Gamera: The Giant Monster Review

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(More customer reviews)THERE ARE THREE VERSIONS OF THIS FILM. DON'T GET CONFUSED!!!!
#1 The first version is the japanese original GIANT MONSTER GAMERA.
#2 This version (the second ) is the first version released in America in the 60's.
The dubbing (By SPEED RACER's Peter Fernandez) is excellent and new
scenes with American actors Albert Dekker (DR. CYCLOPS) Brian Donlevy
(CURSE OF THE FLY) and Allen Oppenheimer (The voice of Skeletor) were added. Very entertaining and well produced.
#3 The third version was the SANDY FRANK version released on video in 1987.
it is a straight dub of the japanese version, but the voice acting is inferior to the
#2 version. This is the version that aired on Mystery Science Theatre 3000 and
should be avoided. Buy the above version instead.

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During the height of the Cold War, East-West tensions lead to a nuclear disaster when a Soviet bomber is shot down over U.S. airspace in the Arctic! Massive radiation from the atomic explosion awakens an ancient, gargantuan creature, a long-forgotten legend of the lost continent of Atlantis: Gamera! Unleashed from its glacial tomb and proving impervious to all man-made weapons, the colossal chelonian smashes a cataclysmic swath across the globe! Can the scientists of the world, led by Dr. Hidaka (Eiji Funakoshi), find a way to stop this invincible supermonster . . . or is mankind doomed?Directed by Noriaki Yuasa (who would oversee all eight of the original Gamera entries of the 1960s and 1970s) and created by the same studio that brought Zatoichi to the screen, Daieis titanic terrapin became the only true rival to Tohos King Of The Monsters. Gamera was able to hold its own at the box office and secured a place in the hearts of kaiju eiga (Japanese Monster Movie) fans around the world. Now, for the first time on DVD, Shout! Factory presents the original Japanese version of Gamera with new English subtitles and anamorphic widescreen from an all-new HD master created from vault elements!Bonus Features * A Retrospective Look at the Gamera Franchise* Audio Commentary* Publicity Gallery

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The Starlite Drive-In Theater: Pom Pom Girls/The Van (1977) Review

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(More customer reviews)"The Pom-Pom Girls" can be summed up simply: Plenty of cute girls, not enough 'pom-poms', if you get my drift.
I could identify with 'The Van' a little better, since, growing up in the 70's, I clearly remember the van craze. It never caught on here on the east coast as much as it did in California, but I still recall lots of guys going full tilt into "van-o-mania".
If you're looking for 70's vintage T&A, you've got the wrong films with this 2-pack. There are only 3 scenes of nudity in "The Pom-Pom Girls" and they're very tame. The story line, although lame, gets us from begining to end, and that's about the best that can be said for it. It was quite interesting to see Robert Carradine, who later came into his own in "Revenge of the Nerds", in what had to be one of his very first roles.
"The Van" is a little better. At least the story is somewhat more believable, and the film's featured hottie, Connie Lisa Marie as 'Sally', gets a couple of nice extended scenes to show off her charms. First, while washing her car in a soaking wet tank top, then later when she hooks up with the movie's hero, a hapless red-headed dork named Bobby. That was one of the problems with "The Van"....the lead character Bobby, played by Stan Getz (aka Stuart Goetz), is a bit of a goofball and just not someone you could sympathize with or root for.

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Pom Pom GirlsHigh school football player Johnnie is going to spend his senior year at Rosedale High School playing pranks and getting together with as many girls as possible. He and a buddy along with two cheerleaders are going to make their last year memorable. The Big Game with rival Hardin High School is approaching and a prank war is about to rev into full swing.Cult diva Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith (The Swinging Cheerleaders) has a cameo appearance as what else a member of the cheerleading squad!The VanBobby is an average teenager whose only interests are hot cars and hot girls. He spends his money on a sweet van hoping that with his new wheels he\'ll finally be able to score. When his friend Andy (Danny DeVito) needs some cash to get him out of a predicament Bobby loans him the money from his next car payment. Now Bobby must enter a drag race to win the money to save his van and win the heart of a girl.System Requirements:Run Time:180 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre:COMEDY Rating:R UPC:787364718993

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Gremlins (Special Edition) (1984) Review

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(More customer reviews)Inventor Randy Peltzer (Hoyt Axton) has bought a special gift for his son Billy (Zack Gallaghan) and it's a furry Chinese creature called a Mogwai (voiced by Howie Mandall). But there are three important rules that must be followed if he wants to keep the creature such as number 1 which means to keep him away from bright light especially sunlight cause it will kill him, number 2 is to never get him wet and number 3 which is the most important rule of them all which is never feed them after midnight. But Billy does what he can but he accidently gets him wet one day and it makes him mutiply other Mogwaii like him and he accidently feed the Mogwaii except Gizmo after midnight as it makes them into ghastly reptilian ghouls that cause havok in the town of Kingston Falls.
Brilliant and highly original Horror fantasy comedy from executive producer Steven Spielburg, director Joe Dante ("The Howling") and writer Chris Columbus. This movie became one of the biggest box-office hits of 1984 and of all time, this movie has a great sense of charm and of course black humor thrown into it with gruesomeness. The film co-stars Corey Feldman, Phoebe Cates and Dick Miller and special appearences by Robby the Robot and Chuck Jones, this movie did caused some controversy when it came out because parents thought it was too violent for small children even around the same time "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" came out. So the MPAA created the "PG-13" rating was created that year, i love how make-up artist Chris Walas did the lovable furballs and the hideous beasts and made them some of the most memorable creatures to hit the screen. The film has often been imitated much with films like "Critters 1 & 2" (Which are great movies in their own rights), "Ghoulies", "Munchies", "Beasites", "Elves", "Evil Toons", "Troll" and the worst one of them all "Hobgoblins", this one is a true must see even around the holidays.
This special edition DVD has excellent sound and picture with nice extras like deleted scenes, Trailers, 2 audio commentaries, behind the scenes featurette, photo and storyboard gallery and filmmaker and cast highlights.
Also recommended: "Gremlins 2 : The New Batch", "Black Christmas (1974)", "Small Soldiers", "Critters", "Critters 2", "C.H.U.D.", "The Pit", "Evil Dead II", "It's a Wonderful Life", "Grindhouse", "Silent Night Deadly Night", "E.T.", "Troll", "Dead Alive (a.k.a. Braindead)", "The Witches of Eastwick", "Cat's Eye" and "Monsters Inc."

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A man buys a Mogwai as a Christmas present for his son. The young boy is told to keep the pet away from water, out of the light and never to feed it after midnight. Inadvertently, the creature is dampened and almost instantly, produces half a dozen furry replicas of itself --which continue to multiply and turn the small town upside-down.DVD Features:Audio CommentaryDeleted ScenesDocumentaryPhoto galleryStoryboardsTheatrical Trailer

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Cats - The Musical (Ultimate Edition) (1998) Review

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(More customer reviews)The `Cats' DVD is a cinematic record of the Andrew Lloyd Webber stage musical as performed on the London stage in, I believe, 1998 starring Elaine Paige in the `lead' role of Grizabella, although the only aspect of her role which warrants calling it the starring role is the fact that this character sings the `show-stopper' song, `Memory' which, if you are to believe writer / director Kevin Smith's bit in `Jersey Girl', has become a real Broadway cliché. The show is the most truly `ensemble' performance I can think of. Few characters stand out for more than the length of a single piece, yet practically all characters are on stage for over 50% of the two-hour performance. Aside from Paige, the only character / actor who is remotely familiar to me is John Mills who is on for but two scenes and who is more of a prop than a character.
I make a strong point of the fact that this is a recording of a stage performance rather than a conversion of the play to a more realistic environment. This conversion is done for most Broadway plays turned into movies, especially for big musicals such as `Oklahoma', `The Sound of Music', `My Fair Lady', and `Chicago'. But this conversion is not always successful. That is, the very big realistic setting is not always an enhancement. My best evidence for this is the film done of `The Fantasticks' with a cast including such high powered talent as Joel Gray and others. As someone how has seen the play done on the live stage three times with three different interpretations, including a performance by the New York City cast, I can say that the movie failed to breath any life into the classic minimalist staging it gets in intimate little theaters. The movie was simply not as good as the live performance. This is clearly not the case with this DVD record. It gives us the stage fantasy that needs practically no embellishment with a real ally or cinematic whiz-bang.
Like `The Fantasticks', I have seen `Cats' on the New York stage sitting in a mezzanine seat about 4 rows from the back of the Winter Garden theatre. And, while there is something about a live performance that simply cannot be recorded, I will say that this DVD (and VCR) recording is quite as good a record as you can get.
My most important criteria for evaluating a movie on DVD or VCR is whether or not the work wears well after the second or third or fourth viewing. For example, `Chicago' was fun to watch once, but I have no burning desire to watch it again. On the other hand, `Singin' in the Rain' I can watch about once a year and still find the time well spent. I will say with great conviction that I can watch this recording of `Cats' once a year and enjoy every minute spend with the experience, because I have done so over the last few years. The performance and its record are so durable that my second most important criteria for a DVD, a good commentary track, becomes unnecessary. And, the commentary track is basically a waste of time for a musical anyway, especially a musical based on famous poems written 65 years ago by the most notable poet, T. S. Eliot in `Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'.
The play has the thinnest of plots based on a once a year selection of one Jellicle cat to ascend into some state of grace, presumably at the conclusion of their legendary nine (9) lives. The only other plot twist involves the kidnapping of the head cat, Old Deuteronomy, thereby preventing this feline apotheosis from being carried out.
This accounts for four or five out of the nineteen numbers. All the rest are based directly on fourteen out of the fifteen poems in Eliot's little book.
One may think that this work has but a single hit song and, therefore, the remaining musical numbers are second rate. This is certainly not the case. I find myself tapping my toe to all numbers, with especial pleasure coming from `Jellicle Cats', `Mungojerrie and Rumpleteaser', and `The Pekes and the Pollicles'. These are much more like stories in song than a simple ballad with easily remembered refrain.
Very highly recommended for anyone with a taste for musicals and worth a try for anyone who likes fantasy.


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The Film Crew: Killers From Space (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)As was the case with the first Film Crew disc, "Hollywood After Dark," the second release also seems slightly out of practice in terms of the riffing. While there may be fewer 'clunkers' in the jokes, as some reviewers have commented, there are also fewer direct hits. However, this second release is a slight step up. The 'host segments' are significantly funnier, and the riffing itself is improved, eliciting a number of full throated laughs from this particular viewer. Not to mention, of course, that the film is an abysmal piece of '50s sci-fi trash starring Peter Graves, and featuring some typically terrible editing and camerawork. The story goes nowhere...and it goes there slowly. In short, the film would've been a classic episode of Mystery Science Theater, and it is used admirably here as well. If only there were a silhouette, this would be virtually indistinguishable from MST3K.
And yes, for those who are wondering, the riffing is still at a slightly more 'mature' level than MST's standard 'saturday morning cartoon' rating. Nothing overbearing, but a few sex based jokes and a few weak swear words. Most viewers will barely register the elevation in 'adult content.'

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Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett,three of the brilliantly insane minds behind the cult classic TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K)finally reunite to unleash their warped sense of humor on the cinema of yesteryear as The Film Crew.Charged with the task of giving all movies their own commentary tracks, the Film Crew valiantly steps forward to tackle the best of the worst, taking on the sci-fi b-movieclassicKillers From Space.When a scientist (Peter Graves) uncovers an unbelievable alien plot to conquer Earth using giant insects and reptiles, he finds himself alone in a battle to save the world. But is Earth s technology enough to defend the planet from the evil Astronians from Astrol Delta?

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Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Beginning of the End (1957) Review

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(More customer reviews)One of my favorite MST3Ks: a great example of the mid 1950s "atomic monster" genre, with laughable special effects. Giant mutant grasshoppers attack the mountains and deserts of central "Illinois," before moving on to destroy Chicago by crawling up picture postcards of the Wrigley Building and being lured into Lake Michigan by electronic grasshopper mating calls made by a young Peter Graves ("Hi, I'm Peter Graves. Tonight on 'Biography'..."), ironically the nuclear scientist responsible for the whole giant-mutation thing, not to mention his deaf-mute assistant Frank's gruesome dismemberment and death at the chomping mandibles of one seriously big mother of a locust. America's finest fighting force (the Illinois National Guard) is powerless against this giant hopping threat. Another 1957 monster classic from infamous science fiction filmmaker Bert I. Gordon, the undisputed master of movies about giant animals attacking California cities masquerading as the midwest. Don't miss the riveting post-opening credits scene: an apparently endless car-approaching sequence (Mike: "Folks, we'll start the movie as soon as our ride gets here."), and the incessant, earsplitting, marching-band music soundtrack. An early Mike Nelson episode, it's a great example of classic MST3K: bad sci-fi flick, hilarious riffing on the film by Mike and the bots, including a *seriously* weird host segment where rubber grasshoppers attack postcards Mike just happens to have lying around. I actually saw this one week before I moved to Chicago, which is all-but-destroyed in the movie, and it seriously creeped me out for a while, though I've never been able to drive by Champaign-Urbana without looking over my shoulder for giant grasshoppers.

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A mad scientist attempts to drive his captive, Mike Nelson, insane by forcing him to watch B-Movies. This episode's feature is "The Beginning of the End" (1957, 76 min.) - An enterprising journalist investigates the story of giant grasshoppers accidentally created at the Illinois State experimental farm. She struggles to save the city of Chicago, despite military resistance in their efforts to cover-up.

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Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Manos, the Hands of Fate (1988) Review

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(More customer reviews)The current wisdom among bad movie buffs is that Ed Wood's "Plan 9 From Outer Space" is the worst movie ever made. Believe me, it's not. And if you don't believe me, then just watch this one. Try it without the MST gang and see if you think "Plan 9" is worse.
"Manos," according to film critic Michael Weldon, was written, produced, directed by its 'star' Hal B. Warren, a fertilizer salesman from El Paso, Texas. The plot, as such, concerns Warren and his family, who become lost while on vacation. They stop at a strange house to ask directions and are met by the weird servant Torgo, who takes them prisoner and helps to make the next 90 minutes only seem like 8 hours.
Even the MST gang had trouble with this one, as most of the good lines and ripostes are in the first half. One can actually feel this movie sucking the life out of the crew. At the end even Dr. Forrester believes he may have went too far. But one redeeming thing came out of this -- the addition of Torgo the pizza delivery man (played by Mike Nelson) to the list of characters that inhabit Deep 13.
The only other caveat I can add is that this movie is for those seasoned MSTies only. If you are new to the MST experience, I would recommend "The Beginning of the End," or "I Accuse My Parents" to get you up to speed before tackling this one.

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Studio: Wea-des Moines VideoRelease Date: 11/20/2001

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Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Cave Dwellers (1988) Review

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(More customer reviews)MY MY MY! This is one of the best MST3K episodes I have ever seen! From the bad acting, the plot that Tolken couldn't follow, and the first major plot point occuring 35 minutes into the movie, this piece of trash tops the list of bad movies! This movie abounds with bad puppetrs (a veluer snake and a spider with fishing lines), a hubcap called a sheild, and Ator (our "Dude looks like a lady" hero) putting together a hanglider in about 5 minutes (killed a deer, tanned the hide, made an anadized aluminum pole, welded, etc...) and flying it over a large city (modern), not to mention the bombs he puts together in mid air. Let me tell you, if that doesn't make you wretch watch Crow's analyzation of the continuity problems at the end! All in all, buy this and you won't be dissappointed! And remember, Stay Frosty!

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The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection - The Essentials (Manos, the Hands of Fate / Santa Claus Conquers the Martians) (1988) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is an inexpensive, truly essential set from Rhino. I know that "Manos" has been released before, but it is, after all, the number one requested MST of all time, and for good reason.
By now almost everyone knows that "Manos" is one of the worst movies ever made, appropriately by fertilizer salesman (really) Harold P. Warren. (Is he perhaps a distant relative of "Batwoman" director Jerry Warren?) The film is a tale of a family caught in the snare of pure evil, symbolized largely by Torgo, a caretaker with big knees. ("Uh, that's not how you wear your Depends, Torgo.") Everything about this movie is the worst in class; those people who believe that Ed Wood is the worst director of all time have clearly never seen "Manos." As if "Manos" weren't enough, the same episode features an otherworldly short ("Hired, Part Two") featuring a man on a porch in a rocking chair swatting at flies, and demonstrating that it is possible to look demonically possessed with a handkerchief on your head. ("Ah! Flying elves are back!") This is truly a wonderful short. Also on the disc is a reel of outtakes ("poopie") which range from amusing to hilarious. For my money the best of the bunch is the attempted "Torgo's Pizza" sketch. ("Let me just get your complimentary crazy bread." "No!") I would guess that I have seen "Manos" probably thirty-plus times over the years, and it still endures as the pinnacle of MST3K as a concept.
The real treat in the set is "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians," an early Comedy Central episode, and one of the greatest of all time. The film stars nobody, but does mark the screen debut of Pia Zadora as Girmar ("Girl Martian," get it?) in what may be her most convincing role to date. The concept is awful, the costumes, acting, sets, and cold war, extraterrestrial Santa kidnapping plot must be seen to be believed. I am particularly fond of the comic relief provided by Droppo, the laziest man on Mars. Also prominently featured is the most inane theme song in movie history, composed by no other than Milton DeLugg. Who is Milton DeLugg? You might know him better as Chuck Barris' bandleader from "The Gong Show" (and you will definitely want to gong the theme song). This one really hurts, but in a good way.
There has been some disagreement in the reviews, but my set did come with the bonus DVD, "Shorts Volume Three," and even though I have seen them all before, they don't disappoint. My favorite of all is the unreal "Once Upon a Honeymoon," which features some of the world's worst musical production numbers, featuring rhythmic telephone dialing. This disc is a wonderful bonus, and I am delighted to have all these shorts together in one place.
For the price, this set can't be beat for a diehard MSTie, or someone new to the show who wants to start out with two of the best episodes of all time. This set is highly recommended.


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Item Name: The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection - The Essentials (Manos, the Hands of Fate / Santa Claus Conquers the Martians); Studio:Rhino Theatrical

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Theater of Blood (1973) Review

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(More customer reviews)As incredibly good as this movie is, one must give pause before attempting to review it; after all, Vincent Price plays an actor who murders the critics who panned his performances and cost him the acting award he felt he deserved. I find it something of a relief to have nothing at all negative to say about this unusual, almost brilliant movie. This is essentially a slasher film, but it differs markedly from its modern counterparts by injecting the story with intelligence, culture, and actual feeling. Vincent Price plays Edward Lionheart, a Shakespearean actor who deigns to perform no dramas not penned by the Bard. There is no better actor, he truly believes, than himself, and thus he is slowly crushed by the stream of bad reviews the local critics hurl down upon his performance in one play after another. After facing humiliation at an annual awards banquet, he takes his own life-or at least so everyone thought at the time, despite the fact that his body was never found. Two years later, a literary critic dies mysteriously on the ides of March of multiple stab wounds. Then a second critic is killed and his body dragged through the streets behind a horse. As more critics die, it begins to become clear, even to the rather ineffectual police, that the murders are all patterned on the death scenes of Shakespearean dramas. After the fourth murder, where the culprit deviates from the script of The Merchant of Venice by literally taking a pound of flesh from the victim, the de facto leader of the critics knows that Lionheart is the murderer because "only he would have the temerity to rewrite Shakespeare." The deaths here range from the somewhat comical to the ludicrously horrid to the deliciously gruesome, with a few nice touches of 1973-style blood thrown in for good measure. Each murder is of course accentuated by a vainglorious dramatic performance by Lionheart. This imbues the movie with both maudlin comedy as well as academic pretentiousness. At the very end, even more unexpected emotions bubble up in the viewer, a phenomenon manifesting itself through a combination of Price's perfectly over-the-top acting and a wonderfully evocative soundtrack.
One actually gets something of a lesson in Shakespeare in this film. Lionheart doesn't base his revenge killings on Shakespeare's most famous plays-instead, he draws on several that I and probably many others are not intimately familiar with-yet the magic he breathes into each scene makes one anxious to delve into the Bard's original plays themselves. In total, the following Shakespearean plays serve as the basis of the murders: Julius Caesar, Troilus and Cressida, Cymbeline, The Merchant of Venice, Richard the Third, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Henry the Sixth, part 1, Titus Andronicus, and King Lear. A little Hamlet is also thrown in for good measure. I must say that the cast is a great complement to the storyline, although even the lovely Diana Rigg of Avengers fame pales in the shadow of Price's mesmerizing aura as he brings to life a character seemingly written especially for him. Who else could have played such a convincing Shakespearean actor and ingeniously mad killer simultaneously? I must admit it is somewhat strange to watch Rigg play the role of Lionheart's fiercely loyal daughter, though, and I daresay that many Rigg devotees such as myself may not even recognize her when she first appears.
Theater of Blood is truly one of Vincent Price's most memorable performances. His ability to morph into and truly become different Shakespearean characters is superb, and the range of emotions he is able to express is pretty powerful, especially in the closing moments of the film. A couple of the killings are somewhat farcical, but most of them are rather ingenious and fascinating. Just wait until you see Price playing the role of a bushy-headed hairdresser. The best killing, without a doubt, involves a surgical gown, a scalpel, and a handsaw-I'll let you figure out what Lionheart does with these items. The idea for this movie may not be wholly original, but Theater of Blood works magnificently, and the combined talents of Price and Rigg make this a classic that really should find a home in the collection of all horror movie buffs.

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