Circus of Horrors (1960) Review

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(More customer reviews)First off, the film transfer on this DVD is nothing short of stunning. The picture is presented in widescreen and the colors are very comparable to the same studio's production of "Peeping Tom". Sound transfer is fine, and there is even a French language soundtrack available.
"Circus of Horrors" is quite enjoyable, but it is a tiny bit of a cheat. There are not nearly as many "horrors" as one might expect. However, a final 15-minute sequence is worth the price of admission. The acting is generally good among the principles, with the lead, Anton Diffring, a standout. He plays just the right amount of crazed obsession to keep it entertaining.
Reizenstein's musical score is more than adequate and often very good. As for the featured song, "Look for a Star"--it's true, you will hum it to yourself for days afterward.
Extras are absolutely top-drawer: trailers, tv spots, posters, lobby cards etc, excerpts from a comic-book version of the film, and, most surprising, a reproduction of the song-sheet for the song! There is also a nicely done biography/filmography for Diffring.
Menus are extremely well-done, animated and accompanied by music from the film.
And, if all this is not enough, there is an Easter Egg. Go to the 'Extras' menu, sit back, and you will hear "Look for a Star" in a complete, uninterrupted performance.
A must-have for 1950s and 60s horror aficionados.

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Monk - Season Two (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)A quirky comedy about a man with obsessive compulsive disorder and several phobias who is alternatively helped and hindered by his excrutiating attention to detail. In the first season, Monk loses his job as a police officer and works as a private investigator. His department continues to call him for help on the toughest cases. Here's another funny season.
1. Mr. Monk Goes Back to School: Monk becomes a substitute teacher to investigate the death of an English teacher.
2. Mr. Monk Goes to Mexico: Monk investigates a friend's sons death in Mexico.
3. Mr. Monk Goes to the Ballgame: While investigating the murders of a CEO and his wife, Monk befriends the Major League superstar who was having an affair with the wife.
4. Mr. Monk Goes to the Circus: Monk investigates the murder of a circus ringmaster.
5. Mr. Monk and the Very, Very Old Man: The captain's hippie wife thinks the world's oldest man has been murdered.
6. Mr. Monk Goes to the Theater: Mr. Monk takes the place of a murdered actor on stage while investigating the murder.
7. Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect: When a woman is murdered, Monk suspects her brother who has been in a coma for four months.
8. Mr. Monk Meets the Playboy: A secretary hires Monk to discover who killed her boss.
10. Mr. Monk and the 12th Man: The Captain calls Monk for help in solving nine brutal murders.
11. Mr. Monk and the Paperboy: Monk's paperboy is murdered.
12. Mr. Monk and the Three Pies: Monk helps his estranged brother whom he has not seen in many years when he claims his neighbor murdered his wife.
13. Mr. Monk and the T.V. Star: Monk becomes convinced that a TV show's star has murdered his ex-wife.
14. Mr. Monk and the Missing Granny: An older law student asks Monk for help finding her missing grandmother. In exchange, she offers to help him get reinstated as a policeman. Michael Shalhoub, Tony's brother, plays on this episode.
15. Mr. Monk and the Captain's Wife: The captain's wife is injured when her car has been stuck by a truck whose driver was killed by a sniper.
16. Mr. Monk Gets Married: To solve a murder, Sharona and Monk pose as a couple going for counseling at a clinic
17. Mr. Monk Goes to Jail: Dale the Whale calls Monk from jail with information about a murder.

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Dillinger (1973) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is not a completely true story. This is not a documentary. It is just a fun movie to watch based very loosely on a few gangsters around the early to mid 1930's. The lead roles are bank robber John Dillinger and FBI agent Melvin Purvis. While trying to capture or kill Dillinger, Purvis runs across a few other notable gangsters of the day. If you want true history, don't get it from Hollywood, head to your local library. If you want to watch a fun movie, check this one out. I believe that many people write reviews to impress others with their knowledge of history. If I was sitting in a college class, that may be significant. While I am watching a movie, who cares?

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From the writer of Apocalypse Now comes an electrifying crime saga about one of the most notorious gangsters of the 1930s. Starring Warren Oates, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman and Richard Dreyfuss, Dillinger sets the screen ablaze with explosive shootouts, daring escapes and magnificent performances. Bank robber John Dillinger (Oates) has become a folk hero to the people ofDepression-era America, capturing their imaginations with the exploits of his outlaw "super-gang." But time may be running out for Dillinger's violent band of fugitives; the FBI's finest agent (Johnson) is on the case, and his pursuit won't end until every member of the gang is behind bars...or dead!Charged with heartstopping action and riveting drama, Dillinger is an unforgettable experience hailed as nothing less than "brilliant" (San Francisco Chronicle)!

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Street Thief (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is honestly a great movie, I first say it on A&E and thought it was such a smart movie, weather it's a documentry or a mocumentry, it's a good film to see. You can't find it on Netflix and they arn't showing reruns anymore. Free Shipping? Good deal.

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Kaspar Carr is a master thief, targeting businesses in the Chicago area. In STREET THIEF, he stakes out fresh opportunities in front of a documentary film crew, which gradually becomes complicit in his crimes. As the director and producer become entangled in the allure of their fascinating subject and the legal ramifications of their actions, Carr pursues a series of larger-scale and more dangerous jobs. All the while, he reveals how he came to choose this unconventional lifestyle.STREET THIEF combines elements of film noir and cinema vérité in a novel approach to filmmaking. Shadowing Carr and his film crew from urban supermarkets to suburban shopping malls to the snowy fields of Wisconsin, viewers are rewarded with a voyeuristic view into the lives of the thief and the filmmakers and are able to witness firsthand their changing philosophies and notions of morality.DVD Features: Trailer; Deleted Scenes

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The Amateur (1982) Review

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(More customer reviews)Though this movie is now nearly 20 years old, it is still extremely watchable. It does not rely on special effects. It, rather, relies on the development of Hitchcock-like suspense.
In the movie, the magazine reporter fiance of a CIA computer specialist is executed by terrorists via random drawing while she is on assignment in europe. This infuriates the main protagonist of the movie -- the CIA employee. He collects enough information on CIA sensitive activities to blackmail the agency into allowing him to go into eastern europe so he can locate and eliminate the terrorists that killed his fiance himself.
He is the amateur in a professional's game. The plot is believable, the suspense is tangeable, and the story line not predictable.
I promise that if you like suspense movies, you will love this one! The acting, from main and supporting characters, is good. I particularly enjoyed the character who played the father of the murdered fiance. CIA officers and execs also play their roles (though perhaps a bit stereotyped) quite well.
5 stars.

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At 29, Charles Heller was a mathematician without equal.At the CIA he was a computer expert wtihout peers.But when terrorists murder the most important woman in his life, he becomes an assassin without experience.To avenge her death, the CIA trained him, briefed him, armed him, and then... they abandoned him.The first 11 minutes will rivet you to your seat.IN A WORLD OF PROFESSIONALS, THERE IS NO ROOM FOR AN AMATEUR.

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The Tingler (1959) Review

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(More customer reviews)William Castle was reknowned for his gimmicky films. For THE TINGLER he had "Percepto," and it was a lulu: randomly selected seats in the theatre were wired with a small motor, and at a peak moment in the film these motors came to life and literally gave your bottom a buzz! But unless you happen to have a really warped sense of humor plus some mechanical apptitude, you'll have to forego the "Percepto" effect and settle for one of the most weirdo stories to come down the street.
A doctor (Vincent Price) is studying the effects of fear. In the process, he finds that fear causes a nasty, worm-like creature to grow inside the human body along the spine. Release your fear by screaming, and the creature is destroyed; if for some reason you cannot scream, however, the creature merely grows larger and larger and kills you by crushing your spine. What the good doctor really wants, of course, is to lay his hands on one of these critters--and when a man murders his deaf-mute wife by scaring her to death, Dr. Vince gets his chance. Eventually "The Tingler" escapes into a movie theatre, and the seat-buzzing begins!
Price and company give it their all, and the film is as enjoyable as only schlock horror can be. Fans of the genre will hoot over the murder, Vincent Price's LSD trip, the scenes where the tingler escapes into the theatre--not to mention at the monster itself, which looks like a cross between an overweight centipede and a lobster. And yes, you really can see the wires! The DVD edition also includes lots of fun extras, including a short documentary on the film. Castle fans will get a kick out of it, but all others are warned away!

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Lady Killer (1933) Review

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(More customer reviews)James Cagney stars as a conman that winds up a Hollywood star trying to escape his shady past. The story begins with Cagney first getting conned by a group of con artists, then joining them and moving them on to much bigger games. When they turn on him, Cagney ends up in Los Angeles, where he works his way up the "extra" ladder to becoming a top star. Of course, his criminal "friends" want the bigger game that he can now bring them, possibly bringing an end to the life he has made for himself. This is the perfect kind of role for the young Cagney. It allows him to display the cocky attitude, intelligence, aggressiveness, and humour that made him the immortal screen character he became. The two elements of the story mix well. The con game aspect is fun to watch as people cross and double cross each other. But it's also fun watching the fish-out-of-water Cagney adjusting to life in movies, giving us a glimpse of life behind the camera in 1930's Hollywood. Margaret Lindsay is competent as usual as Cagney's actress-girlfriend, while Mae Clarke is fun as one of his partners in the con games. Once again, Clarke gets pushed around (and pulled by the hair!) in a Cagney film, providing some of the film's highlights. Like most of the Warner Brothers films directed by Roy Del Ruth in the 1930's, Lady Killer moves along quickly, with plenty of in-your-face action and laughs, giving you a prime look at vintage Cagney.

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When a movie theater usher is fired, he takes up with criminals and finds himself quite adept at various illegal activities. Eventually though, the police catch up with him, and he runs to hide out in Los Angeles. There he stumbles into the movie business and soon rises to stardom. He has gone straight, but his newfound success arouses the interest of his old criminal associates, who are not above blackmail...

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Wallander: Sidetracked / Firewall / One Step Behind (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Kurt Wallander novels, authored by Henning Mankell, are quite popular in Europe but rather less well known in the US. "Wallander-Series I" brings to television and DVD the dramatization of three of the novels. Wallander, portrayed by veteran and gifted Irish actor Kenneth Branagh, is a detective on the police force of the gritty seaside town of Ystad in Sweden. He is a borderline physical and psychological burnout case, who has lost his sense of detachment from his cases and takes everything far too personally. At the same time, he is a brillant sleuth with an ability to make intuitive connections between seemingly unrelated cases. Assisted by his staff and supported by a faithful daughter, he manfully plugs away at some rather unorthodox cases.
"Sidetracked" opens with a brilliantly staged scene in which Wallander fails to prevent a young woman from self-immolation in a sunlit field of flowers. He is also beset by a series of murders in the local art business, and by the health issues of his estranged father. Only Wallander can see the connections, which lead to a deadly sex ring and a surprising killer.
"Firewall" opens with the seemingly senseless murder of a taxi driver by two young women. As other bodies start to pile up, Wallander picks at a strange statement by one of the two young women, who escapes from police custody and then is herself horribly murdered. Wallander's persistance leads him to an unorthodox terrorist plot, and a betrayal by a friend.
"One Step Behind" involves Wallander in the deaths of several young persons who were connected with a midsummer's eve celebration. Additional deaths lead Wallander into a wider case in which the police seem constantly one step behind the killer or killers.
This series was filmed in Sweden, which makes for some beautiful location shooting. The sets are contrasted with some grim social rot in Swedish society, as exemplified by the gritty portrayal of Ystad society. Wallander's crew, all British actors, provide low-key support to Branagh's haggard and unshaven lead detective. His personal suffering over each case and over a personal life seemingly in shambles, imparts a gray tone to the stories that may be unsettling to some viewers. However, the stories are intricately plotted and thrillingly concluded; Branagh carries the day in a fascinating portrayal. This series is very highly recommended to fans of PBS Masterpiece Mystery looking for something different in a police procedural.

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Kenneth Branagh plays Swedish detective Kurt Wallander in three new crime dramas based on the best-selling books by Henning Mankell, an international publishing phenomenon with over 25 million copies sold worldwide. Sidetracked, Firewall, and One Step Behind follow Inspector Kurt Wallander - a disillusioned everyman - as he struggles against a rising tide of violence in the seemingly sleepy backwaters in and around Ystad in beautiful southern Sweden. Baffling crimes and apparently motiveless murders lead to surprising and shocking discoveries in these Swedish noir thrillers.

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Dillinger (1945) Review

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(More customer reviews)This review is for the 2005 Warner Brothers DVD.
This film is about the real life bank robber John Dillinger who is arguably the most notorious robber in the history of American and earned the nickname "Public Enemy #1". From my brief research on the internet, the movie appears to be relatively true to form. From the early `30s until his death in 1934, Dillinger wreaked havoc across America with his brutal bank robberies and daring prison escapes.
The film itself moves fast, but is only 70 minutes long. There is little character development and the action is continuous and rarely dull. Lawrence Tierney stars as John Dillinger. This was his screen acting debut and he does little to set the acting world on fire. Even in scenes of major confrontation, Tierney seems expressionless and lacks emotional body language. Perhaps this was by design by the director. But if you are fan of vintage gangster films, I'm confident that you will be entertained and pleased with action and drama.
The DVD was remastered but not restored and unfortunately there was a significant amount of film damage. There were five or six scenes with at least 3 or 4 seconds of severely damaged footage. The remastering helped make the picture look sharp but tiny specs of deterioration were still prevalent throughout the film, but that wasn't a major deal compared to the noticeably larger scratches. Warner has historically been one of the better studios for film restoration and they obviously decided to not fix up this film. Due to the limited market of a DVD like this, I'm sure the payoff wasn't there to restore an entire movie, but if they would have at least fixed the severely damaged frames, that would have been sufficient for me.
PLEASE NOTE: Before buying this DVD, consider buying the Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 2 which contains this movie plus four other highly recommended movies at a very reasonable price.Movie: B-
DVD Quality: C

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Willie Sutton robbed banks during the Depression because, he explained, "That's where the money is." Former Indiana farmboy John Dillinger also knew where the money was. And his string of early-1930s heists, murders and daring jailbreaks were so bold and notorious he became Public Enemy #1. Dillinger, Oscar-nominated* for its screenplay, is the bullet-paced story of the man whose crimes captivated and terrified the nation. Lawrence Tierney plays the title role, breaking free of screen anonymity and moving into a 50-year tough-guy career that would include 1947's Born to Kill and 1992's Reservoir Dogs. Perhaps it was a brutal early prison stretch that turned Dillinger from kid to killer. Perhaps he was a murderous thug to his core. Either way, Dillinger presents his story with film-noir style and lets you decide.

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Elite Squad (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)I loved this movie. It was largely panned by American critics, never even making it to American theaters, except for maybe one or two in NYC (none in LA).
The film provided a valid, complex viewpoint of some of the problems that modern-day Brazil faces. If you look at comments of reviews of this film on major publications' web sites (like NYTimes, LA Times, etc), you will see that the overwhelming majority of comments are from Brazilians who: 1) loved the movie, and 2) stated that the movie got the situation right.
The film shows the point of view of patriotic police officers that want to do right by their country, although they are confounded by their fellow police officers, the well-armed drug dealers, the bought-off constituents of the slums (favelas), as well as the leftist middle class that excoriates the police on the one hand for its heavy handed tactics as well as its corruption while at the same time sustaining the local drug lords by buying their product.
It is the film's viewpoint towards the leftist middle class that I think doomed the film to never get a proper showing in the US. That, and the fact that this "honest" police force feels obligated (and in the eyes of some in the viewing public, justified) to use extra-judicial, heavy handed tactics to get results in fighting crime.
SEE THIS FILM!

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An action-packed thriller that follows an elite police battalion (BOPE) tasked with cleaning up a drug-ridden Rio de Janeiro slum in advance of the pope's 1997 visit. A team of trained killers, they struggle to do what's right in a corrupt system and dangerous neighborhood.

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Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Mitchell (1988) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm a huge fan of these guys. The team of writers for this show are so talented it's sick. I was a huge fan when MST3K was on TV, and I have a bunch of the episodes on tape. Of all of them, this is the one I return to most.
The wonderful movie for Joel's farewell episode is Mitchell, some kind of lame cop-action-thing with a stupid plot revolving around drugs and prostitutes and Joe Don Baker's hideous acting. Perfect ammunition for Joel & co. to unleash one of the finest barrages of jokes in the entire series! You can tell the writers had fun with this movie. So much of it lends itself to insult: Joe Don Baker acting like he suffers from acute retardation; Mitchell's drinking problem; Mitchell's face; Mitchell's disturbing sexual relationship with his prostitute; Mitchell's big belly; Mitchell's driving skills; Mitchell's drinking problem; Mitchell shooting guns; Mitchell fighting; Mitchell's theme song; Mitchell trying to be tough...it goes on. This one will have you laughing yourself into a seizure every few seconds. The jokes come so fast that it's impossible to take it all in. I've seen this episode about a dozen times over the years but I still hear things I missed before.
Buy it and smile.

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