Fish Called Wanda (1988) Review

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(More customer reviews)NOTE: This review is about the 1998 version of the DVD. Newer releases may be better quality.
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This film is definitely on my top ten list of funniest movies of all time, with "Some Like it Hot," "National Lampoons Christmas Vacation" and the Monty Python masterpieces...
But this DVD is atrocious. The soundtrack is all in the center channel... haven't heard anything worse since I gave up watching a TV with a 3 inch speaker. The theme song is burbled and warbly. There is no separation -- even to the front speakers. The dialog is flat as a flitter.
The picture quality is a hair better than off the air, rabbit ear antennae reception. At times the picture is choppy and halting -- as if you were watching it on a rental video that has been viewed too many times.
The only extra is the film's trailer.
Wait for a re-release before buying!

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Wise Blood (1979) Review

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(More customer reviews)"WISE BLOOD" is an overlooked jewel.
Southern writer Flannery O'Connor's first novel, "Wise Blood," made it to the big screen in 1979. The John Huston directed, low budget feature was widely praised and then practically forgotten.
O'Connor was a devout Catholic. She was also battling lupus, the sometimes debilitating immune disorder. Both factors may have colored her novel. Huston was a devout atheist. His world view certainly nuanced the tone of the film.
The story concerns a somewhat troubled, perhaps damaged, youth, Hazel Motes (Brad Dourif). Just out of the army and son of a fire and brimstone Pentecostal preacher, Motes is determined to open the first Church Withouth Christ in Taulkinham, Tennessee.
A young Brad Dourif is brilliant as the driven, vexed, Motes. There's not a false note or a wasted frame. His is a journey of spiritual self-exploration, penance and perhaps redemption. O'Connor's curiosity about the southern brand of Pentecostal mind set is riveting on film. Motes is trying to shed the damage of his ferocious religious childhood, but cannot shed his spirituality. He finds he's a Christian in spite of himself.
Supporting actors Harry Dean Stanton, Amy Wright, Ned Beatty, William Hickey and Dan Shor are all spot on.
The frisson between director Huston's disdain for religion and O'Connor's devoutness is a perfect match. The screenplay by brothers Benedict and Michael Fitzgerald does not stray from the core events, tone and ideas of O'Connor's story.
The obviously lower budget production, shot mostly in Macon, Georgia of the late 1970s, does not really detract, even though the novel is set in a somewhat earlier period.
The use of older, rather decayed buildings and locations amidst a more modern setting give a kind of muddy, out-of-time, appeal. A nice visual metaphor to the theme of old fundamentalist religious views in conflict with a more progressive spirituality.
This is a unique film and story. Hard to categorize. For me, it's a darkly comic, decidedly gothic, tale of profound spirituality and humanism. When the shoot was over, Huston said, "I think I've been had."
Criterion's transfer, as usual, is clean and sharp. I thought the color was unusually true and subtle. And the period monaural track crisp and easy on the ear.
The extras are all watchable. The new interviews with Dourif and the writer-producer brothers Fitzgerald are entertaining and informative.
A huge bonus is the rare recording of Flannery O'Connor reading her famous and terrific short story "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is alone probably worth the price of the disc! This is the only known recording of the author reading one of her stories.
There's also a wonderful vintage 1982 "Creativity With Bill Moyers" with director Huston.

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Love at First Bite (1979) Review

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(More customer reviews)Well, as far as the movie itself goes, this movie deserves 10+ stars, because not since, Young Frankenstein, has a movie so poignantly and perfectly, captured the true feel of the original classic, of which it so lovingly satires.
George Hamilton plays Dracula, like no one else (except maybe, Jack Palance, but that's another review altogether :) doing Bela Lugosi, proud, whilst still putting his own stamp on the character.
And who can forget, Arte Johnson, as Dracula's , "Cockroach eating friend" (he-he-he... :) Renfield, and Richard Benjamin as their foil, Van Helsing ("Dracula's stolen my girlfriend, and I think he's better in bed with her, then I am...")
This movie is a hands down, no, if-ands-or-buts, classic, from, "Children of the night, shut up", to the end credits.
So why did I only give it 4 stars then?
Well, when this great homage to the classic Dracula films was first released to the big screen (I went to see it with my first girlfriend) there was this great show stopping dance sequence where Dracula seduces Cindy ("The only woman that I have ever loved") on the dance floor to the tune of the disco classic, I Love The Night Life, but then, years and years later, when the movie finally came out to video, I was dismayed to discover that this song had been replaced by some generic disco song.
Now don't get me wrong here, this new song is pretty good, and had it been the original choice for the dance sequence, then I would have had no complaints, but that's not the case here, I Love The Night Life, is the song that defined this movie for all of us who remember seeing it at the theater, and its apparent non-inclusion, on this highly awaited, DVD release, is just another slap in the face to the fans who have been waiting for over 20 years, to finally hear the right song, put back in the movie...
I mean, could you imagine if Star Wars had been released without the opening music, but instead, replaced by some stock music (in order to save a few bucks on the licensing rights) sure, it would still be Star Wars, but there would be something missing. I mean jeepers; it would almost be as bad as say, Greedo, getting off the first shot..., oh right... lol, never mind...
We the fans, should petition MGM, just to let them know that we are not happy with the omission of our beloved song, but alas, seeing as the DVD's have already been manufactured, and will be in stores in a couple of weeks, I'm afraid that the only way in which, I Love The Night Life, will ever be heard in this movie again, is if you sync up the CD of the song, and turn down the DVD's volume during the dance sequence.
It's a darn shame, if you ask me... :(
***NOTE: Just got my copy of this DVD, and as feared, "I Love The Night Life" is missing in action, on both the widescreen and full screen versions (as I had secretly hoped that it made it onto one of the two versions, but alas, no :(
But here's the rub, as there's a rather lengthy trailer for the movie, included on the DVD, and guess what song is used through out this trailer, yep, none other then, "I Love The Night Life".
What a slap in the face to the fans of this great film, to have to endure the generic disco song during the actual movie, only to have the original song, dangled in our face, over and over again in the trailer (there are even snippets of the dance sequence, with the proper music, in the trailer :(
FYI: you'll probably want to watch the movie in the full screen mode, because the widescreen mode it simply the full screen mode, matted to widescreen, and not the other way around, so there's more top and bottom info on the screen in the full screen mode, as opposed to less right and left screen info with movies cropped to fit full screen.

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Jekyll And Hyde Together Again (1982) Review

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(More customer reviews)Hilarious from beginning to end. I haven't seen it in years, but still quote it to this day. "Dats my feets Jack!" If you haven't seen the movie, do yourself a favor, have a couple of drinks and watch it. Bear in mind that the humor is predictable, in poor taste, and dark. People who find humor in movies such as "Airplane!" will find it outrageous.

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The movie that made Robert Louis Stevenson spin in his grave! Mark Blankfield delivers a manic turn as both Jekyll and Hyde in a farce that will appeal to fans of Mel Brooks and the Zucker Brothers. Henry Jekyll is a well-respected scientist who discovers a way to isolate man's "animal instinct." The only problem is that his inner animal turns out to be a gold-toothed, hairy-chested party-animal named Mr. Hyde. The classic struggle between good and evil takes a back seat to opportunities for off-the-wall zaniness at every turn. Jekyll and Hyde Together Again keeps the unapologetically non-PC jokes coming one after another in one of Hollywood's classic spoofs.

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Borat - Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (Widescreen Edition) (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)I guess I am shocked at how divisive this film seems to be--it's apparently another in the camp of "love it" or "hate it." I was familiar with Sasha Baron Cohen and the Borat character from HBO's "Da Ali G Show". While I was amused by this reprehensible, yet surprisingly innocent "Kazahstanian," I was skeptical about a full fledged big screen treatment. Turning a comedy skit into a feature movie is a "iffy" proposition, at best. Take a look at almost every Saturday Night Live adaptation for corroboration. I'd have to say, then, that I was pleasantly surprised--Borat is a winner.
Part scripted, partly hidden camera improv, partly "Jackass" tomfoolery--you're never quite sure what is to be believed in "Borat". Some may feel that this limits the film's effectiveness as commentary, but I feel this enhances it's comedic appeal. For there is such unbridled outrageousness to be had in "Borat," it's hard not to be caught up in the spirit. I probably laughed more consistently within the framework of this spare 83 minute film than I have all year. Some of it is dumb humor, to be sure--some of it was shock value or disbelief.
But a large part of the humor comes from real life. By playing the moronic, offensive imbecile--Cohen, and thus Borat, expose a cavalier prejudice, hypocrisy, and/or intolerance that exists within American culture. Whether it's buying a gun to kill Jews, viewing women as sex objects to be violated, or supporting the genocide of our enemies--Borat always finds willing subjects to engage, people who in one way or another identify with these barbaric ideas.
It's tempting to dismiss Borat as offensive nonsense, I know many have already stated that opinion. It might also be tempting for others to embrace "Borat" as one of the more unapologetic and politically relevant films in quite some time. But I don't think it is attempting anything quite so significant--and that, in truth, may be it's greatest success. It walks the line unlike any other film in recent memory. It has elicited much love from fans and major critics and much hatred from it's detractors. This power to provoke such passion, such debate--be it feelings, emotions, thoughts, ideas--that is the film's crowning achievement. This crazy little film is not only one of the year's funniest films, it has also become one of the year's most talked about. Who can argue with that? KGHarris, 11/06.



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Sacha Baron Cohen brings his Kazakh journalist character Borat Sagdiyev to the big screen for the first time. Leaving his native Kazakhstan, Borat travels to America to make a documentary. As he zigzags across the nation, Borat meets real people in real situations with hysterical consequences. His backwards behavior generates strong reactions around him exposing prejudices and hypocrisies in American culture.

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Trailer Park Boys: Season 1-7 - Complete Season Review

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(More customer reviews)Looking for a sophisticated and urbane entertainment to round out your comedy collection? Well forget about it and get this instead! If you've never had the privilege to sample the inspired Canadian series "Trailer Park Boys"--then it's high time (and I quite literally mean high time) you did. A quintessential slacker/stoner type comedy, these boys ran amok for seven lunatic seasons. The complete series collection has been out of circulation for some time now, so I'm pleased to see this new reissue for those that don't want to buy individual season sets. Of course, with such a hefty price tag (suggested price around $120)--you might want to preview an episode or two if you can just to be sure you're in tune with this raucous and very wrong comedy. But I will say, in my circle of acquaintances, to know the trailer park boys is to love them. That said, if you are already a fan--then nothing I can say will change your opinion. If you're a newbie, however, I can't recommend this hysterical take-no-prisoners show more highly. Note: The collection consists of 56 episodes over the seven years. The individual seasons ran between six and ten episodes unlike traditional American sitcoms.
I won't attempt to describe all of the show's shenanigans in this format, but will say that the show centers around two petty criminals named Ricky and Julian. Early seasons traditionally opened up with the boys being released from jail, but by the finale--more often than not, they were headed back. With the assistance of the oddly brilliant Bubbles (who dispenses great repeatable quotes every time he's on the screen), you can rely on the boys to have certain things permanently on their mind. They want to get rich, they want to stay out of jail, and they want to stay high. Their outlandish and ludicrous schemes are primarily derailed by their own ineptitude in outrageous style. But in case they need even more trouble, the trailer park manager and his shirtless sidekick are always ready for a confrontation. Later seasons shifted the format somewhat with the boys approaching success by finale time only to have them picking up the disastrous pieces by the next year's opener.
In case you haven't guessed, "Trailer Park Boys" is rude, crude, and lewd--all in the best ways. Eschewing political correctness at every opportunity, this show is not afraid to be offensively funny. Leads Robb Wells and John Paul Tremblay invest Ricky and Julian with enough recognizable humanity that you'll commiserate with their failures even as you laugh at them. John Dunsworth, as their principle foil, is quite funny (and frankly, you've got to feel bad for him sometimes)--while shirtless Patrick Roach makes a delightfully off-kilter nemesis. But saving the best for last, Mike Smith as Bubbles is the show's crowning glory. Moving from scene stealing support to a full fledged star over the years, his delivery and timing are impeccable. I love this guy and the writers support him with some of the smartest, funniest lines imaginable. He's a true tribute to cat lovers everywhere. Tired of traditional American sitcom fare and looking for something a bit edgier? Then hitch on over to the trailer park, you'll be glad you did. KGHarris, 4/11.


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Trailer Park Boys - Xmas Special (Boxset) w/Conky Finger Puppet (OUT OF PRINT) - Collectors Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)I am a diehard Trailer park boys fan and believe me this is one of the funiest episodes ever! We once again are alowed to see J-ROCK as Jaime and see Lahey have his first drink, priceless

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TRAILER PARK BOYS - SEASON 7 (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)The 7th and possibly final season of Trailer Park Boys has some bizarre moments that top anything that has come before. The presence of Sebastian Bach alone signals hilarious trouble. The loss of Trevor and Cory is handled well enough (Twiggy Alien Cory does an admirable job, but it's Philadelphia Collins that really creates some laughs with his huge belly and love of greasy burgers).
Bubbles loses his mind bit by bit and some episodes end with great "what the heck??!!" moments. All in all, it's a shame this could be the end of the show, but only because they were still capable of creating consistently funny episodes leading to a great closing episode.

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