Category: Film & TV

Now flash-forward to the late 1990s, New York City. I had become friends with the then 91 year old Theodore Gottlieb, better-known as the infamous dark comedian Brother Theodore, a big influence on Eric Bogosian, Lydia Lunch and Spaulding Gray, who had been performing his totally insane one-man show at the tiny 13th Street Theater for ages and was a frequent guest on David Letterman’s show during the 1980s. No exaggeration to say that Theodore had been around forever. He was delivering lines like “The only thing that keeps me alive is the hope of dying young” long before I was born. What was a great gag when he was, say, 50 years old, and then to STILL be delivering a line like that at the age of 93, as he did on my UK television series, well that existential tension is what made his nonagenarian performances so incredibly spell-binding.

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The Bravo cable channel announced today that the photo team of Markus Klinko and Indrani will  be the focus of a new series, called “Double Exposure,”

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From STACY PERALTA the director of DOGTOWN & Z BOYS and RIDING GIANTS

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This was just the kind of kiddie conundrum that was had by a pair of 30-something California born-and-raised rocker dads, Christian Jacobs and Scott Shultz. (Jacobs is the singer for the wacky masked ska pack the Aquabats, and Shultz helms the indie-pop outfit Majestic.) With funding from some supportive friends, a little blogger love that went voraciously viral and lots of monster magic, they bore a new baby last year, a TV show that parents and kids alike could watch together happily (and yeah, hiply): Yo Gabba Gabba!

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Legendary B-movie actor Bruce Campbell plays himself in the new film MY NAME IS BRUCE, which opens theatrically on October 31 in New York. MY NAME IS BRUCE doesn’t have a standard issue release date because we’re doing something for the film that doesn’t seem to be done anymore. Campbell is traveling to every opening city to be at the opening theatre for the first night or two. As such, Bruce is working his way across the country between November and December, in a new city every few days. (Who else nowadays goes on a two month PA tour?)

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Are they terrible, great, or both? You figure it out.

First link to Amazon, then a link to Netflix at the end of each one.

Yeti: Love Story. A camping trip goes very wrong when five college students are kidnapped by a secret cult that plans to sacrifice them to a mysterious hairy beast called the Yeti — who turns out to harbor a deep attraction to young men — in this raunchy comedy. The situation starts to improve when one of the victims begins to examine his own desires and finds that the Yeti doesn’t seem so unappealing — but can the group escape from the crazed cult members? @Netflix

Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens. This documentary takes an in-depth look at the influential career of iconic photographer Annie Leibovitz, from her earliest artistic efforts to her storied tenure at Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair magazines and beyond. Intimately filmed by Annie’s sister Barbara Leibovitz, the program features interviews with the artist as she works at home, along with telling insights from many of the celebrities she has photographed, such as Mick Jagger. @Netflix

Billy the Kid (Documentary). Filmmaker Jennifer Venditti documents the engrossing life of Billy P., a teen in small-town Maine enamored with girls and pro wrestling. But as the cameras roll, a more complex portrait emerges of a troubled but ultimately triumphant young man. From finding the courage to ask a girl on a date to confronting his painful childhood with remarkable humor, Billy is a testament to the power of love and family to overcome any obstacle. @Netflix

Devil Hunter. Cult exploitation favorite Jesus Franco directs this sordid tale about Laura (Ursula Buchfellner), a sexy model who’s kidnapped and whisked away into the jungle, and Peter (Al Cliver), the bold Vietnam vet who sets out to find her. Soon, Laura discovers it’s not just her captors she has to fear; not only do the locals crave human flesh, but their bloodthirsty earthbound god wants Laura for himself. Antonio Mayans and Gisela Hahn co-star. @Netflix

Elite Squad. In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, some cops are just as crooked as the drug lords who run the slums. On the brink of retirement — and burnout — Capitão Nascimento (Wagner Moura) must find a trustworthy successor to lead a dangerous mission. Co-written by director José Padilha, Bráulio Mantovani (City of God) and Rodrigo Pimentel, the gritty action-thriller is based on Pimentel’s 19 years of experience as an elite squad police captain. @Netflix

Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition [Limited Edition]. While sulking in the California desert, misfit teenager Billy Duncan (Kim Milford) stumbles on a powerful alien laser weapon, which he uses to wreak havoc on all who have wronged him. The venerable critic Leonard Maltin gave this space oddity a two-and-a-half star review, a fact that gets quite a drubbing by the crew at MST3K in this fan-favorite episode. Watch for Roddy McDowall in a brief cameo as Dr. Mellon. @Netflix

ZOOM – Back to the 70s. Get ready to go retro with this nostalgic compilation from the Emmy-winning PBS children’s series. Written and hosted by kids, “Zoom” stars seven youngsters from varied backgrounds performing material and activities suggested by the TV audience. Included are segments featuring all the hosts from the show’s six seasons, along with four complete episodes. So, join the fun as the Zoomers stage plays, engage in life discussions, sing, dance and more. @Netflix

Are they terrible, great, or both? You figure it out.

Links go to Amazon. Links to Netflix after each.

Six in Paris. French new wave pioneers Eric Rohmer, Claude Chabrol and Jean-Luc Godard headline this 1960s-era short film anthology, featuring six vignettes centered on metropolitan life in the City of Lights. Titles include Jean Douchet’s “Saint Germain-des-Prés,” Jean Rouch’s “Gare du Nord,” Jean-Daniel Pollet’s “Rue Saint-Denis,” Rohmer’s “Place de l’Étoile,” Godard’s “Montparnasse et Levallois” and Chabrol’s “La Muette.” @Netflix

Sunday School Musical. When financial woes threaten their church’s future, a group of teens, led by one talented performer, enters a song and dance competition in hopes of winning a heavenly cash prize. Starring Candise Lakota as Savannah, this heartwarming and energetic Christian spin on the tremendously popular High School Musical franchise features 21 songs, including seven originals by composer Don Raymond. Rachel Goldenberg directs. @Netflix

Trailer Park of Terror. When their bus crashes, stranding them in a remote area known as the Trucker’s Triangle, six troubled teens and their youth minister, Pastor Lewis (Matthew Del Negro), find themselves face-to-face with a murderous redneck named Norma (Nichole Hiltz) who keeps company with the undead. While the hapless crew is snoozing away in her trailer park, Norma’s thinking of ways to make their lives a living nightmare. @Netflix

The Strangers. In this heart-pounding thriller, young suburban couple James (Scott Speedman) and Kristen (Liv Tyler) welcome the peace and quiet of a secluded family vacation home — that is, until three masked home invaders make them realize how dangerous isolation can be. Written and directed by Bryan Bertino, the film also stars Australian supermodel Gemma Ward, Kip Weeks, Glenn Howerton and Laura Margolis. @Netflix

Magical Witch Punie Chan. She may look like an ordinary girl, but Punie-Chan is really a magical princess who’s out of this world! With her lovable sidekick, Paya-tan, in tow, Punie roams the halls of her school and squashes anyone who gets in her way. Sure, she’s cute and has a flair for fashion, but the prickly Punie also has a killer ability to take down her enemies with a crushing submission hold that leaves them breathless. @Netflix

Sacha Baron Cohen and his film crew have left the villagers nursing a bitterness that will take many years to evaporate. Little wonder his name is mud in this muddy village – and his fate assured should he ever try and return. ‘We will kill him,’ one villager vows.

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Rip ’em, Mr. Goodman!

“Crusoe” is, thankfully, the last of its fall scripted series. That is, unless NBC has some other surprise bomb to drop. Here’s the dreadful tally of new NBC shows so far: “Knight Rider” (brutally bad), “Kath & Kim” (heinous), “My Own Worst Enemy” (yes, it is), “Crusoe” (insipid). By the way, three of those four are borrowed ideas: “Knight Rider” resuscitates the lame 1980s original, “Kath & Kim” ruins an excellent Australian series, and “Crusoe” does no justice to Daniel Defoe’s book. (More on that shortly.) And, really, “My Own Worst Enemy” is just a terribly muddied version of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”

Check it out here.

Are they great, terrible, or both? You figure it out.

Links go to Amazon, though there’s now a Netflix link at the end of each entry.

Dance of the Dead (2008). Filled with geekdom and gore, this tongue-in-cheek, teen creature feature centers on a high school prom at which the living dead await a crowd of unsuspecting students. Unfortunately for the promgoers, the only ones who can save them from zombiehood are the losers who couldn’t even get a prom date in the first place. Can the vastly different cliques band together long enough to defeat the living dead? @Netflix.

Stuck (2007). Driving home after a night of partying, Brandi (Mena Suvari) accidentally crashes into pedestrian Tom (Stephen Rea), who gets stuck in her car’s windshield. Brandi struggles with whether to help save this man’s life or simply let him die and thereby protect her career. In extreme pain and with little time left to live, Tom pleads for Brandi’s help and tries to find a way to escape from his glass prison in this horrific thriller. @Netflix.

Carole & Paula in the Magic Garden (1972). Now parents can introduce their kids to this critically acclaimed children’s series from the 1970 and ’80s, with this fun-filled, 10-episode collection of the show’s most memorable sketches, songs and lessons. Join hosts Carol Demas and Paula Janis as they sing and play guitar, act out exciting stories and pal around with friends Sherlock the squirrel, Flapper the bird and a joke-telling bed of flowers known as the Chuckle Patch. @Netflix.

Night of the White Pants (2006). Thrown out of his mansion by his soon-to-be ex-trophy wife, Barbara (Janine Turner), Dallas businessman Max Hagan (Tom Wilkinson) forges an unlikely connection with punk rocker Raff (Nick Stahl), the boyfriend of his workaholic daughter, Beth (Selma Blair). Joining Raff for a wild night on the town, Max abandons his thoroughly dysfunctional life and gets in touch with his inner punk in this rollicking comedy from writer-director Amy Talkington. @Netflix.

War, Inc. (2008). John Cusack heads the cast as professional ice man Brand Hauser, who’s paid by a private corporation’s brass to take out the competition — a Middle East oil minister — while masquerading as a trade-show director. But not all goes according to plan when fetching field reporter Natalie Hegalhuzen (Marisa Tomei) sidetracks the young assassin. Hilary Duff, Ben Kingsley and Joan Cusack also star in this outrageous satire. @Netflix.

Standard Operating Procedure (2008). Through captivating interviews and dramatic reenactments, filmmaker Errol Morris documents the scandal that erupted in Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison, where mistreatment of detainees at the hands of members of the U.S. military was captured on film. What was the psychological state of the soldiers? Why were the pictures taken? These questions and more are explored in detail in this engaging look at one of the Iraq War’s most notorious episodes. @Netflix.

The Edge of Heaven (2007). When his father (Tuncel Kurtiz) accidentally kills a prostitute (Nursel Koese), Nejat (Baki Davrak) seeks out the woman’s 27-year-old daughter, Ayten (Nurgul Yesilcay), to make amends. Nejat focuses his search in Turkey, but Ayten, part of a closely scrutinized activist group, has already fled to Germany. Lives intersect in unexpected ways in writer-director Fatih Akin’s multilayered drama, which won Best Screenplay at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. @Netflix.

The Unit: Season 3 (3-Disc Series) (2007). The third season of this action drama finds the covert Special Forces team known as the Unit facing annihilation from a mysterious source. Leader Jonas (Dennis Haysbert) tries to keep his team together while working to uncover the identity of the deadly assassin. Meanwhile, as the brave team members confront their toughest challenge, their dedicated wives face many of their own daunting problems back home. @Netflix.

The Long Way Down: Season 1 (3-Disc Series) (2008). Together again, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman make another outrageous excursion in this Fox Reality Channel follow-up to the actors’ first trip, which was documented in the series “Long Way Round.” Kicking off their travels in the Scottish village of John o’ Groats, the pair eventually make their way to Cape Town, South Africa, journeying through Europe and Africa to reach their final destination. @Netflix.

The Substitute (2007) Vikaren. Something about the new sixth-grade substitute just isn’t quite right. Even though she’s managed to charm all the parents, the students are convinced that Ulla’s (Paprika Steen) cold, eccentric, mind-reading behavior is anything but normal. When they discover that their new sub is actually a menacing alien, Carl (Jonas Wandschneider) and the rest of the students band together to thwart her evil plans. @Netflix.

Negima: Spring and Summer (2008) Mahô sensei negima! Child prodigy Negi Springfield is back in this episode duo from the anime series about a 9-year-old boy teacher at a girls’ school who is well loved by his class of students with supernatural abilities. First, Akaya tries to arrange a romantic getaway with Negi, but her plan turns into an all-out class party. Then, Negi falls victim to a magic spell that finds him harnessed to the bookish Nodoka, who has chosen to spend the day at a spa. @Netflix.

It’s Christmastime, and the colonization of Mars is underway. However, when an oxygen generator and a gravity control pod malfunction, Major Syrtis (the Lips’ Steven Drozd) and his team (including the Lips’ Michael Ivins) fear the worst. Syrtis also hallucinates about the birth of a baby, and many other strange things. Meanwhile, a compassionate alien superbeing (Coyne) arrives, inspiring and helping the isolated astronauts.

Check it out here.

Shaun Pye and the late Harry Thompson’s ultra bleak — and often quite smutty — BBC3 television series, Monkey Dust. Truly, it can be said, Monkey Dust raises the bar!

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Are they great, terrible, or both? You figure it out. Links go to Netflix.

Over-sexed Rugsuckers from Mars. Naked aliens from Mars land on Earth and try to create a new species that is a cross between humans and vacuum cleaners. After mating with homeless man Vernon (Dick Monda), one vacuum becomes an unstoppable killer that strangles women and sucks their blood. Full of lowbrow humor, gross-out moments, silly special effects and plenty of violence, this low-budget film has gained notoriety as a cult classic.

Apocalypse Africa: Made in America. Journalist Del Walters’s documentary explores secret recordings, classified films and other archival evidence that suggest the United States’ involvement in the downfall of Africa, including genocidal wars in Darfur, Uganda and Rwanda. Through top-secret data, hidden documents and other sources obtained from government archives, this film reveals links between the destruction of Africa and those who influence American foreign policy

Faces of Death. Not for the faint of heart, the first film in the cult favorite and controversial “Faces of Death” series (which depicts supposedly authentic death scenes) features such grisly fare as an electric chair execution and the clubbing of baby seals. Other disturbing “deaths” include a monkey killed for its brain meat, a man setting himself on fire and cultists dining on human organs. No wonder why the film is banned in over 40 countries.

Lucha Libre: Life Behind the Mask. Get an inside look at the sport of lucha libre, also known as Mexican wrestling, in this documentary that explores the world of Mexico’s most popular spectator sport. Through the masked eyes of four luchadors in different stages of their careers, the film follows a 30-year veteran wrestler, a famous luchador’s son who carries on the tradition, a man at the beginning of his career and a young boy who aspires to enter the sport.

The Simpsons: Season 11. After a decade on the air, “The Simpsons” keeps on ticking, and Homer (Dan Castellaneta), Marge (Julie Kavner), Bart (Nancy Cartwright), Lisa (Yeardley Smith) and Maggie are as animated as ever. In the show’s 11th season, Homer weighs in on Mel Gibson’s remake of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; Lisa helps her father keep his job as a food critic; and Bart is confined to a wheelchair after breaking his coccyx.

The Visitor. Widowed professor Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) discovers an immigrant couple, Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and Zainab (Danai Gurira), squatting in his Manhattan flat and becomes wrapped up in their lives when Tarek is thrown into a detention center. A wonderful Hiam Abbass co-stars as Tarek’s mother, who forges an unlikely connection with Walter. Director Thomas McCarthy’s follow-up to his indie hit The Station Agent premiered at Sundance in 2008.