DVD Review: Excess Flesh

I enjoy a good twisted film now and again. What’s great about Excess Flesh in particular is that it’s not only delightfully twisted, but it has something to say and it boasts a good, competent cast. The film stars Bethany Orr and Mary Loveless as roommates who have perhaps more than their fair share of problems, related to self-image and past abuse. When the film opens, we hear a conversation in an office dealing with fashion, in which Jennifer excitedly says she found a certain dress, and her boss, Nina, snaps at her, telling her it’s too big and that it would better fit her than the models, being insulting in addition to bitchy.

We then go to Jennifer’s apartment, where she happily models the dress for her roommate, Jill, saying: “Nina gave it to me just for being super cool. Plus, it didn’t fit any of the models.” Jennifer (Mary Loveless) is sexy, but comes across as superficial. And Jill (Bethany Orr) seems withdrawn and awkward. Their opening dialogue is presented mainly in close-ups, and from the side the two women are so close they could kiss. They both have straight reddish hair, light skin, and the similarities and closeness are very deliberate.

Early on, you’ll wonder how these two became friends and roommates. Jennifer says that Jill has been living there for nine months without working, without paying rent. And she tells her she has to get out there and get a job. But Jill doesn’t leave the apartment. And interestingly, neither do we. The film uses lots of close-ups to give us a claustrophobic feel, and we spend more time with Jill, staying with her perspective. But all questions about their friendship and relationship are answered (and hints are there all along, like when Jill makes reference to the film Last Year At Marienbad during the early party scene).

The drug of choice for these women is food. And even the models at the party at Jill’s apartment discuss food, and indulge themselves to a point. And there is a shot of Jill alone in her room eating food, then spitting some of it out in the trash next to her, clearly loving the taste but worried about her weight. The scene is allowed to go on for a while, and gets more intense as she begins slapping herself in the head. This girl is not okay. And we learn it may not be entirely her fault; when we’re introduced to her mother (through a phone conversation over her laptop), Jill seems almost fine by comparison.

And when Jill takes a bigger step into the Weird, at first you feel she’s even justified. Jennifer has promised to talk things out, but has continued to flake on her and proceed with her own self-destructive behavior. So Jill chains her to the wall. Jennifer tells her, “Don’t go any farther.” Jill simply smiles in response. This is such a great moment. And later when Jennifer is screaming, Jill whispers to her, “Just remember, everyone can hear you and, by the way, no one cares.”

Everyone is troubled in this film. Even Rob, the guy that likes Jill, seems at times awkward and unsure of himself. At one point he says he’s going back to the real world, something we the audience are never allowed to do (though we are teased with exterior establishing shots of Los Angeles). The film creates a tight and eerie atmosphere, and you feel that at any moment things could go horribly wrong. Even shots of food are made creepy. And there are plenty of shots of food, as the film shows the ecstasy of food as well as the repulsiveness of it. (I wouldn’t recommend trying to eat while watching this DVD.)

The film’s two leads (Bethany Orr and Mary Loveless) really go for it, and the film’s success relies a good deal on their performances. There is also really interesting use of sound throughout the film. And I love that this psychological horror film is about conflicting feelings about one’s self, and that it depicts a world in which people have trouble communicating, and most attempts at communication are done through food. I started watching this movie again, and I am enjoying it even more the second time through. The only thing that didn’t quite work for me is the weird fantasy sequence involving a sort of reality television program, which went on much too long.

Excess Flesh was directed by Patrick Kennelly, and is scheduled to be released on DVD and VOD on March 8, 2016 through Midnight Releasing. The DVD includes a music video for “I Don’t Race,” as well as two trailers for the film.

DVD Review: Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales

I have been a fan of Star Wars since 1977, but I have to say that the idea of Lego Star Wars cartoons struck me as rather silly. After all, the toys are representations of characters from the films. And so these animated shows are representations of representations of characters, and seem needlessly one step further removed. That being said, Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales is a completely delightful series of five episodes. I enjoyed every moment of this show. It basically recounts the events of both trilogies (as well as a bit from the Star Wars: Rebels animated series), as told by C-3PO. Though most of the characters are voiced by actors not associated with the films, Anthony Daniels does reprise his role as C-3PO, and Billy Dee Williams once again plays Lando Calrissian.

Each episode begins properly with “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….” and includes an opening crawl (which is read aloud for the very young in your family). The first episode, “Exit From Endor,” begins at the end of Return Of The Jedi, with the destruction of the second Death Star. It does poke fun at one of the horrible changes that the series has suffered in the last couple of decades: When the ghosts appear to Luke, he doesn’t recognize Anakin. Anakin tells him: “I’m Anakin Skywalker, your father.” Luke replies, “Oh, you didn’t look like that five minutes ago.” That’s making fun of the DVD release replacing Sebastian Shaw’s head with that of Hayden Christensen (a change that has kept me from ever watching the Return Of The Jedi DVD). Well, after the celebration comes the clean-up. And guess who is assigned that duty? Ah yes, poor C-3PO. Luke, Han and Leia ask 3PO to tell the story of the complete saga, and after R2-D2 gives him a computer cartridge containing his wiped memories, C-3PO begins his tale.

There is a lot of humor in this animated series. It does poke fun at Star Wars, but it’s clear that it’s done with an incredible amount of love for the films. As C-3PO begins to recount the story of The Phantom Menace – “The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems was in dispute,” he says – the others who had gathered to hear the tale are suddenly asleep. That’s hilarious, and I love that it deals humorously with one of the criticisms of that movie. Even funnier is the shot of Jar Jar Binks being shot off of Amidala’s ship, and then shot again in space, causing R2-D2 (and anyone watching) to laugh. (In a later episode we see Jar Jar Binks floating in space near the second Death Star.) And as C-3PO recounts Attack Of The Clones, the show makes fun of the CG Yoda, with C-3PO saying that Yoda “was very agile in those days. Remember, he wasn’t nine hundred years old then. He was only eight hundred seventy-four.” Padme’s list of names for their unborn son in the show’s second episode is funny. At one point, the show even makes fun of the collecting of Star Wars trading cards.

The third episode includes a bit from the Star Wars: Rebels series, with C-3PO and R2 encountering Hera, Zeb, Sabine, Ezra, Kanan and Chopper. That leads to the droids ending up on the blockade runner at the beginning of A New Hope. By the way, I love that Leia wants to do a second take of her message to Obi-Wan. And the purchase of the droids is hilarious, as is the meeting of Luke and Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan tells him: “I am Obi-Wan Kenobi. I changed my name to hide from the Empire.” Luke understandably asks, “You didn’t change your last name?” Obi-Wan blurts out, “You didn’t change your last name!” That leads Luke to utter a confused “Huh?” Great! There is also a little joke about why Chewbacca doesn’t get a medal at the end of A New Hope.

There are of course some wonderful jokes about the poor aim of Stormtroopers, even with snowballs, as in the fourth episode. Also in that episode there is a funny moment with the Wampa. And Vader suggests that if Bossk gets the reward he should use it to purchase some shoes. And in the fifth episode, there is actually a Monty Python gag, which came as some surprise.

There is a story in the present as well, in which R2-D2 is kidnaped by a mysterious figure on Endor, a figure who also steals Admiral Ackbar’s ship. And so C-3PO and Ackbar go after him, thus giving 3PO opportunities to tell his tale to various characters over the course of the five episodes. My favorite is in the fifth episode when he talks to an enthusiastic group of Stormtroopers. By the way, that episode also pokes fun at the repetition of the Death Star in Return Of The Jedi (something which shockingly is rehashed yet again in the newest movie, the utterly disappointing The Force Awakens).

The show does take advantage of its Lego-ness to add some other humor, as when Amidala disguises herself as her servant on Tatooine – a really funny moment. And the crashing of the ship after Anakin “rescues” Palpatine is great. The show even pokes a bit of fun at Legos themselves. There is a scene with two workers adding pieces to the second Death Star. One tells the other: “No, not a black one. Dark grey.” The other responds, “They both look the same in the manual.” And when Luke lifts Vader’s helmet off of Anakin, the head comes off with it. Anakin tells him, “It’s a little tricky.” Anyone who has played with Lego bricks can attest to that.

Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales is scheduled to be released on DVD on March 1, 2016. As for special features, the package includes a small exclusive trading card set. The DVD itself has no special features other than a trailer for Star Wars: Rebels.

Blu-ray Review: Braddock: Missing In Action III

Braddock: Missing In Action III is the final film in the Missing In Action series, starring Chuck Norris as Colonel James Braddock, a man who was once held as a POW, then returned to rescue other prisoners of war. This third film opens with the fall of Saigon in April of 1975. The city is in chaos, as people are looting and bombs are exploding. There is chaos in the U.S. embassy as well, where James Braddock goes looking for his wife, Lin (Miki Kim). He learns that she went home to get her papers.

Meanwhile Lin is packing for America, leaving behind most of her possessions to a friend, who apparently isn’t satisfied with the nice dresses and decides to steal Lin’s bracelet. The building is destroyed and Braddock arrives to see a charred corpse being carried out. The face is burned beyond recognition, but the bracelet he gave his wife is on the arm, so he assumes it’s his wife. Lin is on her way to the embassy, but her purse containing her papers is stolen, so she has trouble gaining access.

The scene at the embassy has some nice little details, like shots of the army blowing up its own trucks, and the flag and embassy sign being removed while the crowd surges. But then as Braddock is flown out on a helicopter, he looks up at the blades, and that shot is followed by a shot of a ceiling fan (making me think of Apocalypse Now).

The film then takes us to Washington D.C. in present day (well, present day as of the release of the film – 1988), when Reverend Polanski (Yehuda Efroni), a priest from a children’s mission in Vietnam, tells Braddock that his wife is alive and that he has a twelve-year-old son. Braddock doesn’t believe him, but a man named Littlejohn at the CIA inadvertently confirms the information. Littlejohn warns Braddock, “Don’t step on any toes.” Braddock replies: “I don’t step on toes, Littlejohn. I step on necks.” It’s such a silly line, and it’s accompanied by an imposing musical cue, which makes it all the more delightfully goofy. But that’s part of the enjoyment of watching this film now. After all, this is a 1980s action movie. Anyway, off Braddock goes to rescue his wife and son.

And we get fights and stunts and car chases. It’s not long before he finds Lin and the boy living in a shack. But things can’t be that easy for James Braddock. The boy resents him and is frightened. And soon they’re surrounded by soldiers, including General Quoc (Aki Aleong), who seems to hold a personal grudge against Braddock. And things get pretty serious pretty quickly.

There are some good moments in the film. I love the way Quoc seems to become impatient with his own torturous game. And there is a fairly intense scene later on involving one of the female children and a soldier. But of course there is some heavy-handed filmmaking as well, like when we get not one, but two shots of a child’s doll being left behind. This film was directed by Aaron Norris, a stunt coordinator whose directorial efforts have been almost entirely made up of projects starring his brother Chuck. And Chuck Norris was one of the writers on this particular film. Still, the movie is enjoyable in just the way you expect it to be. I used to own it on videocassette, and I had a good time revisiting it on Blu-ray.

By the way, the song that takes us into the closing credits is one of the worst songs I’ve ever heard in my life, with lyrics like “When I look into your eyes, what do I see/It is the love of freedom staring back at me/I can almost see the eagle take the sky, see her fly/It is our love of freedom that has always kept us strong.” Yikes!

Braddock: Missing In Action III is scheduled to be released on Blu-ray on March 15, 2016 through Shout! Factory. The disc contains no special features.

DVD Review: How To Eat Your Watermelon In White Company (And Enjoy It)

How To Eat Your Watermelon In White Company (And Enjoy It) is documentary about Melvin Van Peebles, probably still best known for his 1971 film Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, but who in addition to being a film director and actor is a published author, musician and even trader on the stock exchange. Near the beginning of the film Melvin says: “What happened with me is: If I don’t see it then I do it myself. That’s what happened with the film, that’s what happened with the music, that’s what happened with writing. I didn’t see the types of things I wanted to see, so I did it myself.” That seems to be the key to his career, to his art.

The film provides a short biography of his early years, done in the style of an old film strip. He worked driving a cable car in San Francisco, and wrote The Big Heart based on some of his experiences. But his goal at the time was to direct films. When his short films were being shown in Paris, he moved there. And that’s where the documentary really starts to pick up and focus. There is some interesting stuff about him writing for Hara Kiri in France, and becoming a French writer. There is footage from a French television program in 1964, where he is interviewed about his autobiographical novel, A Bear For The F.B.I.  Interestingly, he wrote several novels in France with the aim of getting into film because of a rule at the time giving French writers temporary director’s cards so they could bring their own work to the screen. And that’s how Peebles came to make his first film, La Permission.

One thing about Melvin Van Peebles is that he comes across as extremely and immediately likeable. It’s a joy to watch and listen to him talk about his films, his music and his experiences. And he has a whole lot of great stories. I particularly like how he handled Watermelon Man. He talks about agreeing to shoot that film with his desired ending and with the studio’s desired ending, and then “forgetting” to shoot their ending. And of course there is plenty of material on Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, and its impact – both positive and negative – on the film industry and on his own career. Mario Van Peebles tells us: “My dad said to me later on he learned from that process of doing Sweetback that it was very important that the big boys win when you win. If they don’t win when you win, they have no interest in you winning. In fact, they have an interest in you not winning.” I also love what Melvin has to say about the MPAA (an organization that I believe is no longer needed or wanted).

The film also treats us to some tracks from his records, stuff I’d actually never heard before, as well as information about his theatrical productions. But it’s his story about becoming a trader on the stock exchange that I find particularly hilarious as well as inspiring. Also, his solution to the homeless problem is funny. But I don’t know quite what to say about seeing him sing “Achy Breaky Heart.” By the way, the documentary’s title comes from the title of an article Melvin Van Peebles wrote, but which wasn’t published.

Special Features

The DVD contains some good bonus features. Gotta Eat: Breakfast With Melvin Van Peebles is a conversation with Melvin Van Peebles, director Joe Angio and producer Michael Solomon, filmed on December 1, 2015. They talk about the documentary project, and also about the January 2015 terrorist attack in France that claimed the lives of some of Melvin’s fellow writers at Hara Kiri.

The special features also include a few of Melvin Van Peebles Channel 5 NYC TV commentaries (including the one where he talks about hookers and the homeless), and a couple of live concert performances – “You’ve Cut Up The Clothes In The Closet Of My Dreams” and “Lilly Done The Zampouchi Every Time I Pulled Her Coattail.” The film’s trailer is also included.

How To Eat Your Watermelon In White Company (And Enjoy It) was directed by Joe Angio, and was released on DVD on February 2, 2016 through Music Box Films.

DVD Review: Welcome To Leith

Welcome To Leith is an engaging, fascinating and frightening documentary about a very small community in North Dakota that suddenly becomes the home to white supremacists. The film opens with shots of a desolate town and the sounds of frantic calls to the police. We are given a bit of background on the area by the town’s mayor, Ryan Schock, who tells us he was on the town council since the age of sixteen, and that the town is three square miles with only twenty-four residents. “There’s only one business left here,” he says. And yes, it’s a bar.

The film introduces us to some of the town’s residents before we meet Craig Cobb, a leader in the white supremacist movement who bought several plots of land in Leith with the intention of turning the town into a haven for racists. He posted notices online urging white supremacists to move there, telling them it was a place they could quickly control politically. And already being aware of how small the population is, we know that Cobb is right, and that is frightening. The film is able to get close to Cobb as well as to the town’s other residents, which is what makes the film so fascinating. When asked where his hatred comes from, Cobb answers, “We hate that which threatens that which we love.”

Cobb donated one of the buildings he purchased to the National Socialist Movement, one of the largest neo-Nazi groups in the country. The film interviews Jeff Schoep, one of the leaders of that group (there is a shot of him and Cobb giving the Nazi salute). It’s amazing to me that there are still people who proudly call themselves Nazis. They seem like lonely, sad children who want to play dress-up, and decide specifically to play the villains. Just watch that town meeting scene, with the three NSM members standing in the front of the room. They look like ostracized, weak children posing as stronger people. It would all be laughable if these sad little losers weren’t also violent.

Kynan Dutton seems to be the most pathetic of all. Look at his sad attempt to replicate the Hitler mustache. You can tell he was a guy who was picked on in school and probably had no friends. So of course he’s going to latch onto any group that will embrace him. He and his wife and children are racists who move to Leith and live on Cobb’s property, which has no running water. Cobb encourages newly released white inmates to come to Leith, posting messages like “Come now, skins and federal prison grads!” and “The streets will run deep in the blood of our enemies, some whites among them.” And that is even scarier, because he’s deliberately reaching out to a violent segment of the population, and encouraging violence from them. So when the town’s people react in fear, you can hardly blame them.

What is also interesting is that because these days everyone has cameras, both sides of this battle are constantly filming everything. And this documentary actually includes footage shot by the racists. Particularly frightening is the footage shot by Dutton’s wife, which shows Dutton and Cobb walking down the town’s streets carrying rifles, engaging in shouting matches with other people.

Special Features

The DVD contains some bonus material, including Separatist, a short film by Michael Beach Nichols and Christopher K. Walker, presented by the New York Times Op-Docs. This focuses on Kynan Dutton, and includes some footage that made it into the feature film. He and his wife talk about why they want whites to be separate from those with other skin tones.

The special features also include an interview with Mark Potok, of the Southern Poverty Law Center. He talks about that organization, and about hate groups. There is one deleted scene which features an interview with Jeremy Kelly, who organized opposition to the white supremacists, and also an extended scene of the burning of Cobb’s wooden signs. There are also short biographies of the filmmakers.

Welcome To Leith was directed by Michael Beach Nichols and Christopher K. Walker, and was released on DVD today (February 9, 2016) through First Run Features.

DVD Review: I Can Be President: A Kid’s Eye View

I Can Be President: A Kid’s Eye View is a delightful, humorous and at times touching short film in which children give us their thoughts on what it means to be president of the United States. It opens with various kids reciting (or doing their best to recite) the pledge of allegiance. It’s definitely cute (though I am not in favor of making children memorize that). And then the kids talk about wanting to be president. One girls says: “Well, maybe I would want to be president, but if I would want to be president, I would want weird hair. Because George Washington had weird hair.” Adorable.

They talk about being inspired by President Obama. The kids list all the presidents, with one kid taking inspiration from FDR, a touching moment. One boy says “Peace Corpse” when talking about Kennedy. But the children often speak with such passion that is refreshing, especially these days with the lunacy of the new election.  One girl tell us: “Presidents know a lot, like teachers. Like a lot of math, and you have to know all your ABCs.” She’s too young to remember George W. Bush, clearly.

There are some wonderful animated segments, illustrating the children’s dreams and hopes. In another segment, the children speculate about what it would be like if a child were president. “Everybody would have free ice cream,” one kid says. Hey, not bad! You have my vote. Also adorable is the moment when two young girls speak highly of a boy in their class, saying he’d be a good president. I just hope that one other girl doesn’t get elected because she promises to outlaw spinach, and I love spinach.

Special Feature

The DVD includes Tribute To Michael Sporn. Michael Sporn was the director of animation for I Can Be President, and also one of the producers. This begins with some interviews with Heidi Stallings, Emily Hubley and John Canemaker, all of this footage actually functioning as an introduction to the documentary film Remembering Michael Sporn. If you’re a fan of animation, you will love this documentary. It includes interviews with Eric Goldberg, Gregory Perler, Maxine Fisher, among others, and provides information on Michael Sporn’s career and personality. This feature is approximately 54 minutes.

I Can Be President: A Kid’s Eye View is scheduled to be released on DVD on February 9, 2016 through First Run Features.

DVD Review: Mythica: The Darkspore

The Mythica series seems to be custom-made for people like me who played Dungeons & Dragons when growing up (and I’m talking about the real roleplaying game, not the video games). This is a series that understands the difference between clerics and wizards, a series that understands adventuring party dynamics, a series that is fun without making fun. It is about a group led by a young runaway slave named Marek, who has some magical training and some inherent abilities, and perhaps a much darker element to her powers. The first movie, Mythica: A Quest For Heroes, was really about gathering the party together and going on its initial, somewhat simple, adventure, rescuing Teela’s sister from an ogre. At the end of that movie, the sister was to take a powerful stone to a paladin.

But as the second film, Mythica: The Darkspore, opens, we learn that the sister was killed, the stone stolen. Marek (Melanie Stone) is having nightmares about a dark figure. Her magic teacher, Gojun (Kevin Sorbo), returns to tell her she’s a necromancer, and that the man in her dreams is a powerful and evil necromancer named Szorlok who is searching for the four pieces of the darkspore, the heart of a lich king, which will give him unstoppable power. Szorlok must be kept from gaining all four pieces.  For Marek, it is a journey of self-discovery as well as a quest to help save the world. Gojun tells her: “You have potential, Marek, for real good and for real evil. But you need to learn to control your power, or that choice will be made for you.”

Marek, Thane (Adam Johnson) and Dagen (Jake Stormoen) find a map which will lead to one of the four pieces of the darkspore. Teela (Nicola Posener), still grieving for the death of her sister, agrees to accompany them, but mainly to keep an eye on Marek and to make sure she doesn’t use the darkspore for evil herself. Teela senses an evil power within Marek. And the scene where she agrees to go is really good. When Teela tells her the dark power within her will eventually claim her, Marek doesn’t deny it. It’s exciting, because you sense that Marek herself is excited by this power and isn’t ready to say unequivocally that she will work for the forces of good. She’s not sure if she can control the power, a power which both frightens and thrills her.

Along the way, they encounter a dark elf named Qole (Rocky Myers) and of course a number of dangerous adversaries. There are plenty of action and fight sequences, but the film doesn’t rely on those scenes to hold your interest. There are also some nice humorous moments, like when Qole doesn’t vote for his own suggested course of action. Marek says, “This was your idea.” Qole reponds, “Yes, but it’s not a good idea.”

The only thing I was wondering at the end was how Dagen’s fingers were healed. At one point his fingers turn black, and Teela says she doesn’t have the power to heal him. Did the healing potion do the trick? Because at the end we can see in one shot that his fingers are fine. It’s a minor point, but I am curious about it. There are three more Mythica films in the works, and I am looking forward to enjoying those as well. If you’re a fan of fantasy films and of roleplaying games, you should check out this series.

Special Features

The DVD includes a behind-the-scenes featurette, which is divided into several segments. These segments feature interviews with producer/writer Jason Faller, director/writer Anne Black and producer/writer Kynan Griffin. Interestingly, the story for this second movie was written first. They talk about changes in the script. There is also material about shooting on location in Utah, and there is a section on the special effects, with interviews with a few of the special effects crew. There is also a section on the music, with an interview with composer Nathaniel Drew.

Also, the special features include a music video, as well as trailers for the first four Mythica films.

Mythica: The Darkspore was directed by Anne Black, and is scheduled to be released on DVD on February 9, 2016 through SunWorld Pictures.

DVD Review: Forbidden Zone: Special Edition

Forbidden Zone is a wild movie starring the Mystic Knights Of The Oingo Boingo, and directed by Richard Elfman. It features original music by Danny Elfman, and features Hervé Villechaize as the King and Susan Tyrrell as the Queen. The special edition DVD is a two-disc set which contains both the original black and white version and the color version, along with a lot of bonus material.

The first disc contains the black and white version. A title card at the beginning tells us that Huckleberry P. Jones, “local pimp, narcotics peddler, and slum lord,” finds a mysterious door in a vacant house he owns. What he finds beyond that door leads him to sell the place. And soon a strange family moves in, and it isn’t long before these good people discover the special door, which leads to the Forbidden Zone. “And Flash, be sure you tie your grandfather up, and check the knots real good. While he was sniffing around for food yesterday, he nearly wandered into the Forbidden Zone.” That conversation leads to the movie’s first musical number, and it’s wonderful. This film is like a twisted children’s program with decidedly fake-looking sets, animation, a dancing frog, a talking chicken and a nice dose of classroom violence. And for the adults, there is a tranny, some nudity, and intestinal travels. There are also some excellent songs (like the Queen’s song, “Because I was hatched out of a witch’s egg…”), and every once in a while a helpful title card. And there is some wonderful dialogue, like this line: “The Queen said she was gonna ream us with twenty-inch cattle prods, and I’m still waiting.”

The second disc contains the color version, which in a way makes it seem even more like a bizarre children’s program, but perhaps takes a little of its twisted edge off. It’s cool to have both versions, but I think I prefer the black and white. By the way, a door on the set says “Mystic Knights Of The Oingo Boingo,” and it leads to Satan leading that group in a music number.

Special Features

Each disc has its own special features. The first disc contains an introduction by Richard Elfman, with some silliness and some animation. There is also a documentary about the film, featuring Richard Elfman interviewing key players, such as Danny Elfman, Marie-Pascale Elfman, Matthew Bright, John Muto and Susan Tyrrell. Richard talks about the reasons for making the film, and about casting the film, most of the cast coming from the Mystic Knights shows. Danny talks about the music. John Muto talks about the animation, and yes, he does mention Terry Gilliam’s animation, an influence that is clear when watching the movie. Susan Tyrrell is completely fucking hilarious in her segment. Seriously, you should check it out. This documentary also includes some cool footage of the Mystic Knights Of The Oingo Boingo stage shows. This disc includes a commentary track by Richard Elfman and Matthew Bright, and there is also the option of watching the film with just the music, which is cool.

The second disc includes five minutes of deleted scenes, including a great scene where two of the Hercules family members pretend to join the King’s army and are told they’re not allowed to molest the female prisoners. The deleted scenes are in black and white. There are also eleven minutes of outtakes, including the Queen biting Frenchy’s breasts, and another six minutes of footage titled, “Scenes From The Hercules Family” (which is mostly silent footage of Satan, including an alternate take of the beheading scene). There is a promotional spot with Richard Elfman, as well as a little musical segment, and the film’s trailer.

This two-disc special edition of Forbidden Zone was released on November 10, 2015 through MVD Visual.

Blu-ray Review: Comin’ At Ya!

In the early and mid-1980s, we suddenly got a bunch of 3D movies – Friday The 13th Part 3, Jaws 3D, Amityville 3D (basically the third entry in any horror series had to be in 3D – that was the law), plus crap like Treasure Of The Four Crowns. Most of this stuff was awful. But the movie that really kicked off that 3D craze was actually pretty good. It was a strange western titled Comin’ At Ya! And now it has been released on Blu-ray. The case and the disc itself say that there is the option of watching it in either 3D or 2D, but there are no 3D glasses included, and the menu doesn’t provide any option on viewing. When I hit “Play,” it was the 2D version that I got to watch. So the deal is you need to have a 3D Blu-ray player and a 3D compatible television in order to watch it in 3D; from what I understand, if you have those items, then it will automatically play in 3D and you don’t have the option to watch it in 2D.

Comin’ At Ya! has a very simple story, but is an interesting film. At a small wedding ceremony, two gunmen come in and shoot the minister and groom, and kidnap the bride. The scene is in slow motion, and is set to music, without any dialogue, and is kind of beautiful. The groom survives and goes looking for his wife. That’s basically the entire plot. But the movie has an unusual vibe, which is set up right from the beginning with a creative opening title sequence and odd mix of color and black and white elements. Plus, the movie is surprisingly gritty and brutal.

Hart (Tony Anthony) learns that the group is led by two brothers, and that they kidnap women and then auction them off. He finds one of the brothers, who has paid for the time of a not-quite-willing young woman. And even after finding his wife, our hero’s troubles are far from over (mainly because at first he tried to save her without shedding too much blood). There are so many great shots and moments in this film, such as when the bad guys round up the women like cattle, and end up dragging the bride through shallow water behind a horse. There are also some wonderful landscapes, and good use of music.

Really, the weakest thing about this movie is the 3D stuff. It’s one of those movies where objects (like a wedding ring and a naked baby) are passed out toward the audience for no purpose other than to utilize the 3D effect. And things are deliberately dropped on us, like coins and bits of food and playing cards. And of course there are bats on strings flying at us. The movie is much better than this gimmick. And, perhaps because what I saw is a 2D version of a 3D film, often the things at the edges of the frame are blurry. And at times, especially near the beginning, it looks like the filmmakers neglected to clean the camera lens.

Special Features

The Blu-ray includes a five-minute promo reel of various shots from the film, as well as the movie’s trailer.

Comin’ At Ya! was directed by Ferdinando Baldi, and was released on Blu-ray on January 26, 2016 through MVD Visual.