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Phew. There's a lot
to write up in this update, but I asked for it. It's been coming for
a while now...It's just been too damn quiet around here, and then
all of a sudden the floodgates open, and here comes the crap.
We
start out the month with a movie by the name of Bachelor Party in
the Bungalow of the Damned. I don't care what this movie is about,
but god damn do I love the title. It reminds me of "Sorority Girls
in the Slimeball Bowlorama". It's probably crap, but worth a mention
for the great title. That's out on the 2nd.
Also allegedly on the 2nd, Nightmare on Elm St is out on Blu-Ray. I
have a Blu-Gay player now (actually a PS3) which I bought from Hong
Kong so I could play Region A movies, because I know they'll never
release anything cool like this on Blu-Ray here in Australia. No one
has cover art yet and no one is taking pre-orders so I guess we'll
see how that one pans out. Same goes for Night of the Living Dead on
Blu-Ray on the 15th, but I'm jumping ahead of myself now.
On
the 9th, there's a Chucky's 20th Birthday Edition of Childs Play,
and even though I already have Childs Play on DVD, I'll be damned if
the cover doesn't look so damn cool that I'm tempted into buying it
again. Same goes for the Friday the 13th with the lenticular cover.
Why do they keep sucking me in with cool cover art? That's the exact
reason why I have two different releases of Prom Night. Also on the
9th is Pumpkinhead, and the apparently "Funny Version" of House of
the Dead. I thought that was EVERY version. I see Uwe Boll has taken
to trying to laugh with us now. Poor Uwe. You'll never change the
fact that we're laughing AT you.
Hot on the heels of Paramount re-releasing their entire 80's back
catalog last month with their bodgy "I Love The 80's Collection",
Universal have decided to join the game of one-upsmanship and are
re-releasing their 80's staples The Breakfast Club, Weird Science
and Sixteen Candles as the "High School Flashback Collection" in
both a box of three and single disc formats. I don't get it. Is
there some sort of 80's explosion going on that no-one told me
about? Do they know something I don't? The 16th is actually a pretty
big day with the 25th Anniversary Edition of Risky Business, Class
of 1999, Eddie Murphy Delirious 25th Anniversary Edition, Death
Note, and Vampire Hookers as part of an Exploitation Double Feature.
That's a pretty solid effort right there. Vampire Hookers hasn't had
any form of DVD release before, and Class of 1999 is cheesy
greatness. And Death Note - this is the live action Japanese movie.
I recommend it very very highly. Death Note and Death Note II are
already out here in Australia and they are both superb.
On
the 22nd in the UK, Studio Canal are releasing They Live and Killer
Klowns from Outer Space (and probably a few others I missed). This
is the first time they have been available on DVD for Region 2, so
that's great news for everyone in the UK.
On
the 23rd, Code Red are releasing Final Exam! I have a dusty old VHS
that I will be happy to replace for this rare slasher gem. Code Red
are on fire, also releasing a 2-disc edition of Savage Streets with
Linda Blair on the same day. Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat is out
on the 23rd too, and of course I have pre-ordered it. It has Bruce
Campbell!! Also worth a mention for this day is Troma's 20th
Anniversary Edition of Redneck Zombies and the Friday the 13th TV
Series, because I'm hoping if this does well, Freddy's Nightmares
won't be far behind.
On
the first here in good ol, Region 4, we get the same Linda Lovelace
for President release that was available last month in the US, along
with The Wiz, Too Wong Foo and Repo Man. All of which have either
never been released on DVD or are out of print. I've been after Repo
Man for a while, so I'll be picking that one up for sure.
Fast forward to the 29th now, because all of the action is at the
end of the month. There's a George A. Romero Collection featuring
The Crazies, Martin and Dawn of the Dead being released and a
Vampires Collection with Nosferatu, Vampyros Lesbos and Thirst.
Martin is also available as a single DVD. Once again a first for
Region 4. Disappointingly, there's also re-issues of Chiller, The
Serpent and the Rainbow (which I didn't like at all), and about the
zillionth edition of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Wouldn't you think it
would get to the point where everyone who wants that movie already
has it? How many more can they possibly sell?
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I've been massively dreading doing this update and I think I have
put it off as long as I can. Not that it's anything particularly bad
happening this month, but it's just so freakin boring. I could
honestly fill this space with doco on how to use Virtualdub, and it
would be far more entertaining than my usual update. Did you all
know that the WWE released Stevie? Freakin assholes. I know, I'm
padding. I'll get on with it.
First up for the
month (and foremost actually because it makes up much a huge bulk of
what I'll be writing about), it seems that someone at Paramount had
the bright idea to head into their vault and grab anything that was
made between 1980 and 1989, slap a wedding singer-esque border
around it and re-release it as the "I Love The 80's Collection".
Thrown in is a bonus disk, which I'm assuming is the same no matter
what movie you buy. Movies included are: Airplane, Airplane 2
(Flying High), American Gigolo, Back Roads, Better off Dead, Beverly
Hills Cop, Beverly Hills Cop II, Big Top Pee Wee, Children of a
Lesser God, Crocodile Dundee, Crocodile Dundee II, D.A.R.Y.L., The
Escape Artist, The Explorers, Falling In Love, Fatal Attraction,
Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Footloose, Grease 2, Hot Pursuit, King
David, Major League, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Popeye, Pretty
In Pink, Racing With The Moon, Reds, Rustler's Rhapsody, She's
Having A Baby, Some Kind Of Wonderful, Summer School, Terms of
Endearment, Top Gun, Uncommon Valor, Urban Cowboy, We're No Angels
and Witness. While it's no secret that some of the movies included
in that list are among my favourites I think the whole deal just
blows. There's nothing new there, not even anything that's out of
print. Everything in the collection is easy to find. A pointless
cash-in exercise in my opinion, from a very lazy marketing
department. I won't be picking up any of these. If you feel so
inclined, they are all out on the 5th.
Also on the 5th is Fortress, which is a great flick starring
Christopher Lambert who I love. I think this was OOP, so if you
missed out the first time, here's your chance to grab a copy. And
lastly on the 5th is the 25th Anniversary Edition of Hollywood
Chainsaw Hookers!! I know this was out of print, and I think the new
cover art is awesome. I've pre-ordered mine and it has shipped, but
it still hasn't arrived yet. I'm eagerly awaiting it's arrival so it
can take it's rightful place among my favourites. Like next to
Boardinghouse...
On
the 12th you can pick up Ninja Cheerleaders, not to be confused with
Cheerleader Ninjas from 2003 - which sounds like it may very well be
the greatest movie ever made, but will likely disappoint. I will
watch it though, just because the prospect of Ninja Cheerleaders is
just too damn cool and cheesy to pass up.
On
the 19th that god-awful Prom Night remake is out on DVD. Haven't
seen it. Never will. Don't care about making an educated judgment.
Boycott boycott boycott. But to make up for that garbage, Code Red
are releasing the Unseen. As usual they do a fantastic restoration
job on all their prints and this one is no exception. I will be
picking this up.
On
the 26th Phantasm IV: Oblivion makes it's way to DVD. I'm not sure
if this is the first print or if it has been out before, and I'm too
lazy to check. I've never seen any of the Phantasm movies, which is
a shame because the bits that I have seen have been pretty freaking
cool. It's always kind of been on the to-do list, but I've never
quite gotten there. Kind of like finishing my review for Blood
Diner. I keep trying but there's just no words to express it's
greatness.
On
the 29th, Linda Lovelace for President is available on DVD. This
one's an odd one. I have never seen it, although I would like to.
Released in 1975, it was to capitalise on the sudden rise to fame of
Linda Lovelace through the success of Deep Throat, by fictionally
profiling her life and campaign trail as she runs for president.
Not much happening over here this month. There's a re-issue of Young
Guns on the 6th, and Beastmaster on the 13th for 9.92
Overall, August is pretty beige-tastic, and I'm hoping September has
a bit more on offer in the B-Movie stakes.
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