Netflix Instant "Gems" Vol. 24

Netflix instant continues to be an great viewing resources for documentaries and I hope they continue that trend. Recently, most of Michael Apted's UP series have popped up. Highly recommended. Also the docs of Ross McElwee(SHERMAN'S MARCH, TIME INDEFINITE, BRIGHT LEAVES, SIX O'CLOCK NEWS) are excellent if you haven't seen yet. I am pretty excited to finally see Christopher Smith's film BLACK DEATH. I am a huge fan of TRIANGLE(just recently got a dvd at Blockbuster for $1). Additionally, several kid's series have just appeared. HE-MAN, BRAVESTARR & H.R. PUFNSTUF are all fun. LAST NIGHT is a neat little end-of-the-world movie that's well worth your time. I am big Don McKellar fan and he does a nice job here. If you like hima t all, I highly recommend renting his TV Series TWITCH CITY(only on dics). Also some junkier titles include things like OPPOSITE DAY, BRENDA STARR, SAHARA('83), H.O.T.S., DOUBLE TROUBLE and the amazingly WTF piece of cinema called GANGLAND(reviewed on GGTMC a several weeks back).


21 UP(1977; Michael Apted)
28 UP(1985; Michael Apted)
42 UP(1998; Michael Apted)
49 UP(2005; Michael Apted)
THE BIG SCORE(1983; Fred Williamson)
BLACK DEATH(2010; Christopher Smith)
A BOY AND HIS DOG(1975; L.Q. Jones)
BRAVESTARR(1987; Series)
BRENDA STARR(1989; Robert Ellis Miller)
BRIGHT LEAVES(2003; Ross McElwee)
DOUBLE TROUBLE(1992; John Paragon)
THE EVIL DEAD(1981; Sam Raimi)
FILM GEEK(2005; James Westby)
GANGLAND(2001; Art Camacho)
GHOSTBUSTERS THE ANIMATED SERIES(1986; Series)
H.O.T.S.(1979; Gerald Sindell)
H.R. PUFNSTUF Complete series(1969; Series)
HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE(1983; Series)
LAST NIGHT(1998; Don McKellar)
MAN PUSH CART(2005; Ramin Bahrani)
OPPOSITE DAY(2009; R. Michael Givens)
PHANTASM(1979; Don Coscarelli)
THE PLEDGE(2001; Sean Penn)
PROTOTYPE X29A(1992; Phillip J. Roth)
RETURN TO THE LOST WORLD(1992; Timothy Bond)
ROSEBUD BEACH HOTEL(1984; Harry Hurwitz)
RUNNING ON EMPTY(1988; Sidney Lumet)
SAHARA(1983; Andrew V. McLaglen)
SHERMAN'S MARCH(1986; Ross McElwee)
SHUTTER ISLAND(2010; Martin Scorsese)
THE TEN(2006; David Wain)
TIME INDEFINITE(1994; Ross McElwee)
VANISHING ON 7TH STREET(2010; Brad Anderson)
VISIONEERS(2007; Jared Drake)

My Favorite Severin Films releases

In honor of their 5 year anniversary and a lovely 50% off sale running on their site right now(6/15 through 6/17), I thought I'd weigh in with a short list of my favorite Severin Films releases. Severin is a wonderful company and one whose releases I fully support and recommend. Check out the company history here. Check out my GGTMC interview with the guys from Severin right here! They've already put out some great stuff this year including Blu-Rays of Richard Rush's THE STUNT MAN and Brian Trenchard-Smith's BMX BANDITS(both with stunning transfers!). I am also excited for their upcoming slate including the Billy Jacoby(Jayne) killer-kid flick BLOODY BIRTHDAY and the fantastic cult classic HORROR EXPRESS(hopefully by year's end). I also recently had the pleasure of seeing their release of LOOSE SCREWS which is the sequel to the more well-known SCREW BALLS("The Nuts Who Always Score"), also released by Severin(both in Blu-Ray!). This is one of those rare sex comedy sequels that pretty well buries its predecessor. It also includes some of the most rapid-fire innuendo this side of a Howard Hawks movie.


1. THE STUNT MAN(1980; Richard Rush)


2. SANTE SANGRE(1989; Alejandro Jodorowsky)


3. BIRDEMIC: SHOCK AND TERROR(2008; James Nguyen)


4. THE PSYCHIC(1977; Lucio Fulci)


5. BMX BANDITS(1983; Brian Trenchard-Smith)


6. STONE(1974; Sandy Harbutt)

Netflix Instant "Gems" Vol. 23

Some cool noirs are the real headliners for me this week. I adore DETOUR a whole crap-ton and it's such a great example of the fatalism that I love about these types of films in general. Low budget and short, but very effective. HIGHLY recommended. Also recommended in the noir vein is a film called CRY DANGER with Dick Powell. Hadn't seen this before, but had been meaning to. Great stuff. Other classics I'd draw your attention to include Sirk's BATTLE HYMN, Preston Sturges THE BEAUTIFUL BLONDE FROM BASHFUL BEND and the Louise Brooks silent DIARY OF A LOST GIRL. Miramax added a bunch of stuff this week including Tarantino favorites PULP FICTION and RESERVOIR DOGS(I know this isn't Miramax, just lumped it in) as well as the excellent Peter Jackson flick HEAVENLY CREATURES. Maybe my favorite Jackson film that one. Depp fans should seek out Jim Jarmusch's DEAD MAN is a great film, right up there with his best. Also look for THE HOUSE OF YES, WALKING AND TALKING and the not-quite-so-good REINDEER GAMES. Additionally enjoy some Beatles goodness with A HARD DAY'S NIGHT. Lots of fun junk here too like STEP UP 3, SHARK ATTACKs 2 & 3 and the creepily odd WHITE CHICKS. Oh and let's not forget the 80s Michael Keaton classic JOHNNY DANGEROUSLY (you iceholes)! I once lost a bet on JOHNNY DANGEROUSLY, with my erroneous thinking that Martha Coolidge of VALLEY GIRL fame had directed it rather than Amy Heckerling of FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH. The only time I've felt dumber than that is when I famously lost a large wager that the late Liz Taylor was in Howard Hawk's LAND OF THE PHAROAHS. What can I say, I am a moron(and damn you Joan Collins!).



BATTLE HYMN(1957; Douglas Sirk)
BEAUTIFUL BLONDE FROM BASHFUL BEND(1949; Preston Sturges)
BLOOD & WINE(1996; Bob Rafelson)
THE CLAIRVOYANT(1934; Maurice Elvey)
CRY DANGER(1951; Robert Parrish)
DEAD MAN(1995; Jim Jarmusch)
THE DESERT FOX(1951; Henry Hathaway)
DETOUR(1945; Edgar Ulmer)
DIARY OF A LOST GIRL(1929; Georg Wilhelm Pabst)
GUNMEN(1993; Daren Sarafian)
A HARD DAY'S NIGHT(1964; Richard Lester)
HEAVENLY CREATURES(1994; Peter Jackson)
HIGHLANDER(1986; Russell Mulcahy)
THE HOUSE OF YES(1997; Mark S. Waters)
JOHNNY DANGEROUSLY(1984; Amy Heckerling)
THE MATING SEASON(1951; Mitchell Leisen)
THE OUTLAW(1943; Howard Hughes)
PULP FICTION(1994; Quentin Tarantino)
REINDEER GAMES(2000; John Frankenheimer)
RESERVOIR DOGS(1992; Quentin Tarantino)
SHARK ATTACK 2(2001; David Worth)
SHARK ATTACK 3: MEGALODON(2002; David Worth)
SONNY(2002; Nicolas Cage)
STEP UP 3(2010; Jon Chu)
VISITING HOURS(1982; Jean-Claude Lord)
WALKING AND TALKING(1996; Nicole Holofcener)
THE WAY OF THE GUN(2000; Christopher McQuarrie)
WHITE CHICKS(2004; Keenan Ivory Wayans)
THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT(1967; Jacques Demy)