Lots of TV shows out this week. I’m intrigued by The Mama Cass Television Show, a 1969 television special that failed to result in an ongoing variety show, because these things were frequently insane. While presumably not as fabulous as Raquel! or The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, it should still be good for some laughs and jaw-dropping.
As for regular shows, we have Booker (Yes, Richard Grieco spin-off of 21 Jump Street); Californication S2; Dungeons & Dragons The Complete Animated Series (well, it was better than the movie); House S5; Lie to Me S1; Life S2; Mistral’s Daughter The Complete Mini-series; NCIS S6; Narotu Uncut Box Set, Vol 15; One Tree Hill S6; Samantha Who? S3; Scrubs S8; Smallville S8; The Untouchables S3, Vol 1
Lots of nice obscurities this week. Nice to see more weirdness being unearthed:
Nikkatsu Noir is a Criterion set of crime films from the Nikkatsu studio. Click on the link for details.
The Grindhouse Greats Collection (Oddly, Amazon has it as “Gorehouse” Greats—I think Grindhouse is correct, though). Blood of Dracula’s Castle, Brain Twisters, The Devil’s Hand, Madman of Mandoras, Nightmare in Wax, Prime Evil, Satan’s Slave, Stanley, Terrified, Terror and Trip with Teacher. All for under 15 bucks.
There are also two “Exploitation Cinema” double bills out this week (remember, this is ’70s stuff, and so could be kind of skeevy):
Exploitation Cinema: Teenage Graffiti/ Teenage Mother About what they sound like.
Exploitation Cinema: Deliver Us from Evil / The Fox Affair Blaxploitation and Kung Fu stuff. Maybe this will sell you: “Luckily, they meet up with Felicity Fox a “gorgeous and naïve metermaid” who flunked out of the police academy, but can still hold her own when it comes to kung-fu fighting!!!”
Screwballs: One of those ’80s sexploitation ‘classics,’ assuming you think there are any.
Euro fare:
Dinner with a Vampire Directed by Lamberta Bava
Dracula’s Fiancee Directed by Jean Rollin
DTV Horror
Dreams of the Dead A low-budget “erotic horror movie”, although some of the buzz isn’t bad (assuming the Amazon reviews aren’t all by friends of the director). Plot-wise, it sounds like a remake of Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare.
Asian Cinema:
Onechanbara Bikini Samurai Squad Bikini and school uniformed-clad hotties kill a bunch of zombies.
More promising, at least to me, is some Shaw Brothers stuff. I’ve rented a few films from this DVD series, and it’s been good stuff so far. Nice to get good prints and widescreen presentations on these things.
The Flag of Iron Shaw
The Shaw Brothers Collection II Four flicks (Brothers Five, Brave Archer and His Mate, Holy Flame Of The Martial World and Journey Of The Doomed) on four discs.
