino does make the statement that too much restoration alters the original film too much. CONVICT 13 appears to be 50% 16mm film source.

With that said, i decided to cue up the old ART OF BUSTER KEATON DVD set from Kino to do a true comparison to this Blu-ray release and not rely on my memory. The first thing I noticed was how much softer the old DVDs were to this Blu-ray disc, the last time I had seen them was on an older CRT television. While they looked good then, comparing the DVDs now using a Blu-ray player to up-convert them to 1080p on a HD LCD TV they did not look as good. Window-boxing was common on the old DVDs because Kino assumed they would be seen on CRT TVs that often over-scan. Now the Blu-ray presents these in full frame as most HD TVs don't over-scan. IMPROVEMENT? YES!

The biggest improvement is with the short "COPS", which was "enhanced", this Blu-ray presentation is razor-sharp! To compare the quality, just try and read the sign on the front porch of the Police Officer's new house where he is waiting for Buster to arrive with the furniture. On the old soft DVD the sign is pretty much just a white square with possibly some lettering in it, on this new film transfer the letters are crystal clear and easy to read. The entire short is improved this much! One strange sequence in the new presentation of COPS is during the police parade scene, what might be stock footage of a police parade is presented here in LETTERBOX format! I compared these shots to the old DVDs, cued up on two machines to switch back & forth, the old DVDs have these shots in full frame but nothing is really missing in either version. The aspect ratio is just different, in some shots the old DVD looks squeezed while other shots the Blu-ray looks squished. None of these shots includes Buster Keaton, it is just marching policemen. I found no explanation from Kino about this change in aspect ratio.

I carefully checked THE BOAT as it is one of the "enhanced" presentations. The Nitrate Deterioration is still there, but the original DVD has film scratches that were cleaned with DNR. For those opposed to DNR processing, Kino has also included the original un-enhanced version in HD so that you can see the scratches and any small details that the DNR may have removed. Again, more improvements.

Other shorts I compared that did not get an "enhancement" from Kino obviously did not need it as they look great, much better than the old DVDs.

Some exceptions to this are on disc #1: CONVICT 13 seems to exist in only 3rd or 4th generation prints. The picture is grainy & the faces are washed out. The first 9 minutes & the last minute of CONVICT 13 appears to be from a 16mm print where the blacks are crushed (loss of details in dark areas) and the focus is softer. HARD LUCK is restored from many different prints of varying quality, and the last scene is missing (even though Kino included it on the KEATON PLUS DVD). However, we are lucky to have this film at all. One shot of Buster trying to get on a horse is presented in Letterbox here, I wonder what the framing problem was to require this masking. Maybe Kino had to stabilize the shot so much that the frame lines shifted up & down in a distracting manor.

On disc #3 DAY DREAMS, reported to be a three-reeler but exists only as two reels, is grainier than usual & missing some opening shots, the "Dream Sequences" and judge scene just before the cop chase, stills illustrate these. The contrast is also increased indicating possibly a 3rd generation print was used. THE ELECTRIC HOUSE also looks this way, and the print has more wear as well as missing some opening & middle scenes (described in text). At 23 minutes i don't think much is missing, but some missing key plot devices had to be explained.

Disc 1:

THE HIGH SIGN (1920) 19 min

THE HIGH SIGN (enhanced) (1920) 19 min The first produced Buster solo short about him protecting a business man from murderous extortionists. Buster shelved this, delaying its release, possibly because it resembled his Arbuckle teamed shorts.

ONE WEEK (1920) 24 min The second produced, but released as his premier solo short. Buster builds his do-it-yourself dream-house! A true CLASSIC!

CONVICT 13 (1920) 18 min (half 16mm & half 35mm, 3rd generation quality) Buster is an inept prison guard.

THE SCARECROW (1920) 18 min While produced after One Week, this tells the story of how Buster get the girl he married.

NEIGHBORS (1921) 19 min The first appearance of Buster's real dad Joe, portraying Buster's on-screen father. Watch for the acrobatic team "The Flying Elephants".

THE HAUNTED HOUSE (1921) 20 min (Tinted) The mob is haunting a house to keep outsiders away, but Buster just can't understand what is going on.

HARD LUCK (1921) 21 min (mix of 16mm & 35mm, last scene missing & shown with a production still, even though it is complete on the Keaton Plus DVD also released by Kino!)

Disc 2

THE GOAT (1921) 23min A case of mistaken identity, Wanted Posters of Dead Shot Dan have Buster's face on them!

THE PLAY HOUSE (1921) 23 min Buster is very where in the theater, playing almost all of the roles at one time.

THE BOAT (1921) 23 min (nitrate deterioration)

THE BOAT (enhanced) (1921) 23 min (nitrate deterioration) Buster takes his family on a boat outing, considered one of his best shorts.

THE PALEFACE (1922) 20 min Buster is a traveling salesman in indian territory, and he likes the women.

COPS (1922) 18 min

COPS (enhanced) (1922) 18 min Through a series of misunderstandings Buster thinks he bought a horse & wagon & the Police Chief thinks Buster is the moving company wagon.

MY WIFE'S RELATIONS (1922) 17min Thought to be produced as Buster's reflection on his failed marriage st the time.

Disc 3

THE BLACKSMITH (1922) 21 min (some nitrate deterioration) Watch Buster destroy a vintage Rolls Royce, not a popular gag at the time with audiences.

THE FORZEN NORTH (1922) 17 min (more than usual wear in original print) A very dark comedy as Buster spoofs William S. Hart as a killer cowboy. Hart hated this film.

DAY DREAMS (1922) 23 min (Reported to be a 3-reeler, only 2 reels exist. Opening footage,some brief day dream sequences & judge scene missing, shown with a still, grainier that usual)

THE ELECTRIC HOUSE (1922) 23 min (Tinted opening & middle footage missing) Buster modernizes a house.

THE BALOONATIC (1923) 22 min

THE BALOONATIC (enhanced) (1923) 22 min oddly titled short as most of it takes place in a canoe on a river.

THE LOVE NEST (1923) 20 min (Tintedthe beginning & end scenes seem way too abrupt & it is believed more was shot but disintegrated.) This has to be the most morbit & dark comedy that Buster produced since The Frozen North, death at sea is the basis of some of the humor.

BONUS MATERIAL:

SEEING STARS (excerpts) (1922) featuring cameos by Keaton, Charlie Chaplin & others.

CHARACTER STUDIES (1922) gag film starring Carter DeHaven with cameos by Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle & others.

A series of brief alternate/deleted shots from THE GOAT / THE BLACKSMITH / THE BALOONATIC. (Gee, at one time Buster thought his films were lost, now we even have alternate takes surviving!)

4 visual essays on the films locations by Silent Echo's author John Benglson

15 visual essays using clips & stills, written by Keaton historians.

A collection of clips from films influenced by Keaton's work (no big deal here).

Clips from:

Only Me (1929) Lupino Lane (complete 15 minute short)

Be Reasonable (1921) Billy Bevan

Hello Baby! (1925) Charley Chase

White Wings (1923) Stan Laurel

There is also a little booklet with descriptions of each film.

Some Keaton historians suggest watching these three shorts in this order to make a feature length movie:

THE SCARECROW

ONE WEEK

THE BOAT

Try it, you will be surprised! A 1949 Life magazine article suggests that these could be strung together, maybe even re-made as a sound feature. That never happened.

Final thought: I used to cherish the old ART OF BUSTER KEATON DVD set from Kino, but now it just looks like an old VHS tape compared to these new Hi-Definition transfers. It is nice to have the shorts collected together in chronological order. I always had trouble remembering which Keaton DVD feature the shorts were included on, and the old DVD menus were painful to get through to the shorts. Now the menus make it easy to cue up to what you want to see. However, I wish Kino did not use the word "Ultimate" for a set that has a few sub-standard prints as masters. We may never find a better master for these, but to me "Ultimate" would mean every short is in pristine condition with no need for an upgrade.

*****UPDATE 7/15/11*****

I was informed by Kino that they no longer have access to, nor the rights to, the missing footage used in the "Keaton Plus" DVD that they had released. That is why HARD LUCK is missing the ending, it is not lost.

I am going to get the negatives out of the way first...yes the footage that has been found over recent years from Hard Luck, Day Dreams, Convict 13 and The Love Nest are not present on this edition. But that aside there is new footage on The Haunted House (When Buster is running away from the cops in the woods and is shot at...there is extra footage here that I have not seen before) and there are some really beautiful-newly presented prints e.g One Week and Cops.

I have the Masters Of Cinema collection of Keatons short films so if I ever fancy having a gander at the final gag at the end of Hard Luck I will do but I get the same, if not more enjoyment out of watching the blu-ray edition.

This set visually is far far far far... better than any set out there the quality of the prints is astonishing, whether the print is from a good source or not, they still look brilliant. The music accompanying the films are brilliant, I really like the new organ scores by Ben Model.

The visual essays and other great extras make this set the "Ultimate" Keaton short films set yet, even if it is not the most complete, but like I said, I get just as much enjoyment out of these beautifully presented classics as they are on this set.

Whether you are a Keaton fan or not this is a set that should be had by any comedy or general film/cinema lover and I would give it 10 stars if I could. Simply...WONDERFUL!!! Great job Kino International, keep the Keaton releases coming!!!

Footnote: Just watched Day Dreams, although it is missing the police parade scene that featured on the Masters Of Cinema set. This set contains additional footage not present on any previous release, and there are added stills, again not previously presented which helps make sense of why Buster is running from a massive group of cops and why he appears on the back of a mail van.

Further Footnaote: I have just finished watching all the Keaton blu-ray shorts and I have to stand corrected. I was under the impression that The Love Nest did not feature the footage found and included in the Masters Of Cinema collection. This blu-ray set DOES include the missing footage and more, it has a small segment at the end which I have never seen before. Also there is a screen shot of the Love Nest ship, that I have again not seen featured on any other set. The Love Nest is now the most complete it has ever been. Other than a small segement at the start of Convict 13, the missing footage from Hard Luck that we all know about and the tiny fragment from Day Dreams, this set is as complete as you can get, I still think this is the very best set of Keatons shorts to be released!

Buy Buster Keaton Short Films Collection: 1920-1923 (Three-Disc Ultimate Edition) (1920) Now

Five stars for Buster Keaton's shorts presented together in one 3-DVD set and in chronological order. It's nice to have a quick reference to Buster's shorts as the Art of Buster Keaton scattered the films over 10 DVDs so that you could not just pop in a DVD and watch the shorts in succession. However, Kino does leave a bit to be desired as you're led to believe that there is no available ending to Hard Luck. The Art of Buster Keaton, "Keaton Plus" DVD includes the ending of Hard Luck (explained in Mr. Mular's review). I had hoped that films like The Electric House, Day Dreams and Convict 13 would be improved, but no improvements to these films, although the enhanced films are nice. Everything here, other than the "visual essays" is available on The Art of Buster Keaton (shorts), Industrial Strength Keaton (Seeing Stars, Character Studies) and Lost Keaton (Why They Call Him Buster). The new material here, the visual essays, gives interesting details of the films and many of the other actors. The musical scores are appropriate (no Alloy Orchestra). Based on memory, some musical scores are the same as the Art of BK while a few others are different. For those who buy everything Keaton, this set is worth having despite duplicating much of what you already have!

Read Best Reviews of Buster Keaton Short Films Collection: 1920-1923 (Three-Disc Ultimate Edition) (1920) Here

I won't speak here about the films in themselves, which are OF COURSE WONDERFUL and deserve as much stars as can be given.

Nor would I speak about the music, as many other reviewers do.

I'll just speak about the prints.

Kino calls this set ULTIMATE, which is an insult to the fan, as TWO of the films here are presented in severely cut and damaged prints, while BOTH exist in not pristine but MUCH MORE COMPLETE and WATCHABLE restorations somewhere else.

The first short I'm referring to is CONVICT 13, which appears in the Kino set with a severely fragmented beginning, many missing shots in the middle, and a nearly unwatchable ending sequence. To call this ultimate is outrageous while a vastly superior restoration with the beginning intact, nearly all of the missing middle sequences, and the ending taken from a much sharper print has already been issued on DVD. It`s on the 2001 Arte Video French set BUSTER KEATON "L'Integrale des courts-metrages". Ten years have elapsed from that issue. So it's unforgivable that this print wasn't requested. The set is still available on Amazon France:The second is, of course, HARD LUCK. The print shown here is the first restoration presented. But since then, much better prints have appeared and a new restoration, much much better than the original one, was included by Kino on its BUSTER KEATON PLUS DVD. It's also on the aforementioned French set. That restoration's improvement doesn't limit to the added ending gag. It has better image quality all throughout, and fills most of the gaps from the original restoration, which is missing footage on plenty of places.

There is a newly discovered (albeit not very important) shot at the ending of DAY DREAMS, but the version on this set doesn't incorporate the police parade sequence which was shown out of place on BUSTER KEATON PLUS. It does, however, add a couple of stills, but I'm not really sure about how right Kino is in putting two of them in between the film. One is a still showing Keaton in front of a judge, and is placed right before the climactic scene on which Buster is running from dozens of cops. The other is placed very near the end and has Keaton literally sending himself to his girl at the mail office. When watching the last still, you'll notice Buster is not hurt at all. But when he arrives to the girl's home in the trunk, he has a brown eye, among other things. It could have happened to him during the trip, but maybe both stills are not from missing but from deleted scenes. I say this because of that possible continuity mistake I mention, and because the big chase seems to me much more climactic and appropriate than a judge scene to follow the shot of the girl dreaming of Buster.

The sequence of Keaton playing a Roman in the theater is improved here using better footage (but that was already like this on the French set).

In any case, the hospital and bank dream sequences (which were surely very short and are showcased with stills) are still missing (and hopefully they will turn up someday), the already found police parade sequence is not inserted here, and the actual ending is still missing. Keaton wouldn't have ended the short that way.

THE LOVE NEST presents here the most complete print I've ever seen, adding the PORT sequence which had been shown separately on BUSTER KEATON PLUS (but is also to be found in its proper place on the French set, although the title card wasn't properly translated (from the print's original Frech title card) and the gag is thus impossible to understand. On the KINO set we do have a previously unkwnown (although, again, not very important) two-second shot of Buster at the very end of the film (absent from the French set). But, as in all known prints so far, the ending is missing. We hope it will be found somewhen.

As for the rest, the prints are all the same as on EVERY previous issue of these shorts. THE ELECTRIC HOUSE has some added explanation title cards explaining missing (and possibly missing) sequences, but not a single new frame is added and the print has all the same old gaps. The same is to be said about THE FROZEN NORTH. The rest of the films had no gaps whatsoever, and are also fine here.

Some shorts are presented here in digitally enhanced versions. Frankly, I dont't give a lot for the change.

The SPECIAL FEATURES are OK, although they are in no way essential.

I don't say the set is BAD, but to call it ULTIMATE is an insult. It lacks material that has been around for a decade by now. I undestand KINO may have not the rights for the fine restorations of CONVICT 13 or HARD LUCK, or for the missing known footage from DAY DREAMS. But if you are not planning to, or can't arrange to use them, THEN YOU CAN'T CALL THE SET "ULTIMATE" AT ALL.

It's like putting on the market an old METROPOLIS restoration without the recently found 25 minutes and call it ULTIMATE.

You cannot still open HARD LUCK with the title card saying that the ending gag might be lost for ever WHEN EVERY KEATON FAN HAS ALREADY SEEN IT MANY YEARS AGO BY NOW.

KINO is a respected and specialized company, and certainly not a newcomer, so they shouldn't do these kind of things.

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I wish that I could give this 5 stars, but I can't. Too many of the films are in poor condition and require major restoration, which Kino is apparently unwilling to undertake. It's rather disingenuous of them to be offering this "remastered" set on Blu-ray when the source material so obviously needs help. A Harold Lloyd collection was recently released, fully restored. Buster Keaton is arguably a more important figure in silent film comedy and deserves at least equal treatment. Bad on Kino for not doing so.

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Crank / Crank 2 (Two-Pack) (2010)

I myself have not experienced any issues watching either film as numerously complained about all over the web and on most of the other reviews here. Crank 1 takes itself a touch more seriously while 2 just completely blurs the lines between reality and goofiness. I love both films for what they are, adrenaline packed action with an unrealistic story and concept.

The issue most people are referring to is that with older players the crank 2 disc works fine, but with newer ones that do not have a built in hard drive to receive updates the disc will sometimes not work. Or will work in weird ways. It seems this update forces itself to download and then if it isn't able to be received it wonks out the film. Two things to clear this up, first off get your blu-ray player online with the most up to date firmware installed, and secondly if the blu ray player doesn't have a hard drive built in. Such as my own (Samsung BD-c5500). Then just plug a USB stick of 1gb or higher on any of the player's ports and it will download the updates and work fine for any BD-Live enabled film including this one.

I hadn't received any updates at all when putting in this disc, and cannot even find any of the LG-Live/BD-Live content. Where on a disc like the expendables the content is in plain site, either they removed it for future prints, or perhaps I'm just not looking where I am supposed to?

The picture quality and sound is excellent, the movies are lots of fun but very mature in nature and not meant for kids or people who can't handle, nudity, lot's of cursing, and violence.

I give this set an A grade wise. Statham kicks A** in these ;)

I bought this set. Crank 1 (Disc 1) was good, but Crank 2 (Disc 2). It had the same issue like other reviews (showing 2 inches square box)

Thanks for Amazon's Customer Service Return policy.

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Crank 2 won't play. The picture shows a small square in the center of the screen and the rest of the screen is black. Upgrading the firmware in the blu-ray player did not help any.

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The problem is the BD Live needs somewhere to store updates, if there isn't any internal or external memory on your blu-ray player you will get that small annoying square in the center of your TV screen. The good news is that it is easy to resolve simply by adding memory with a SD Card or USB flash drive.

Old blu-ray players may not have a problem, as that hardware lacks any BD Live functionality. And naturally, if you own a PS3, the title plays without problems because of the built in hard drive.

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I was extremely unhappy with my purchase. the crank 2 does not work in my sony blu ray player. tryin to get it fixed has also been a nightmare. i have owed it for a few weeks and havnt been able to watch it yet. :(

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Piranha (2010)

Welcome to Spring Break at Lake Victoria! This year the college students have alot more to worry about than hangovers or STDs. A massive underwater earthquake opens up a mysterious chasm, releasing an ancient swarm of psychotic little fish. These little buggers are super hungry.

Let me just say that hot naked chicks make great fish food. This movie has a ridiculous amount of nudity and the most immaculate gore you'll likey ever see in 3-D! Seriously, these piranha can chomp through human flesh like a lawnmower through grass. Any appendages dipping into the water get instantly devoured down to the bone. Everywhere you look there are chunks of bloody arms, mangled legs, or human carcasses floating around. This has some gruesome effects that are great sick fun. Really it's an absurd, catastrophic mess.

To top off the awesome gore and plethora of topless women, we have a nice ensemble cast providing a good dose of comedy. Jerry O'Connell is especially hilarious as a sleazy porn director. Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future) also does great. Elizabeth Shue, Ving Rhames, and several others lead the way. Eli Roth has a small role. Richard Dreyfuss even makes an appearance in a bit of a Jaws homage. Way too fun!

Director Alexandre Aja struck gold with this one. Piranha 3-D lives up to the hype and then some. It does have some minor flaws and/or cliched developments, but still it was the funnest time I've had in the theater in quite awhile. Don't miss it!

The Review:

Piranha 3D is a new film by Alexandre Aja, maker of the 2006 remake of the The Hills Have Eyes. Piranha 3D is unbelievably crude, gory and certainly not the best written film, but you know what? It's also a lot of fun. It's probably a better B movie than Quentin Tarantino's and Robert Rodriguez's Grind House (Death Proof and Planet Terror) of a few years ago.

Piranha 3D takes place over spring break in a picturesque lake town (the film was shot entirely on location in Lake Havisu). Inexplicably an underwater earth quake tears open a rift beneath the lake, revealing a deeper underwater lake (yes, that's probably redundant), which is home to prehistoric piranhas that have survived for millions of years. This setup is appropriately preposterous and we the viewers know the type of movie we're in for when the effect of the underwater quake creates a funnel that looks suspiciously like a toilet flushing. It's a super campy opening sequence that sets the tone for the rest of the film. What passes for the plot is hardly worth summarizing. Suffice it to say this unfortunate infestation by prehistoric pygocentrus nattereri is occurring when thousands of kids descend on the town for spring break. What follows is a series of gory dismemberments and naked frolics--in 3D!

Piranha 3D is a self aware send-up of the gore fests of the 70s and 80s like Jaws and the original Piranha. The stars are clearly having a lot fun with it, especially Jerry O'Connell as soft core porn producer, Derrick Jones, a send up of Girls Gone Wild impresario, Robert Francis, which is a nice segue way into the fact that this movie is a hard R. The fact that this wasn't NC-17 demonstrates the utter ridiculousness of the movie ratings system. Free Willy, this is not. There's as much T&A and probably more frontal nudity than one might see in Girls Gone Wild (alas I've never had the pleasure of seeing any of Mr. Francis' direct to DVD masterpieces). There's an underwater naked ballet featuring Kelly Brook and Riley Steele that goes on for damn near 5 minutes. It's awkward, but hilarious because of it, especially when you realize that they've been underwater long enough to have drowned halfway through the sequence.

Then there is the gore. "Over the top" does not even begin to describe it. Unlike movies like Hostel, which have been described as torture porn, Piranha 3D is so gory and self aware that its portrayal of aquatic violence is comedic. When I saw this movie opening night the audience laughed a lot in a good way. The 3D effects merely accentuated the film's crude humor and its ubiquitous gore. One of the members of the cast meets a particularly ignoble end in what is probably a 3D first, which I won't spoil for you here.

All in all, Piranha 3D is a rousing success at recreating a B-movie. The 3D is surprisingly well done and greatly adds to the over the top feel of the film. This is, however, not great cinema, but that's not the point. See this movie with people that appreciate schlocky horror movies and who have a good sense of humor. Don't see it with your parents and for heaven's sake don't take little children to see it. It is offensive, and it is crude and it is a lot of fun when viewed for what it is, which is a campy send up of the genre.

FTC Advisory: I purchased my own tickets.

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Piranha 3D is a remake of the 1978 original film Piranha which was itself a parody of the classic film Jaws. The film was made by French producer Alexandre Aja best known for his remake of The Hills Have Eyes. You might be asking yourself: now why would Piranhas come out of seemingly nowhere and kill people? The storyline provides the answer: 1) There is a lake under a lake in which Piranhas have survived by eating their own kind in order to survive in this prehistoric lake and when an earthquake hits the Piranhas break loose 2) This is a "horror" movie (I'd say it's more of a horror-comedy), it doesn't have to actually make sense in order to enjoy. This is a remake of a movie that was really a parody of Jaws, let's put it that way.

I'd say a fun aspect of the film is how it's not that well-written but it makes for a fun B movie. One advantage the movie has is acting, except some characters that were rather goofy the acting in Piranha 3D is pretty good considering how this is a horror movie. The main characters especially were portrayed by good actors in which we actually do see a development to the point that we do care if they survive. The humor of the movie is similar to that of teen aimed movies such as American Pie and Sex Drive, not necessarily a bad thing unless you would consider that sort of humor juvenile. For instance about the humor, watching a penis eaten by piranhas with the 3D effect can only be funny or tasteless, you decide! Now the 3D effect worked very well to a certain degree I'm not sure how well it worked because I have not seen much 3D movies as of yet. Yet there were some pretty good effects and some good thrills resulted out of it. The Piranhas looked amazing and the death scenes (of which there are many) were done in an excellent gory way and looked like an actual death suffered due to Piranhas, it was convincing and not over-exaggerated like you might think it would be. A low point would be the ending as it's a big thrill but ends perhaps too suddenly and surprisingly (maybe a Piranha 3D 3 is in the works? Yes Dimension Films has announced that due to the success earned on the opening weekend by grossing over 10 millions there will be a sequel).

Was I disappointed with Piranha? Not really as I knew what to expect (even though some things were unexpected) and knew what kind of movie I was going into. Should you expect high quality from this movie? The answer is no but you should expect to have some fun watching it, especially with friends. Who would I recommend Piranha 3D to? To those who are looking for a fun mindless movie on a boring night, it's entertaining to say the least. One thing is sure if you think the movie misses the target it achieved (whatever it is) it misses in an amusing way. 3 stars out of 5, flawed but fun in the way that you enjoy a good B movie.

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Back when James Cameron's "Avatar" was released, there was a lot of talk about the future of 3-D movies about how much better the process had become with high definition cameras, about how they didn't simply throw things at the screen but actually immersed you in another world. In March of 2009, Josh Quittner of "Time" published an article about the 3-D revolution, particularly in relation to "Avatar," which had yet to be released. After seeing some finished footage, he concluded that the work was so absorbing and detailed that he awoke the following morning with the peculiar sensation of wanting to return to Pandora, as if it were real. "Cameron wasn't surprised," he wrote. "One theory, he says, is that 3-D viewing `is so close to a real experience that it actually triggers memory creation in a way that 2-D viewing doesn't.' His own theory is that stereoscopic viewing uses more neurons."

Given what was said at the time, what would Quittner say now about movies like "Piranha 3-D," a remake of Joe Dante's 1978 film? Hell, what would Cameron say, given that 1981's "Piranha II: The Spawning" was his directorial debut? Would there be any mention of triggering memory creations or neurons or wanting to return to anything? I have my doubts. They might, however, have a thing or two to say about a shot late in the film of two piranhas fighting over a severed penis, the victor eventually spitting out the half-eaten remains directly at the screen. The audience I sat with had plenty to say, although not in words so much as in loud outbursts of disgust and laughter; I clearly heard a guy a few rows behind me say, "Dude, ugh, dude!" This is the future of 3-D, folks. Cameron and Quittner should be proud.

I'm going out on a limb here, but "Piranha 3-D" is about as good as a film called "Piranha 3-D" can possibly be. It's a no-holds-barred celebration of campy horror bloody, brainless, and bawdy. It cheerfully assaults the senses and spits in the face of decency, not merely with scene after scene of relentless gore, but also with its exploitation of female anatomy, specifically breasts. Oh boy, but there are a lot of breasts in this movie, aided in no small part by real life adult actress Riley Steele and "Playboy" model Kelly Brooke. Director Alexandre Aja might as well have called it "Piranhas and Boobs 3-D."

Now that I have your attention, shall we get to the plot? In the sleepy little town of Lake Victoria, seismic activity ruptures the lakebed and unleashes thousands of carnivorous prehistoric piranhas from an underwater chasm. They swim to the shores of Lake Victoria, where hordes of loud, drunken, horny teenage tourists are in the thick of Spring Break tomfoolery. The local sheriff, Julie Forester (Elisabeth Shue), and her deputy, Fallon (Ving Rhames), try to solve the mystery of how a half-eaten body washed up on shore; they join forces with a specially trained underwater research team, and as you can probably guess, the divers will not like what they find when they reach the chasm. Meanwhile, Julie's teenage son, Jake (Steven R. McQueen), is drawn into the world of Derrick Jones (Jerry O'Connell), a sleazoid Joe Francis parody filming his newest porn movie on a boat.

Julie manages to bring a live piranha to Mr. Goodman (Christopher Lloyd), the eccentric fish store owner and convenient piranha expert. This particular species, he claims, was supposed to have gone extinct millions of years ago; apparently, the ones that escaped the chasm kept themselves alive by feeding on themselves. Okay, I'll give him that one; we know that cannibalistic species can successfully procreate. But what about the fact that they have emerged from complete darkness and extreme pressure, meaning they would not be able to adapt to the light or to the shallow waters, meaning they wouldn't be able to reach the human flesh they so hunger for? Evolution has taught us that, in all likelihood, these fish wouldn't even have eyes.

But what a minute. Why am I applying logic to this film? It's not about scientific accuracy. It's about people being eaten alive. It's about severed limbs floating in the water. It's about moments of blood-soaked absurdity, like when a girl gets her hair caught in the propeller blades of a boat, pulling her scalp and face clean off her skull. It's about naked girls repeatedly shaking their chests. I wish it wasn't about severed penises and the fish that enjoy eating them, but I guess you have to take the good with the bad. I can't bring myself to say that "Piranha 3-D" is a good film, but it certainly achieves exactly what it wanted to achieve. You will laugh. You will scream. You will cringe. Assuming you're a straight male, you will be aroused for much of the time. It's sordid fun. All the same, I can't help but wonder if James Cameron, who revolutionized the 3-D experience, isn't somewhere right now sulking in shame.

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If you see this movie with the right crowd, you'll probably leave the theater thinking you've just witnessed the best thing ever put to film. If you pay $8.00 to view something called Piranha 3-D, I'm sure you know better than to expect anything more than a cheesy horror delight. This takes Snakes on a Plane to a whole new level. There is no getting around the fact that Piranha 3-D delivers everything you could possibly want in a carnivorous fish movie. Way more so than the late 70's original is a understatement. In a little under 90 minutes you get huge doses of nudity and some extremely sick and well done gore effects. The story is as simple as an earthquake waking up thousands of piranhas who have been feeding off each other in an underwater cavern for millions of years. They swim up through the crack in the earth and find themselves in the middle of spring break. Whoa, deep huh? To be fair, the acting is way better than what you would expect. The main kid wasn't annoying and Jerry O'Connell turned in a crazy performance, while Elisabeth Shue, Ving Rhames, and Adam Scott made the silliness believable by at least trying to act serious. Did I mention there are fun cameos by both Richard Dreyfuss and Christopher Lloyd? Dreyfuss even sings "Show Me the Way to Go Home" from Jaws and seems to be wearing the same outfit.

The CGI fish looked good and the use of pratical make-up FX really did this film wonders. The carnage during the main attack has to be seen to be believed. The director, Alexandre Aja, says there are around 6 minutes or so that were cut to get this an R rating. I will be looking forward to the Director's Cut on Blu-ray.

This is the first 3-D film that I've seen done after the fact (I know it was shot with the format in mind) that manages to look okay. You don't really feel the depth of being in the movie like with Avatar and How to Train Your Dragon. It mostly relies on vomit, ugly fish, or body parts flying at you, but it didn't hurt my eyes or look too blurry.

I'm really surprised that most critics are taking a liking to it, but I guess even they can't resist pretty girls being torn to pieces by B movie creatures. Either that or they just enjoyed the decapitation of Eli Roth.

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Scary Movie 4

Sigh... Here's more of the same.

You can pretty much trust the critics' reviews on this one. I know movies like this aren't made to get critical raves, and in that sense they are critic-proof. I like stupid comedies (as long as they are genuinely funny and clever not just stupid), especially of the screwball "Naked Gun" mold and, even more so, of the raunchy original "Scary Movie" type. I may be embarrassed to try and defend a movie like "Scary Movie" but I'd be a liar to say I didn't love it. So, in that sense, if any "name" critic were to tell me "Scary Movie 4" is a stupid, bad movie, how do I know I can trust them?

Not that they are always wrong about these movies ("Scary Movie 2" was dreadfully lazy, unfunny and, basically, awful), but I figure I have to judge for myself. Every once in a while I'm glad I did. Usually though, I know what I'm getting into and just keeping my fingers crossed for a surprise.

Not surprisingly, "Scary Movie 4" is not that movie.

Sure it's better than "2," and there are several funny moments, probably enough to make it worth a rental, but they are forgotten almost as soon as you leave the theatre. 0f what I remember, Leslie Nielsen has the best moments over all, proving he's still got it with his hilarious dead-pan, oblivious looks and dialog-deliveries; he's as good as he ever was. Too bad there wasn't more of him here (he is essentially a cameo). And the "War of the Worlds" spoof stuff was funny for a while, especially to me because I didn't much care for that movie (it already felt like a spoof of Sci-Fi flicks with its dumb logic, dumb dialog and cheesy performances). Here, one of the best gags involves the Tri-Ipods (ho, ho) attacking the city and, as in "WOTW," none of the transportation devices work; this includes bikes and skateboards (of course, Spielberg already spoofed himself in his own movie by allowing a camcorder to work while every other electronic device from cars to wristwatches shut down; but I digress). That scene is fairly early on in the film and, come to think of it, that's where most of the comic gems are.

The movie starts out well, hitting most of its targets in a quick, random fashion. None of it is great, but it works well enough to earn a few real laughs: The "Saw" stuff with Shaq and Dr. Phil, the scene with Charlie Sheen, Cindy's new office, her gleefully absurd flashback to her first marriage, Anthony Anderson and his "pal" in a bar riffing on the phrase "turn up missing" (how can you turn up and be missing at the same time?), almost everything right up until the actual shape of the story begins to take place, which ultimately becomes just one big spoof of "War of the Worlds," with a "The Village" segue thrown in the middle for no real reason (although here, Carmen Electra earns some laughs in fearless cameo); in the same way as "Scary Movie 2" degenerated into a one-joke spoof of "The Haunting" another originally bad movie that needed no spoof in order for us to laugh at it.

The "Scary Movie" franchise started with a truly audacious, hardcore comedy original. Not for kids, it earned its hard-R rating (originally it got an NC-17), but it worked. You laughed at not only the gags, but out of embarrassment for laughing at them, and the Wayans Brothers sheer audacity to put some of that stuff up on the screen. It wasn't brilliant, but it was brilliantly vile and unexpectedly hilarious. It caught everyone off guard; no one expecting the movie to go that far and, in turn, be that screamingly funny. And it was a different, original stab at the genre (spoofs were generally all done in the PG-13 "Hot Shots!" vein). It became a deserved huge hit. So the Wayans delivered a sequel that just continued to milk the same well until it was dry (#2 did half the box-office of the original and was hissed at by both critics and fans). Wisely the Wayans bowed out, but the movies were turned over to David Zucker, a great director who gave us "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun" just to name a few. Zucker makes funny movies, but he makes far different movies (precisely the kind the Wayans brothers were trying to top with the original). The rating dropped to PG-13 and the franchise was now safe for pre-teens. "Scary Movie 3" was better than 2, but only because it couldn't be any worse. Just as in this latest entry, 3 had scattered scenes that scored laughs, but had far too many obvious, predictable and lazy targets. It hit 'em, but none too thrillingly. All the pizzazz of the original was gone and the series had turned into just another spoof franchise that does not stand out amongst any of its type. Zucker is a competent director but he gave up being exciting a long time ago. With "Scary Movie 3," this year's equally bland hit-and-(far more) miss "Date Movie" and now "Scary Movie 4," he has done some of the laziest work of his career.

Want proof? Look at some of the other reviews on this site. The big raves come from teens who, probably were so young, they weren't allowed to see the first movie when it came out; not that it would have mattered much because that also means that they were in preschool when "Scream" and all the other movies the original spoofed came out. But that's okay because that is now who this franchise is for. For them, it is harmless fun just ask the 20 or so kids who were dying with laughter at the screening I attended this afternoon. And for all the people who like broad, slapstick style comedy rather than a boundary-pusher, and are not very discriminating (ie, as long as you get the references and there is plenty of potty humor), you may enjoy this. But I have to believe it can be done better than this. I have seen it done better than this. And admit it, so have you.

It's a testimate to Zucker's talent that these films, bland as they are, are still watchable and manage to score some laughs. I'll be first in line when he decides to return to form. (I'm not even asking for the highs of "Airplane!" or "The Naked Gun," I'd be happy with something along the lines of "Baseketball" or "Top Secret!" again.)

For all of you purists out there who insist, year after year, that all movie franchises be put out of their misery I present to you the Scary Movie series. After a ho hum first go round and a disastrous second try the series suddenly got. . .well. . Good. 3 was worth the price of admission and so is 4. Not all sequels are stale, and once is a blue moon they get better as they go along. Anna Farris once again plays the dumbest girl ever to be trapped in a Hollywood hall of mirrors. This particular film follows the basic plot of "War of the Worlds" with lots of sidetracking along the way. The Scary Movies have been used as an indictment against the cinema and the culture of the time. So in this installment we get an infestation of creepy looking Asian kids with bad complexions and Dr. Phil. I was a big fan of "War of the Worlds" so I honestly believe that "Scary Movie 4" could have been improved by going with a crappier movie (say "Van Helsing") but I'll happily look upon it as a tribute as opposed to a slap in the face. After playing around with "War of the Worlds" and "Ring Two" for a while the Tripods finally attacks and our heroes are driven into a certain "Village" where the film stalls and nearly sinks.

Luckily the final third is hilarious and saves everything that came before it. I laughed the hardest at the split second Chingy cameo which was comedic gold. From there it rolls into a "Saw II" parody which delivers big time on the belly laughs. The best scene overall, however, takes place early on and is a vicious take on "Million Dollar Baby." Their version re-imagines the fateful fight with Mike Tyson playing an ear chomping, muscle bound female whose rear end sets off a stinging string of neck snappings. I also liked the way that the actors themselves were lampooned by the director, David Zucker. Shaq's inability to hit free throws and Charlie Sheen's inability to control his male urges are both used as fodder. Also, when a less than attractive woman reports to the President (played by Leslie Nielsen) that she was not one of those stripped naked by the aliens he replies by saying, "Finally, some good news."

The strategy employed by those who make these films is to take a million jokes and throw them against the screen. The audience can take what they want and leave what they want. None of the jokes could really be considered obscure so there is little danger in going over the audiences head. You will have to put up with the usual animated violence and bathroom humor, and until this genre sheds that skin they will be just as cliched as the cliche riddled films they are ridiculing. At the very end we get a near perfect take on the water cooler moment of the past few years: Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah's couch. The scene is outrageous and stupid, but also funny, and that is all that matters. I once had a friend tell me that the couch jumping scared her (which in turn scared me that somebody could be scared so easily). But what she doesn't understand is that without that extreme moment of glee from Cruise we wouldn't be able to laugh ourselves senseless over it, now that's scary. ***1/4

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MOVIE: The Scary Movie franchise has been a huge money maker ever since the Wayans brothers started it. David Zucker took over the series after the Wayans left and made Scary Movie 3. He returns to the series with Scary Movie 4, and while it misses the mark it still is pretty enjoyable. For those who don't know David Zucker, he is the king of spoofs. He made Airplane, The Naked Gun series, Top Secret, and other great spoofs. He consistantly works with Jim Abrahams and Pat Proft, who have brought us other great spoofs such as Hot Shots, Wrongfully Accused, Jane Austen's Mafia, and others. His brother Jerry Zucker who has done a few serious movies is also the man behind Rat Race. So between these guys we have some hilarious and brilliant movie spoofs. Scary Movie is the perfect franchise for these guys, but in a way it's too much for them to handle. What makes a spoof work is all about the timing, the jokes have to be placed in the right places and have to hit at the right moment. Scary Movie 3 was really funny because it had somewhat of a plot. This movie is just joke after joke, with no plot at all. Sure, you don't see these movies for the plot, but in order to have a spoof you need one. The problem with these movies is that they tackle every single film in the genre, while previous spoof movies they made focused on one movie alone. Hot Shots spoofed Top Gun, the second Hot Shots spoofed Rambo, Airplane spoofed Airport, Wrongfully Accused spoofed The Fugitive, Naked Gun spoofed police dramas, and Mafia spoofed The Godfather and Casino. All those movies were very focused. With Scary Movie 4 we jump from tons of different horror movies, some not even horror. This particular installment sends up Brokeback Mountain, Million Dollar Baby, Saw, War Of The Worlds, The Grudge, and a bunch of pop culture thrown into the mix. There are a few jokes that hit the right spot, but it feels disorganized, and when that happens things aren't funny. Comedy is the hardest thing to write, but I've come to expect more from these veterans. Good for a laugh, but will never stand with the other great spoofs they have done. This Scary Movie rarely hits the mark when it needs to, not as sharp as the last one.

ACTING: Anna Faris continues her role as Cindy Campbell and she is just perfect for the role. By taking everything seriously she makes the jokes work. We lose Charlie Sheen as a main character, which is a shame (even though he's in here as a cameo). Charlie Sheen was the funniest part of Scary Movie 3, instead we have Tom Ryan played by Craig Bierko. His Tom Cruise impersonation is spot on, and he's pretty good. There are plenty of cameos for the whole family, one of which is Bill Pullman. I found it incredibly hilarious that he is in this movie spoofing The Grude since he was actually in The Grudge. Of course you have Leslie Nielson, who is probably one of the greatest comedic actors ever. The whole cast is great, but the film's structure doesn't allow them to really be funny.

BOTTOM LINE: The movie is funny, you will laugh. You won't laugh as much or as hard as you did with the previous Scary Movies, but still it's funny. The crazy plot is where the problem lies, and that results in bad timing for the jokes. It's not as clever as it should be considering it comes from Zucker and Abrahams.

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It's hard to believe that the Zucker Brothers have been consistently making us laugh since the 70's with their writing/directing initially with the KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE, then beginning their long-time (brilliant) collaboration with Leslie Nielsen in AIRPLANE (& II.), later with the POLICE SQUAD series and NAKED GUN film versions. The SCARY MOVIE franchise (named after the real working title for SCREAM) delivers the same MAD Magazine-style spoof , again and again. Now proving how successful this horror-satire genre is by exceeding the 3-film mark, this one maybe the best of the lot (so far).

David Zucker directs this one with story by Craig Mazin, who co-wrote on previous films.Although conspicuously absent are Shawn and Marlon Wayans (as writers and characters), but on the plus side, Leslie Nielsen returns as President Harris, Y-E-S! (Don't spell in front of me!) Other returning survivor/regulars are: Anna Faris (Cindy), Regina Hall (Brenda), Simon Rex (George) and Anthony Anderson (Mahalik). What would a Zucker film be without the parade of star/celebrity cameos like: Dr. PHIL & SHAQ! Also Bill Pullman, Carmen Electra, Chingy (formerly of Ludacris' group) and Charlie Sheen ( back as Tom)

Lovable, dim-witted Cindy Campbell returns having taken on a new job of house keeping. Cindy and her ego-centric, sex-crazed pal Brenda soon find a little boy had died and to learn why they once again go on a journey so twisted, that giant, alien Tri-pods are involved. They are join by Tom Ryan (Craig Bierko), the cute & clueless neighbor.

This one spoofs: WAR of the WORLDS, SAW 1 and 2, The VILLAGE, The GRUDGE and an extreme take on Tom Cruise's Oprah antics ( I can't begin describe how funny and deserved that mock up was) The whole movie was classic, dim-witted and laugh-out-loud hilarious. You can't go wrong with "the Zucker mark" and this one's got it!I look forward to their next project SUPERHERO! That one will be just in time to spoof the upcoming Superman release.

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First off, I have to mention how excited I was to see the 4th film of scary movie!!!! I was looking forward to seeing it, but I have to sayat the end of the movie I found myself feeling slightly disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it's an OK film, but it sadly lacked the comedy of the other 3 films. I was very pleased to see Brenda back; however, not even she could bring this up to the standards of the others.

It felt as if each scene was rushed and just randomly placed togetherfor some reason, it didn't all seem to fit well with each other, it was like "OK, we've done one spoofquickly we have to do the next one" and everything seems so rushed and unfinished.

Two good aspects of this movie are the USE of parody and cameos. The parodies are done so well that you can keep track even if you haven't watched the 'original' movies yet. And the makers of this movie aren't too shy having half their cast existing out of cameos. In most movies this would fail, but for Scary Movie it does the trick. Scary Movie guarantees lots of familiar faces from movies, sports, and music industry.

Some actors, who haven't had the most success in recent years, like Leslie Nielsen for example, are enjoyable in this movie. They show that with a good direction they are still funny and capable of doing comedies. The writers and producers need to ensure that the next movie (if there is to be another) is not rushed, and endeavour to produce a film that is as funny as the original and its 2 sequels. If they fail, the Scary Movie franchise may end up a parody of that other great such as Police Academy.

Scary Movie 4 marks itself as a decent comedy. There were some funny moments in here that save it from complete boredom. This movie will help you pass a few hours and serves up some slight laughs every now and then.

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Rifftrax: LIVE! House On Haunted Hill

My 2 sons & I saw this live in the theater last October. I haven't laughed this hard at the movies since I saw "Airplane" in theaters so many years ago. This will be one of the memories that I'll have of my boys when they were 12 & 14: Looking over at them laughing so hard that they were practically doubled over in their seats. The 2 shorts included are worth the price of admission even without HoHH. A MUST SEE for fans of MST3K & clever humor. We've been waiting on this since October!

I'll cut to the chase. As someone who owns and loves the Rifftrax of House on Haunted Hill, I was holding off on this because I didn't think I'd enjoy seeing a live riffing of a movie I already have a Rifftrax version of. "Afterall," I thought, "won't it just be the same riffs with audience laughter and the occasional line flub?"

No! Mike, Kevin and Bill really do bother to give us a show. Not only do you get two great shorts (the grocery witch short is now one of our personal favorites, my wife quotes from it often), an actually funny guest appearance by Paul F. Tompkins (a great comedian, see his stand-up act somewhere if you can) who tags along for a short and has a brief cameo during the actual movie, but the live cut on House on Haunted Hill is very worth it in that OVER HALF the riffs are BRAND NEW! It is NOT a re-hash of the original Rifftrax, and my wife and I both agreed the new material is actually funnier, and this is coming from two people who love the regular DVD.

My one and only complaint is they play the colorized version of the movie. While the colorization here looks much better than it used to when they first started using the technology, the fact ramains that HoHH just works so much better in black and white, the light and shadow of the black and white cinematography lend a ton to the atmosphere to the film and the spook-show shenanigans just don't work very well without it.

But that's relatively minor. If you liked the original Rifftrax of HoHH, this live version is not a simple repeat of material. The two shorts are excellent, the guest star is funny, and the movie itself has a substantial amount of new (excellent) riffing. Tons of fun!

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This version is not only better than the original because it's on Blu Ray; it's better because of 2 hilarious shorts and some real change-ups in the gang's riffs. They do a masterful job once again and add in a surprise 4th riffer!

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When I saw the advertisement for the live show last October, I just couldn't resist the excitement of having the MST3K crew making fun of movies again. Of course, I though to myself, "this is too good to be true, they're probably not as hilarious as they used to be."

Boy was I wrong, I was pissing my pants off when I went to watch this "Riff" live last October. I hope the guys keep on doing these, because I'll make sure to go to every one they make (: I really recommend this film Riff to anyone fond of good humor and making fun of small details in good or bad movies.

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Despite my poor attempt at a clever title, the Rifftrax crew is back live to riff a Vincent Price classic known as House On Haunted Hill. They also have two shorts to rip to shreds, Magical Disappearing Money which is about some drunk aunt as a witch in bad make-up trying to help people in the '70's save money on food rather than throw it away on more expensive and better food items. This one is gold for the guys as they just have a blast with the material especially making fun of the blank expressions on the actors faces and the "witch".

The second short sees comedian Paul F. Tompkins join the guys and its called "Paper & I", where a young boy has a seemingly beyond creepy attachment to a brown paper bag, so this bag comes to life at night and takes him to forests in the south, then to a paper mill all in an attempt to show him how paper is made. Also much like MST3K's "A Case of Spring Fever" the bag shows him what life would be like without paper. This is the funnier of the two shorts as its so badly acted and creepy that the guys just have a great old time with it.

The main feature is the movie which isn't a horrible film, but the acting is a bit stale and the laughable scares do make for good riffing. The guys have fun with a lot of the wholes in the movie and mainly target Lance, the test pilot who keeps falling over his own feet and hurting himself and Nora the plain jane who is so scared yet seems to just keep looking for ways to be more scared.

Like other Rifftrax live dvds the audience being there to laugh at the jokes does give it a cool feel unlike the standard yet hilarious Rifftrax dvds. Its a great one that unlike the Plan 9 live one is more comedy and less show segment based.

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Dead Snow (2010)

This is the fifth Nazi Zombie movie That has been made, and it's one of the better ones. Of course if you are not a horror fan then you wouldn't like any of them. And the effects of the three earlier films can't compete with the last two but that doesn't matter really. The first was the classic 'shock waves" (1976) followed by the french low budget effort "zombie lake" (1980) and jess franco's 'oasis of the zombies" (1983) and then by the excellent 'outpost" (2007) and now by "Dead Snow" (2009). This movie has far more gore than the three early efforts; but that was different era; although "outpost" has more interesting characters than "dead snow" which is your typical in the know young people who are the target of the Nazi Zombies wrath. The acting is very good though and this is a professional movie.

Unlike the first time efforts of the many ultra low budget horror zombie flicks shot awkwardly and sometimes on video tape.

We are told that they killed villagers and then had to battle their way into the mountains when the vengeful Norwegians came for them. They died there and have been there ever since. This movie is part ghost story in that the zombies are protecting their loot rather than just killing people for no reason. And that's a good twist to this very good horror movie. The film has a english dubbed soundtrack (in stereo) and the original Norwegian soundtrack (with english subtitles in 5.1) to choose from as well. The best thing about the more modern flicks (outpost and this one) is that the movies prints look fantastic and are without blemishes. The three older movies while decent prints needed some cleaning up. This is a great entry into the Nazi Zombie genre and it's well shot and has a 'evil dead" type of humour to it which is fun enough. This movie is good enough to be made in America which shows how far some low budget filmmakers have come since the early 1980's. Not that "zombie lake" doesn't have it's own low budget charms; it's not on this level and couldn't be. So a hearty sieg Zombie to this

solid fun horror feature.

Hands down one of my all time favorite movies! The latest offering in the micro zombie nazi drama and its a good one, particularly on Blu Ray. A group of Norwegian (yes, its in that language subtited in English) kids head out to the mountains for some skiing and fun, only to find themselves the appealing target of nazi zombies. This is a fun movie. Its a horror/comedy, with somewhat equal emphasis on both genres. Where Shawn of the Dead was almost exclusively comical, this movie does attempt to pull off a few good scares, and some are actually pretty effective, albeit mild. It also does a good job of slowly unveiling the monsters similar to Alien; it takes a while before we fully see one, and the anticipation is well structured. The comic elements are good too; they're mostly not over the top, but good and will likely appeal to a wide viewer audience (i.e., not just those who find the sophmoric humor of american pie worthwhile). Some great scenery too; its filmed in an absolutely beautiful set of snowy mountains. It is also worth noting this movie presents a slightly modified version of a zombie. Similar to how the new Friday the 13th turned Jason into a hybrid olympian sprinter/weight lifter, so too these zombies are quite amped up and able to hunt down their prey with impressive alacrity. Don't expect to see Shock Waves-like zombies; these guys are out for the quick kill. Further, the Blu Ray audio/video content is outstanding. It has a surprisingly good video quality and ranks near the top of my collection in that rating. Very highly recommended.

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Nazi-zombie horror isn't a new idea. For decades, horror filmmakers have attempted to capitalize on the greatest tragedy in modern history by giving the dirty Nazis their comeuppance. . . in undead form. The only bad thing about the cinematic destruction of Nazi brains is that most of these Nazombie flicks are just plain awful. The French, for example, did it a couple times with appalling flicks like 'Oasis of the Zombies' and 'Zombie Lake'. I guess they were still angry about losing Paris so they didn't even want to give Nazombies the benefit of a quality movie. A rare diamond buried in the pile of rotting Nazi flesh, however, is the new Norwegian zomcom 'Død snø' aka 'Dead Snow'.

In 'Dead Snow' a group of twentysomething medical students head up to a mountain cabin for an Easter vacation ski trip. After only a short while, the inevitable happens: A crazy old man barges his way into their lives and bores them with a ridiculous tale of evil Nazi curses and stolen treasure. When have crazy old men in horror movies ever been right? Not too long after that, those wacky Nazis show up seeking the gold that, well, wasn't really theirs to begin with, but they still want it back anyway.

With films like 'Zombieland' and 'Shaun of the Dead' being released over the past few years, it is very difficult to gain any kind of recognition in the zombie-comedy subgenre since every zomcom will undoubtedly be compared to one or both of them. 'Dead Snow', however, can definitely withstand the comparison. From the wicked fun opening scene and all the way through, the Nazombie horror-comedy is hilariously gross and grossly hilarious, it even has some good scares to go with it. From a technical standpoint, Tommy Wirkola's direction and Matthew Weston's cinematography very well capture the beauty of the snow-covered mountains, but the shakicam got a bit frustrating in a couple scenes. The gore is fantastic and over-the-top, especially the excellent little 'Dead-Alive' moment (maybe to go along with Vegard's t-shirt). The writing is fresh and well paced, leaving most of the characters one-dimensional enough so that it's not too much of a worry when they're executed by the Nazi horde. Sometimes shallow characters are useful. It does have some clichéd elements; but, the film seems self-aware of them, even mentioning a few of them in their references to other films. What will be more frustrating to horror fans than the clichés is the ridiculous statement made about 'Evil Dead II' being a higher-budget remake of the original. But, this is neither the time nor place to get into that.

Overall, 'Død snø' is a fine addition to the zomcom subgenre. If you want a fun zombie romp with some laughs and scares, check this one out. . . then check out 'Shock Waves' for, really, the only other worthwhile Nazombie film.

Final Verdict: 8/10

-AP3-

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"Dead Snow" is a Norwegian comedy horror film, directed by Tommy Wirkola. In the film a group of medical students take a holiday in the mountains at an isolated cabin. They're meeting a friend who is traveling cross country, but she never makes it. In the hills, lying in wait, are the dead from WWII. We never really learn how these Nazis became zombies, but they're out for revenge on anyone who disturbs their burial grounds. "Dead Snow" will make you jump, and at times chuckle. It's campy fun, and the Nazis zombie's look great.

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Awesome! Just a good movie all the way around. The dialogue, although subtitled, is great. This might be one of those horror/comedies, but it truely does blend just the right amount of both. Funny when it should be and scary when it should be. No nudity and it still got 4 stars. This is really making me rethink this subtitle buisness. It might just be nothing but foreign horrors from now on. Or at least until Hollywood stops making garbage.

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