Moriarty's DVD Blog 2007 (UPDATED WITH NEW GAME)

[Al Shut]

I know your pain. And I want the ssecond box set RIGHT NOW DAMMIT!!! The first seadon has quite a cliffhanger

[Theta]

Oh, yeah.

TWIN PEAKS was all about the hotties.

How did I forget that this show was basically hottie, hottie, hottie, surreal joke, scary shit, hottie, hottie, hottie?

Ahhhh, yes, Audrey Horne wearing nothing but a bedsheet. God bless Artisan's crystal clear first season transfer.

[Moriarty]

All I can do is apologize again, guys. This new script has consumed most of my waking hours lately, and as usual, things just fall away no matter how much I mean to write about them.

Let's see... what has come in today and yesterday?

That HBO series ADDICTION came in.
MAJOR LEAGUE: WILD THING EDITION
WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY UK (Series One And Two)
PAYBACK: DIRECTOR'S CUT
CHILDREN OF MEN
THE WAR ON THE WAR ON DRUGS
REFINEMENTS OF LOVE
JUMP IN!
THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO Season One
THE UNTOUCHABLES Season One
MIND OF MENCIA: Season Two

And, in what has to be the single fastest turn-around in recent memory, I've already got a 2007 theatrical release here on disc, FREEDOM WRITERS. That's a crazy release window.

[Andre Dellamorte]

Richard LaGravanese... what happened?

[Moriarty]

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/446

That was about nine years ago, and what I reviewed at that test screening was, essentially, the same thing that Paramount just sent to me yesterday.



Watching it again for the first time since that test screening -- I never bothered with the reshot version after hearing about the behind-the-scenes and completely unnecessary shenanigans involved with it -- I'm reminded of why I liked it so much the first time. I'm bummed by the score, which really doesn't work, but so be it. The film itself works really well, and although it'll never live up to POINT BLANK, it's a really solid tough guy flick.

Lucy Liu's never been hotter than she is in this film, and I love how blatantly funny most of the film is. This is a really nice move on Paramount's part, even if it took nine years for the perfectly-acceptable cut I saw to finally make its way in front of an audience.

[TonyWilson]

I thought the director's cut had Anne Bancroft as the head of "the outfit" not James Coburn.

[Keepcoolbutcare]

i'd be looking for some payback against the sugar tits who butchered my hair too...

[Moriarty]

I thought the director's cut had Anne Bancroft as the head of "the outfit" not James Coburn.

Actually, the original cut I saw had Angie Dickinson play the head of "the outfit," but only on the phone.

In the new DVD, Sally Kellerman has replaced her.

[Theta]

All I can do is apologize again, guys.

Yeah, Jesus, don't you know you're supposed to entertain us? For FREE? Every day?! Priorities, man! Priorities!

Seriously, do you really get emails bagging on you for not updating a thread on an internet bulletin board? I still find it hard to believe people are that demanding.

[Moriarty]

Ahhh... here's what having a rental account is for.

Today, from Blockbuster, I was fortunate (ha!) enough to be sent a copy of ERAGON.

So should I skip that GRINDHOUSE screening to stay home and enjoy ERAGON? You fuckin' bet!

[Andre Dellamorte]

Here's what I love about Eragon. It is, with little variation, Star Wars set in the LOTR world. End of line. End of story. That's it. Sweetness.

[Theta]

Here's what I love about Eragon. It is, with little variation, Star Wars set in the LOTR world. End of line. End of story. That's it. Sweetness.

Actually, it makes more sense than "Star Wars." Riding Rachel Wiesz gives you ultimate power? Logical to me.

[Fawst]

Jesus, I remember reading that Payback review back in the day. I couldn't wait to see it. I actually really enjoy the butchered theatrical cut, quite a lot, in fact. I am dying to see this new version, however.

Eragon... no matter how many times people point it out, it never gets old to me. It's fucking DRAGON with the first letter one step up the line. Wow! Eh, whatever. Gives me hope that my stuff will see print, one day

[Moriarty]

Okay, I give up.

ERAGON beat me.

I can't fucking finish it. And after two days, I'm going to quit trying.

I want to punch the kid that wrote this over and over until something breaks loose inside his head and he promises to never write anything again.

[The Hellboy]

Too late! He wrote another one, right? And is working on a third?
Luckily, it looks like there won't be a sequel to the film...

I got the 2-disc from a friend at the studio. I can't decide if:

A. They hate me.

B. They are being ironic.

C. They just wanted it off their desk.

[Theta]

I got the 2-disc from a friend at the studio. I can't decide if:

A. They hate me.

B. They are being ironic.

C. They just wanted it off their desk.

I'm guessing the latter two.

Hey, Mori, are we ever going to see that review of the Superman boxed set? You and I seem to disagree (at least as far as the first film goes) but I'd like to get your full take on it.

[Moriarty]

Yay!

The Bava Box just showed up from Anchor Bay, so I'm running around my house like Steve Martin with the new phone book in THE JERK.

[Moriarty]

Okay, I'm finally watching THE BUTCHER BOY today... first time since it came out in theaters... and a few things occur to me.

First, I think this is one of Neil Jordan's very best films, and I really like Neil Jordan in general.

And second, is it wrong of me to wish that I could have made a few conjugal set visits to Sinead O'Connor while she was in her Virgin Mary costume?

It is wrong... isn't it?





I am going to hell... aren't I?

[yaz67]

Eamonn Owens dominates the screen like no other teen actor has in The Butcher Boy.

I agree. I like Mona Lisa, but The Butcher Boy is Jordan's finest.

[Moriarty]

God... I forgot the ending of BUTCHER BOY.

I'm sitting here, cheeks wet, heartbroken. What a devastating film. What a great, great performance.

[WinslowLeach]

I'm sitting here, cheeks wet...

GROSS!!

[Moriarty]

Okay. I've seriously let this week get on top of me.

It's been pretty much nonstop work, and the only film I managed to get out of the house to see was a second press screening of GRINDHOUSE.

Boy, howdy, I love that movie.

But I'v been watching DVDs as well, and getting more in. Right now, I'm about to fire up THE MASK OF SATAN from the Bava box. As I'm here and working this weekend, though, let's backtrack a bit and talk about some of the other stuff that's shown up and been run through the player.

[Moriarty]

This was a rental from Blockbuster Online for me. I'm a Linklater fan, but I also admit that he can be wildly uneven. A SCANNER DARKLY made my list last year as one of my ten favorite films, but that was actually shot before BAD NEWS BEARS or this one, and in my opinion, Rick's smack dab in the middle of a cold streak. BAD NEWS BEARS was just awful, a tame and uninspired remake that added nothing to the original, and this is a toothless bit of agitprop that doesn't seem to have much to say.

It's not awful. I really like the Bruce Willis scene, but he's only in it for that one scene. "We've all gotta eat a little shit." Indeed.

Greg Kinnear continues to impress me. This guy has gotten better and better, the more time he's spent in front of a camera, and I pretty much always enjoy the work he does even when I'm not crazy about the film.

But I have to laugh at the way Rick builds his head of steam here, finally reaching the "big finish" as we see the killing floor of a slaughterhouse. Linklater shows us every detail, expecting us to be outraged, but that seems almost impossibly naive to me. Does he really think that people aren't aware animals are killed to be eaten? And that when you kill something, it's bloody? If all he wants to generate is shock with those scenes, then mission accomplished. But if he is reaching for a great significance, or if he's trying to incite some moral outrage simply because "meat is murder," then he falls incredibly short. And that last moment with Luis Guzman is just laugh-out-loud obvious.

This is a pretty significan misstep for an interesting, but obviously uneven, filmmaker.

[Theta]

Mori, believe me, many people don't have a fucking clue. They've literally never stopped to consider just how a two-ton animal becomes a tasty steak. The misconceptions and naivete people have about how things die and are eaten on this planet, whether it's human manufacturing processes or just death in the wild, is pretty astounding. Most people learned about how animals treat each other through Disney movies; I have met more than a few strident PETA members who seriously think it's "Bambi" in the woods.

[Andre Dellamorte]

Though I would not consider studly FOOD NATION a great film, I liked the theme of how our society is a meat grinder, where everyone involved from the top to the bottom is simply a cog to turn out product. I felt he got that across fairly well, but the meat stripping scene did nothing for me, I have no problems with how food is made.

THE BLOOD SPATTERED BRIDE is probably my favorite sapphic vamp film now, ASYLUM OF BLOOD had some great Kinski, and some great nonsense visuals, along with a nutty conclusion. While MARY, MARY, BLOODY MARY was a nice variant on classic vampirism, though very modest. And, as can be said for them all, some great nudity.

[Moriarty]

Lucky you, Andre.

I would rather have sat through three exploitation films tonight than dealt with the Chinese Water Torture of having to put up with the insane antics of my chickenhead landlord.

He didn't leave here until 12:15.

What a fucking miserable afternoon and evening.

[Andre Dellamorte]

But... But... GRINDHOUSE. It... It... It salves all wounds.

[Theta]

But... But... GRINDHOUSE. It... It... It salves all wounds.

So, wait, the rumors about how watching "Grindhouse" cures blindness, spine injury and cancer (but not genital warts) is TRUE?

[Keepcoolbutcare]

But... But... GRINDHOUSE. It... It... It salves all wounds.

So, wait, the rumors about how watching "Grindhouse" cures blindness...

there's a joke about masturbation, blindness and GRINDHOUSE to be made here, but I'm lousy at punchlines...

[Moriarty]

Got a few things in the mail this morning, courtesy of Toshi, who loves to open envelopes.

DEJA VU
THE QUEEN
Criterion's OVERLORD
FULL FRAME DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
AL FRANKEN: GOD SPOKE
and TOM GOES TO THE MAYOR: THE COMPLETE SERIES

[Andre Dellamorte]

I was gonna say, didja get Larry Sanders yet? I got mine today. Drool.

[Moriarty]

I was gonna say, didja get Larry Sanders yet? I got mine today. Drool.

No. And now I have an e-mail to send.

"Ahem. Hey, dudes... what the fuck?"

[Andre Dellamorte]

Yeah, Sony did a nice job with it. Hope I can find to actually sit down and watch it in the near future, though I did watch the Tom Sizemore film BOTTOM FEEDER today. So I got that going for me, which is at least an easy write up.

[fwouerbe]

Hey DM,

I didn't want to ask this in your Grindhouse review because I'm being sincere and not incendiary. But in a few years, if you get a chance to direct Toshi in a film, would you write a scene where he blows his own face off, and then use his corpse as a comedic device?

Or is one of the missing Planet Terror scenes a better payoff for Rebel Rodriguez?

Because damn, that was probably the most disturbing thing about the whole three hours to me.

[Moriarty]

I don't really want Toshi to be in the business at all, to be honest. I've seen what it does to kids.

And, yeah, that's the one moment in Robert's film that is genuinely disturbing, a jet-black impulse that isn't really a tonal match to everything else.

But nothing beats Dario Argento and the various ways he tormented his daughter Asia onscreen over the years. There's a man who would probably chase any therapist who tried to help him right out of the business.

[Seppuku]

But nothing beats Dario Argento and the various ways he tormented his daughter Asia onscreen over the years. There's a man who would probably chase any therapist who tried to help him right out of the business.

But she ended up alright in the end, right?




RIGHT?!?!



On second thoughts, I think you made the right call, Mori.

[WinslowLeach]

[Evil Dead Junkie]

I don't know what's more disturbing all the sick shit he did to her or the fact that she doesn't seem to mind.

For the record though the little kid shooting himself got the biggest laugh in the theater I was in.

We're sick sick people here at Lake Wobegon.

[Moriarty]

I don't know what's more disturbing all the sick shit he did to her or the fact that she doesn't seem to mind.

For the record though the little kid shooting himself got the biggest laugh in the theater I was in.

We're sick sick people here at Lake Wobegon.

I always knew Garrison Keillior was a fucking monster, BUT NO ONE LISTENED!!

[TonyWilson]

But nothing beats Dario Argento and the various ways he tormented his daughter Asia onscreen over the years. There's a man who would probably chase any therapist who tried to help him right out of the business.

But she ended up alright in the end, right?




RIGHT?!?!



On second thoughts, I think you made the right call, Mori.

WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! She is FIIIINE.

[The Hellboy]

You know, he's kind of being true to conceit there though in killing the kid, isn't he? It really felt like it was influenced by all the Italian stuff - especially with Marley Shelton's big eyes and running mascara.

The more I reflect on our viewing Thursdy night, PLANET TERROR really is a "Golan-Globus meets Umberto Lenzi" kinda picture.

Interested in hearing your take on the DEJA VU disc - we tried something a bit different with the extras on this one. A little more "in the moment" I guess you could say.

[JimFromTheFuture]

Oh, yeah.

TWIN PEAKS was all about the hotties.

How did I forget that this show was basically hottie, hottie, hottie, surreal joke, scary shit, hottie, hottie, hottie?

I got my Season 2 last week and I've got my girlfriend watching the whole thing for the first time.

I'd never noticed before how distinctly different the second season is. Aside from the strange directions the characters and story go, it's much more surreal overall in a way that was only hinted at in the first season.

Technically, the transfer is gorgeous. The Log Lady intros aren't looking so great these days, but that's doesn't bother me. They've also left off the "Previously on Twin Peaks" segments, I guess to squish those episodes on there. No commentaries, I haven't watched the interviews yet.

[arisethedemonetrigan]

Especially since I loved coming here to bullshit about dvds in general.

I mean, who else am I going to talk to about buying the following dvds in a big shopping spree of sorts.

Smokin' Aces with pack of playing cards special at Best Buy
Viva Pedro collection
Defenders of the Earth Volumes 1 and 2
Fire and Ice Special 2 Disc edition
Zach Galafanakis Live at the Purple Onion
How to Kill a Judge
Mannaja

And the soundtrack to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Who???

Miss you all.

[DDMAN26]

Moriarity did receive any of the Planet Earth dvd's?

[Moriarty]

Moriarity did receive any of the Planet Earth dvd's?

I did, actually, and I'm watching them inbetween films this week. Gorgeous stuff. Am I a bad person for thinking that David Attenborough always sounds like John Cleese doing a mock-stuffy British accent?

[Moriarty]

Arise...

A hiccup. A mere hiccup is all.

I'm finishing a draft of a script, so I've had a lot less writing time in general.

But I've got a shit-ton of DVD content coming for the site and for this section, starting again this week. Promise.

[arisethedemonetrigan]

I know how the whole writing thing goes about. I'm pissed that I haven't been writing my scripts as of late. Driving me nuts.


But I did buy the Jodorowsky box set. Hence why I love working at Best Buy sometimes... I get to buy some select things early.

[Moriarty]

Okay. I had an idea. This isn't for a contest, since there's no prize except participation. It's more like... a game.

I'm going to post a list of titles. And a schedule.

But the gag is that you guys are going to match the titles to the schedule. You guys are going to decide what I watch and review. And those reviews will ONLY appear here... in the Zone.

I'm going to put the list together later today. The schedule will be for next week. And you guys are going to be the ones who determine how it all goes. It's your film festival, and I'm the one who has to cover it.

If it works out, we'll do it once a month or so. Could be fun.

[dmann]

if you put them up early enough, maybe we can watch them together... in our own seperate houses i mean, not outside your window, no really, im in iowa still, seriously....

[John-Locke]

Sounds like fun.

How are we going to decide the order, we never agree on anything.