Home Video Exclusives

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - The Invasion Starts On Your VCR Part I


Another brand new entry! And a somewhat rare, but still available title. This outing we get alien invasion wrapped in hyper 1980s pop culture in "Remote Control"...



Why not the poster, above? The cover art and poster are the same; instead of having a lot of repeats - here's the original VHS covers instead.

The motion picture opened on April 7th, 1988. It was made with a budget of $3,000.000 (estimated). It fizzed out and didn't even hit the top forty on the box office when it opened. So I have no more stats.

The feature opened against "Biloxi Blues", "Good Morning Vietnam", "3 Men And A Baby", "Beetle Juice" and "Moonstruck".

No slipcover was issued for either versions; DVD or Blu-Ray. The cover (on the wraparound) was autographed by director Jeff Lieberman - "[your first name]! Control Yourself! Best - Jeff Lieberman".

Had to break this into two since - I wrote too much. It's what I do.

- - -

Yes, I had a different PT in mind, but this arrived and I'm super excited, how lucky I am. Anyhow, say thank you, this title required a lot of research - was hair pullers



"Remote Control: 25th Anniversary Edition" has been remastered in 2K. Both formats (region 0) are exclusives from the filmmaker's own website "JeffLiebermanDirector" (you know how to do it). Still active as I post this. Both were streeted on March 22nd, 2013... on the surface. I'll get into that in a moment.

Tax free and free shipping - domestically. The DVD is $19.95. The BD is $25.95. Same extras on both. There is international shipping available.

When this first came out - were limited editions, only 1,000 copies made (each format) which were MODs, Manufacture On Demand discs; DVD-R and BD-R releases. Over the years those burned discs have been fetching insane prices.

Amazon is selling the BD-R in their marketplace for $79.99 plus shipping. That's a steal. On eBay that was going for - wait for it... $499.99 (free shipping). WTF? Also on eBay the DVD was going for $199.99, free shipping too. Can you see why I'm happy?

I had learned about this sometime in 2014 on the former cinema information site, IMDb - their film message board. Was not happy about it be a DVD-R. So I didn't bother buying. Flash forward to late April (2021) and it popped to head. I want this now, is it still available?

You read my search results. That was way over my wallet. But wanted at least, some closure and kept looking. A bit later I ended up on the director's website. On his store page I saw it; this had been years old. Can it be still valid? Took a chance.

Yes it is - ordered (PayPal) on May 3rd, '21, shipped from New York - arrived on the 14th.

Opened the package and my jaw dropped. Sometimes it pays to wait. The back cover has no number written on it; "# [blank] of 1000". This isn't a DVD-R, it's a pressed disc! There must have been a second pressing for it, so Lieberman opted to get them made, not burned.

What I can surmise, this run is less than a thousand copies. I would imagine - because it is a real DVD; it has got to be among the rarest titles in my collection. So glad I have it, damn fortunate that I waited. Real deal. Sway! The site reads, "All Sales Are Final!" I'm happy.

- - - - - - - - - -

Rant.

The DVD came in a cheap case, but the disc is mint. No problem, I can move to a better case. That's when I discovered that it's double sided. Okay, no worries - I can move it into a transparent case, which is where it is now. The inside of the wraparound is the various credits, the folks who made the remastering happen (from vault elements); a lot of people. Good for them.

Okay, I had to mod the wraparound. It was too wide to fit the case. So I used a flat edge sheet of plastic, I was saving for some unknown use. The sides are all 90 degrees. And got out my exacto knife; probably got it some time in the 1990s, still razor sharp. I put the sheet over the wraparound with a tiny sliver exposed, took my time to make it right. Then sliced off, so that the spine text is centered.

Turned out great, fits right in.



The movie is presented in anamorphic widescreen in 2.0 stereo. The disc comes with commentary by the director and a slide show gallery of thirty-two images. I wanna talk about this - new to me. I've never ran into this before - the static menu screen.

When the disc starts for the first time it's a motion menu; above left. Then when you pick something - go back to main menu... you get a static image with options. How do you get back to motion? Took me awhile to figure it out. You need to hit "title" to get back to the 'summit' menu. That is bizarre.

So - who are they, the image above? That's the hero couple - the movie within the movie. Listed on the credits as "Heroine" - Lisa Aliff and "Young Hero" - Ty Kelley.

Incidentally, Aliff did a lot of episodic television in the 1980s and early '90s, she even did an episode of "Freddy's Nightmares" in 1989 ("Photo Finish" aired October 29th, '89; one of the episodes where Freddy appeared in; Aliff had a bit role as a tormented model). The two season, syndicated TV series spin-off from "Nightmare On Elm Street" movie franchise.

And yes, Robert Englund did reprise is iconic role of Freddy Krueger. Nope. Not on DVD or any home video, like it never existed. The show was a horror anthology with Freddy as the host, though he did appear in a couple of episodes, like mini-sequels; like Vegas, the house always wins. By the way, a cardboard cutout of Freddy appears in the movie at the second video store.

Sadly there is no trailer included on the anniversary release, should've been there. The film is rated R and is eighty-eight minutes long.



The back of the wraparound, the cover art wasn't modded for DVD. It reads - "Remote Control in fully remastered Blu-Ray!". Okay. The "25th Anniversary Edition" notice is only on the front cover, not the rear or spine. Or even in the printed artwork on the disc.

I know most of you have no clue what this is.

It wasn't even a sleeper hit; it came and went at the theaters as fast. I still remember a TV commercial for it. So I ended up seeing it on home video - where most discovered the VHS... at their local video rental shop. A film made for that time period - for that very business. It was quite meta.

By the way, Amazon is selling that old VHS for $44.98, used. This came out on VHS in 1989 from IVE, International Video Entertainment, Inc.

There was a re-release on cassette on April 1st, 1991 by Avid Home Entertainment, but most hate it. The company put it out in EP speed (six hours on one tape), as a shortened VHS. The tape standard was SP, two hours per cassette which had the better resolution and sound quality.

Now I can't say if Avid was regional, say Canada. Because also in 1991 it was re-release by Live Home Video in SP.



Now there are two moments, less than a second - each; what looks like oil or a grease blot on the print. Less than a minute from each other in the same scene. I'm not making a fuss over it.

I'm only pointing them out. It's odd that they were not digitally removed.

What is this about?

Cosmo (Kevin Dillon) works for his friend Georgie (Christopher Wynne) at "Village Video" which is a video rental shop inside a refurbished movie theater - "Warner Grand"; multi-leveled. Which is pretty cool, no - damn cool!

Where I'm at; this happened in the early 1990s, an old theater was turned into a video rental store along with home theater equipment (sound systems too) - back when these were not flat screens, but large projection TVs.

[JohnIan101]

Best Buy - June 8th, 2021


Indiana Jones: 4-Movie Collection
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/DC combo $99.99

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - Crafting Your Own Doom Part II


Harsh camera lights and a filming production put a lot of stress on the made rooms.

In the end, much of the cardboard used were returned to those dumpsters for recycling. And production did not pay for any cardboard used. They used their money on effects - forced perspective visuals to make the place bigger than it was. Plus stop-motion animation and paper puppetry.



The rescue numbers dwindle for the rescue. The laws of physics is different, bordering on the supernatural. Death is complex (craft related). The tee shown above was one of the shirts sold. The movie then takes a metaphysical detour once our gang finds Dave.

He and Annie witness their lives together if they choose to remain. It's hard to put into words. It makes a hard 180, not a bad thing. And was sweet, they do love each other.

The remaining gang with Dave keep trying to stay one step ahead of the Minotaur. There are traps and temptations (non-explict vag room, 'it's so pretty'). At one point they find 'origami land' and see this bird flying about. It sort of follows them on their journey. I wish this critter was more in the flick. Even when they get out - keeping it, alive and treating the thing like a real bird - would've been cool.



I like that it took time from their eighty minutes long run time to spend it on Annie and Dave; they're the thing which hold the story together. Her love for him and vise versa.

There is no exit, it's endless. But that's when it pops to mind - why is part of this place incomplete?

He's a prisoner of his fault, not following through. Dave has to finish the building from the inside to break out - back to our reality. And lucky for him, Annie was supplied. As said the movie is short, they couldn't make it longer - sets wouldn't allow them and limited resources. Man, I wanted this to be longer - so... different, imaginative, a handmade fantasy world.

By the way, Adam Busch who plays Gordon; Dave's best friend. Man, he is giving off such an Andy Dick vibe - which is cool here. Gordon has some of the best liness. Frank Caeti plays the boom operator, no name - but has the some of the best screen time, his reactions.

The criticism. There are people who didn't care for it, two reasons. 1) They didn't care for the characters. I can see that, a few of the explorers are obnoxious Red Shirts - but those are the first to die, showcasing the horrors of this place. 2) They did not like the ending. The feature rushes during those last few minutes and yeah, the finale feels forced. This was the best they could do; running out of money and time. I'm okay with that.

The film was a ride and to won me over. So sway - like it was inspired by Terry Gilliam movies. So many WTFs. I'm glad I made this blind buy (from Gravitas Ventures). Glad I took the time to research and found the real deal, pressed copy, worth it.

I am bugged by one moment; when Annie gets ready to go in (with the gang). She is seen prepping a backpack. We see her with a bottle of water and a box cutter, that's pretty much it. What's in the backpack? We don't know. There should've been a suit up/gearing up montage, yes it's a trope, but a well established one. Made famous by directors as John Carpenter and Sam Raimi. She's the only one who prepared - we should know what's she carrying into the alien world.



Above is co-writer/director Bill Watterson outside of Dave's creation. The DVD and BD have the same extras. A twenty minute making-of featurette, commentary by Watterson, deleted scenes, their crowd sourced video pitch and trailers. And in 5.1 surround sound. A decent pile of bonuses. The film was co-written by Steven Sears.

Those discs are region free with subtitle in English and Spanish.

There you go folks, I had limited materials to work with and a personal matter - which ate a lot of my time. Luckily I did the image work, weeks in advance. I had home repairs, that needed to get done before the temperature hits over 100 degrees. Summer is here.



This final bit; above are two additional posters. The left was the early poster - seeking crowd sourcing funds. The right image is the Korean poster which is better than the U.S. advertising pix. Okay done. You need to see this, you could have issues with the movie, but it will be an imaginative ride.

See you back here on June 24th, 2012 for something, still thinking on - could pick a different exclusive, not set. We'll both be surprised. *nods*

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - Crafting Your Own Doom Part I


Another brand new entry! An inventive indie flick that went cheap, but left us with so many questions (the good kind) in "Dave Made A Maze"...



It's a short entry, but I had to break it into two parts because I wrote too much, over the limit. I did expand a bit to make it more beefy.

The motion picture had a limited theatrical release on August 18th, 2017. It's budget is unknown; I can't find the stats. Domestically once done it made $34,117, 07. So yeah, I think it bombed. It didn't even register at the box office.

The feature opened against "Dunkirk", "The Dark Tower" and "The Emoji Movie".

The DVD (pressed) came in a slim case digipak and with a tiny origami bird (which was one of the characters). I still have mine. It also came with a mini-poster, autographed by the director (generic) - "Have Fun In There! - Bill W."; postcard sized. Other side advertises the movie having a theatrical run and available 'on demand' on August 18th, 2017; that didn't happen as planned.

- - -

This is where things get murky. I don't have the exact day, precisely. What I have the the date this came on home video at Amazon, but that was released as an M.O.D. (Manufacture On Demand; official burned disc). This happened on October 24th, 2017 for both DVD and Blu-Ray; same price - but lost that amount. Sorry.



In 2017; could be the same date? The film's website sold the pressed disc, digipak - limited edition; same extras.

This was $19.99 for the DVD and $24.99 for the BD. Cheaper on the pre-order; $15.00 and $18.00. The film's website also sold tees (60/40 cotton/polyester blend). And something else...



You could buy a working, cardboard pinball game from Cardboard Teck Instantute. This was a mega set; your choice - DVD or Blu-Ray, plus a tee shirt and the "PinBox3000" contraption for $74.99. Those shirts were priced at $17.99 each.

I almost bought it from Amazon, but read a comment and searched the site. I only bought the DVD, I'd like to believe that pinball thing could work.

Oh yeah, bought my copy from them online (PayPal) on March 28th, 2018 for a total of 21.48 with tax, free shipping. It arrived about a week later.

- - - - - - - - - -

Rant.

This thing bombed and disappeared; this has cult film written all over, but fell into obscurity. It deserve much better...

Dave (Nick Thune) is an artist who hasn't made anything of significant; he's coming up to thirty and is having a quarter-life crisis. His girlfriend, Annie (Meera Rohit Kumbhani) is tired of him not trying hard enough, not finishing what he started - not following through. So many of his works are unrealized. She's on the verge of kicking him out of the apartment.

Annie works for an independent film documentarian. After hours at work she comes back, frustrated and finds the place in a mess. Dave has made a cardboard, structure in the living room; bits of paper and colored paper mache all over the place, tape too. She's about to explode, Dave tell her not to come inside.

Dave is inside the small building, fort, thingamabob construction; she opens the door and crawls inside to let him have it... and crawls and crawls and crawls and crawls until she stands up - in a cardboard environment. Dave screams at her to get out, the place is a shifting labyrinth; Annie will get trapped in there with him. She flees, barely making it out.

So what happened???

Somehow, someway, he made a pocket universe - Dave started with a small art project and grew and grew and it took a life of it's own; started in the center, buliding outward - the place is like Dr. Who's TARDIS. He's trapped and lost.



It gets worse - lurking inside there is a cardboard Minotaur (John Hennigan) who wants Dave, the intruder dead.

Annie needs help and calls the smartest person she know - her boss (James Urbaniak), Harry - he comes over and thinks she's BSing him. Nope. This is real. She is putting together a rescue mission to find Dave. He tells her to stop for a moment - once in a life time situation, Harry gathers a skeleton crew to film the events inside this other realm.

Things get complicated...



A few of their friends shows up. Not taking serious what was told, but humors them since it's out of the ordinary. She gears up and the lot enters the cardboard fabrication.

Let me say, I'm not doing it justice. The pocket universe is so imaginative. Unlike anything you've seen. So much of it - is bizarre. Sets were made from American Apparel scraps, from their Los Angeles factory. Originally the producers thought they had more than enough cardboard. Nope.

Three weeks into shooting they ran out. And making matters worse - no more. AA would not give them any more scraps. What save them was Solar City, next door. They didn't care if the crew wanted to dumpster dive for used cardboard, have it.



Filmmakers had two basic room sizes for sets. Which means each set built had to be torn down for the next scene... no reshoots, can't go back, gone. Another problem, sets were taped together as seen on screen. The life span those sets were roughly four hours, before coming apart.

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense


Another brand new entry! Movies with gimmicks is nothing new, some are cheap stunts - others involve the audience seeking clues; we get this kind of guess who in "The List Of Adrian Messenger"...



First off, this is a short entry; only so much I can find, limited stats, but to be expected I did find some stuff.

The motion picture opened on May 29th, 1963. Can tell you, the North American box office numbers were $1,700,00.00. No clue on its budget nor rankings. What else can I tell you?

The feature opened against "Dr. No", "Atom Age Vampire", "Tammy And The Doctor", "The Critic" and "In The Cool Of The Day".

The DVD (pressed) came in a standard case without any insert or issued slipcase.

- - -

I came in to write about this being a Wal-Mart exclusive... ended up discovering it was also, years earlier an Amazon exclusive too. Didn't see that coming. So there you go.



On November 20th, 2009 the internet giant released the film as an MOD, Manufacture On Demand, DVD-R. From the best I can gather, this sold for $9.98. I can't find out more, but I can extrapolate based on another Amazon exclusive MOD, "Powderkeg" - released in 2013.

Which was also the same, zero extras, movie only. So unless i find some blog archive or such, I'm gonna say $9.98. There is another bit which collaborates the price.

Well... there was one extra - if that counts, it had English subtitles.



On July 4th, 2017 Wal-Mart released it as an unadvertised, limited time, pressed exclusive. It sold for $7.96. The nationwide release happened on September 5th, 2017 for $9.99.

A penny difference between the pressed nationwide released and the Amazon exclusive. *nods*

This wasn't part of any end-cap sale. It was just in the regular shelves at Wal-Mart.

- - - - - - - - - -

Rant.

Before you ask - it was a blind purchase. Hadn't heard of this movie until that afternoon.

Gonna guess you probably hadn't heard of it too. This movie is kinda, loosely based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Philip MacDonald.

What is it about?

The core of this flick is guess who - as you can see on the poster, five famous actors at the time were in disguises. This was the assassin in hiding. The gimmick was trying to find out which actor was playing the killer (not gonna give it away) - at a particular hit. These include Frank Sinatra, Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum and Tony Curtis.

The black and white movie was a thriller, not a parody. Sway.

The story is set around Anthony Gethryn (George C. Scott), a retired MI-5 officer who was asked to come to the estate of "Marquis of Gleneyre" currently owned by long time friend and mystery author, Adrian Messenger (John Merivale).

He wants a favor from Gethryn; take a look at a compiled list he's created - the names of ten people who knew each other during World War II - all were caught and prisoners in a camp in Burma. A good chunk of them are dead; passed under mysterious circumstances.

Each as a separate fatality - is nothing but an odd accident. But once you examine them as a whole, these men knew each other. It's too random to be a coincidence. As a mystery writer, Messenger is very concerned about the possibility of serious foul play.



Seeing how anxious he was - Gethryn agrees. It was just to placate his friend, but it becomes dead serious when Messenger dies. As it turns out that list should've been eleven - Adrian knew all those men too, which was why he was so agitated.

Nearly getting killed in one of the hits - collateral damage, Raoul Le Borg (Jacques Roux) is also retired, he was part of the French Resistance during the war and was Gethryn's counterpart in intelligence. He wants to know what's going on and join in the manhunt, walking with a cane. Two become three with Lady Jocelyn Bruttenholm (Dana Wynter) who is Messenger's cousin and at one point, Gethryn's girlfriend.



Together the trio discover that Adrian's final work, his unpublished manuscript has clues to the killer's identity. The man was a good writer. Things become complicated as the book has been altered - names have been stripped and even replaced.

The killer is hiding his tracks.

And is keeping one step ahead of our trio. They keep failing, people are dying.



This leaves one final name, one last person who remains - they now know the murder is a master of disguise. He can be anyone. They also discover the 'why?' - if discovered, he would be guilty of wartime treachery and would be found guilty in court, sending him to prison for the rest of his life.

He's doing his best to secretly murder all those who could identify him. But Messenger was on the road to uncovering the truth. And now another - so ticked off, the assassin had marked Gethryn as his final kill. And I'll stop here. The ending was swift justice.

So? Why so long after the war? This is something lost today, but was prominent when it came out.

The book was released in '59 which at the time, 1950s - there were World War II, criminal trials still going on. The killer was content to fade in the background, but because of ongoing, very public trials - had to be sure he wouldn't get exposed and sent to prison. That's why there was a delay.

This is like the brown bags in "The Big Sleep" (1946); there's a part of the movie where our hero is focused on a photo studio across the street from a used book store. All these folks coming out with prints and such in brown bags. You see, brown bags were used to hide porn. The photo studio was developing pornographic rolls of film and also sold erotic pictures. Which was known at the time, but that plot point is lost today.

The porn angle now makes the blackmail subplot intelligible. The younger sibling had this over her - dirty pictures... from a hidden camera in a statue.

Anyhow, I didn't know where this was going and that's something I enjoy; not mindless tropes - a genuine mystery. It's a solid feature and part of my collection.

The only star who wasn't given proper screen time was Lancaster who appears in close-ups, not really in disguise in the movie. The film was directed by John Huston who had a bit part towards the end as Lord Ashton, a fox hunt, rider.

By the way, while doing some more research this was also re-released on DVD in 2016; part of "Kirk Douglas: The Centennial Collection" box set. I might add the plot to this movie was given homage for the later comic book adaptation, "RED" (2010).

There you go - not one of my bigger entries, but is serviceable. Okay. I'm satisfied. Come back here on July 15th, 2021 for the next entry. Nope, don't know what that is - yet. I'll think of something. *wink*

Have a safe and pleasant 4th of July. Don't drink and drive or text while driving. Be safe. See you then.

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense


Another brand new entry! We dive into controversy, Dan Brown style with the documentary - "Secrets Of The Code"...



I can't find squat on this doc. It wasn't released theatrically in America. Have no stats for a budget. Can only guess this was a direct to video release - which means this came out on June 5th, 2007.

Can tell you it streeted against "Highlander: The Search For Vengeance", "Hogan's Heroes: The Sixth & Final Season" and "Meatballs: Special Edition".

No slipcover was issued, nor insert. This retailed for $24.96.

- - -

This is an odd exclusive. But was one.

It got released as an exclusive freebie from Best Buy on May 12th, 2009.



You got this documentary for free if you bought one from select titles on sale that week - and it also came with theater voucher to see "Angels & Demons" for free. It expired on June 30th, 2009. It was sealed on the back of the case with art that mirrored the real back. As you can see above, right.

The titles?

"21", "Across The Universe", "Casino Royale" (2006), "The Covenant", "Hellboy", "House Of The Flying Daggers", "The Other Boleyn Girl", "Premonition", "The Pursuit Of Happiness", "Spider-Man 3", "Vantage Point", "Big Fish", "Spider-Man", "Spider-Man 2", "First Knight", "The Forgotten", "Gridiron Gang", "Marie Antoinette", "Memoirs Of A Geisha", "The Messengers", "The Net", "Philadelphia", "All The King's Men", "Blood And Chocolate", "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon", "The Da Vinci Code", "The Fifth Element", "Les Miserables", "The Mothman Prophecies", "Secret Window", "Seven Years In Tibet" and "Stealth".

That's a mouthful.

I didn't get this when it was out nor when it was an exclusive. I bought my copy, still sealed as Best Buy's promo. Found and bought off eBay for $6.44 (complete, shipping and taxes) on February 28th, 2020. It arrived in early March of that year.

Should be noted that three other titles were part of that offer - but not listed on the sticker; "Larry The Cable Guy: Morning Constitutions", "Fantastic Four: Extended Edition" and "Children Of Men". To be through.

- - - - - - - - - -

Rant.

I can understand why there is controversy over the topic, sure. But the basic idea is rather mundane. So what if Jesus had a wife - Mary Magdalene and when it hit the fan she fled with their child to France. Okay. And?

The doc is leveled; you get various religious scholars and experts giving their view on the Dan Brown book which got turned into a movie, "The Da Vinci Code" (2003/2006). It didn't pick a side. Points of view are shown, you decide who the believe.

Okay. That's fair.

I just don't see why it's a big deal. Jesus was human first, son of God second. He ate, burped, pooped and told jokes. C'mon he turned water into wine - you know he could be fun at parties. Personally I don't believe in the supernatural aspect of the tale. I'm an atheist and not one of those insufferable ones. I like Christmas and nativity scenes, they're festive.

For me, Jesus was some pre-hippy dude who was saying things at the time which were unheard of...

Be kind to each other.

Love yourself and your neighbor.

Hate won't make yourself be person.

Help your community as they need it - as you can.

Don't be stealing.

Have conviction on what you know is true.

Basic things, but were extraordinary said back in the day. He made enemies since he challenged the powers that be. I don't view Pontius Pilate as the bad guy. He had better things to do. This was something population would work out. But Jesus made enemies who went over Pilate's head - to Rome and wanted this fellow taken out. His hands were tied.

So events materialized.

What I think happened is his followers wanted the momentum to carry on. How to do it? Make him legendary, the son of God. What was done to keep this message alive got fractured into various denominations. I don't think they were trying to make it complicated, they wanted this philosophy to encourage and inspire others. It just got way out of hand.

Those are my thoughts. Anyhow, it's an even handed documentary narrated by Susan Sarandon.

- - - - - - - - - -

Void.

Yeah this is another small entry. Gonna need to bulk this puppy up! But this time out - in a different direction. Indeed.

A couple years back the TV channel, TBD (To Be Discussed) would air documentaries late at night. I'm a night owl. So it was a perfect fit. Saw a lot of good stuff. But there was one particular doc I kept missing; the front and getting to the last half hour or so.

After some time I finally decided to buy it. But discovered it wasn't available in America, United Kingdom only. Okay. I have a region free DVD player. I'll cover that history in a later entry. My original search came on the single disc version... almost bought that. No.

There was a two disc limited edition collection. I want that. Found a seller on eBay in England who would sell it to me. Bought it for $40.25 (total) on February 3rd, 2021 and it arrived on later that month.



I'm speaking of the Michael Caine doc, "My Generation" (2017). This eighty-five minutes production showcases the 1960s, life in England. It's amazing how much archival footage was used. Slices from the decade with a ton of new (audio only, narration) interviews. The Limited Edition is a combo set; DVD and BD in a digipak along with an information booklet (thirty-six pages; introduction by Caine) and four postcards.

My moan is I want this to be longer. Some of the events shown were just touched upon. Needed to be at the very least two hours long. There are no extras on either discs, bare bones. That sucks too, not even the trailer is included.

Man, this was a labor of love by Caine and producers; it took them six years to make - to get the rights to the music they wanted and acquiring footage. The thing is intercut from the present and '60s with Caine... who did various interviews. The man was damn prolific back in the day. Wow.

He narrates and stars in it. Call it, the birth of pop culture in London.

What was such a surprise; learning that international model, Twiggy had a chain of fashion stores around the globe - "Twiggy". Did not know that. Dress like her, that was a thing. This documentary is the closest thing to a time machine. The combo set came out on May 28th, 2018 for £29.99 from Lionsgate. And came with a Digital Copy. Zero regrets.

Excellent stuff. Sway. Wish it was longer with bonus materials. Such as "The Rolling Stones"; last year found on YouTube, footage from a 1960s British music show, "Circus". The band was playing the song "Sympathy For The Devil". Holy crap, Mick Jagger looked high as hell; making weird body movements, contortions. At one point he had sit down since it was sweating like it was nobody business, shirtless. WTF? Plus one of the background players had maracas, so into the music - in the zone. [shake - shake - shake]

There you go. See you back here on July 29th, 2021 for something. Yup something, something. Surprise! Indeed.

[JohnIan101]

Best Buy - July 20th, 2021


Indiana Jones: 4 Movie Collection (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/DC combo $81.99

[JohnIan101]

No new post on Thursday.

I have Jury Duty this week. Don't know if I'm going to get picked - so I have no time to finish up the next Past Tense.

This is beyond my control.

So the next update will happen on August 12th, 2021. This way, the month can become normal, the usual two entries.

That's it, nothing more to add. See you on Thursday, the 12th. Sorry.

[JohnIan101]

Best Buy - August 3rd, 2021


Luca
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $34.99

[JohnIan101]

Target - August 3rd, 2021


Luca
Exclusive lithographs; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $34.99

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - The Heart Wants What The Heart Wants Part II




Okay - how creepy is that pix? 'When we are wedded, I'm going to bed you... non-consensually.'

There is a family tradition of having game; similar to Highlander Games to prove that the man is worthy of her hand. Tom joins in - he's motivated to win. Even if this is superficial, that's not the point - to best her would be suitor.

The various competitions has Tom and Colin in a tie. Only two contestants left - the final game, log tossing. It ends badly for Tom. That's it, he lost.

The day of the wedding he drops out allowing her other friend to be the MOH, a role she wanted since the wedding was announced. As he's being driven back to the airport, he has a last minute thought - one final effort to say his peace.

He manages to commandeer a horse to ride to the church before the ring is put on. And I'll stop here. You can pretty much guess what happens next. I have no buyer's remorse. It's a popcorn romantic-comedy.



The movie was directed by Paul Weiland, pictured. I enjoyed it, but wished there were were a moment between the men.

The opportunity was at the games; Colin realizing that Tom loves Hannah and this game was more than family tradition. He's out to show how he's better than him. Then this becomes know to these men - this is war, a secret tournament for her hand.

The log toss happens different - Tom fails, but fails upward. He falls on his face, but uses all of his strength to toss the log, at an odd angle. It hits the floor, flips and barely flips once more on the ground, landing next to Colin's log. The game mediator looks at the logs - then with a metal ruler on the ends, it's a draw. Equals.

Tom is shaken and a bit weaken by the toss and is as if he's ready to fall back down. Colin is pissed off and punches Tom. But since he's having trouble standing, the punch misses. Seeing what's happening, Tom punches back at Colin, a bloody nose. Then it descends into a brawl. The mediator announces there is a precedent for this kind of conflict between two suitors. Pushing people away from the fist fight - last man standing wins.

At this point, Hannah realizes what's going on and is ticked off. All this time and now at her wedding does Tom finally comes to her sense. And mad at Colin for sinking to this level for her affections. She yells out to both men and marches off with her pals. This stops the fight, both men are bleeding and bruised - no winner. Colin's mother comes over and tell him she's disappointed - because her champion couldn't beat this 'runt'.

The game festivities ends; attendees depart, leaving Tom and Colin alone. They talk about how they came to the realize Hannah was the girl for them. Tom sunken, how he lost his best friend, damage done. The men sharing a bottle of Kentucky bourbon that Tom had smuggled in.

The movie then returns to its course.

There is this scene in "Leatherheads" (2008) where the two men seeking the girl's love have a fist fight. A younger man, Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski) and a older mature fellow, Dodge Connolly (George Clooney). It's a private fight, no audience. Two men going at it. Rutherford thought it was an easy win, he's younger. But Connolly has years of fighting under his belt, experience. It ends with both men, bruised talking about how they fell in love with her; Lexie Littleton (Renée Zellweger), sharing a bottle of booze. This moment has no real bearing to the plot, but is all about characterization, making the men three dimensional and relatable, Carter is not a bad man - he's a decent fellow - the same with Colin.

Oh well. I did enjoy the movie.

- - - - - - - - - -

Just Because.



For me, among the Monaghan sister actresses; Michelle and Bridget, Michelle is hotter. She looks feminine and conveys it well. Bridget is too athletic for my liking. She's attractive, but not like her younger sibling who looks like what you would imagine - 'the girl next door' would appear as.

And can flip - sexy and adorable on a whim (her role as Harmony in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" [2005]).

So Tuesday night... was in bed, ready for slumber and a thought popped. My phone was nearby, did a quick search. I was correct. Sway. Went to sleep; the following evening, wrote this entry with the last minute addition.



Michelle had a tiny role in the 2005 horror, supernatural, murder mystery - "Constantine". It was uncredited, she played a succubus, Ellie - cut from the movie; single shot of her is in the film, when holy water rains down from the building's sprinklers. Too bad she died.

She's in the deleted scenes under "Demonic Tryst". The she-demon that Constantine (Keanu Reeves) was bedding. We get a glimpse from under the sheet, Ellie has a tail. And she appears in an alternate version at the night club, working. She is a demonic prostitute.

Oh yeah, just so you know, my jury duty was three days long; not the case - just jury selection. It ended with three groups "B", "C" and "D" (mine) used to gain the twelve and alternates. There were just three of us, unpicked, till they had their numbers. We were then excused; here in California, we get $15.00 per day, minus the first day and .34 cents per mile to the court house - *one way*.

The case was expected to go well into October; Monday - Thursday each week. I'm not a part of it; cancer from using the "Roundup" herbicide from Monsanto. You probably have seen the television ads for the class action lawsuit about the weed killer.

Okay. Come back her on August 26th, 2021 for more. Not sure what that will be, but will do my best to make it entertaining and informative.

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - The Heart Wants What The Heart Wants Part I


Once again, another brand new entry! This outing we get a comfy romcom leading to - you guessed it, a wedding in "Made Of Honor"...



The motion picture opened on May 2nd, 2008. It was made with a budget of $40,000,000 (estimated); counting foreign receipts it made $106,548,738. The movie bombed domestically ($46 million) when counting all the millions put into advertising. The film opened number two at the box office, the following week it dropped to number four.

The feature opened against "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", "Iron Man" and "Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay".

As far as I can tell no slipcover was issued for the standard version - which is disc one of this exclusive. Odd that in 2008, full screen was still being offered. The disc has the film in full and anamorphic widescreen.

The standard edition came with one insert - information for entry to the "Say I Do Romance Sweepstakes"; contest ended October 31st, 2008. Grand Prize - a round trip for two to Scotland along with five nights hotel stay, daily breakfast and three course dinners, ride about in a luxury motorcoach. Trip includes visits to Cawdor Castle, Glen Ord Whiskey Distilery and Edinburgh. Value $6,000.00. Five first prizes - emerald cut, diamond at its center, pendant. Crafted in white gold. Value $5,000.00 each. Ten second prizes - flowers for a year (seasonal bouquet for each month). Value $600.00 each. No purchase of the DVD was necessary and no goes "trip" for July and August of 2009.

The exclusive set also came with this contest sheet.

- - -

There was a single exclusive from Target which streeted on September 16th, 2008. This was released for DVD ($22.98, release week) and Blu-Ray (price unknown).

This was three times; exclusive slipcover, bonus disc and Digital Copy. I do not know if the bonus disc came for the BD version. *shrugs*



Above are the DVD images from the slipcover and the wraparound. Catch it? The images are different; the store exclusive and standard release - which is inside the slip. I didn't notice until doing the image work. Nice.

Made me smile.

To bad this is a regular thing. Granted for some of their exclusives - they do add a lenticular slipcover. But that's rare thing.



Above is a better look at the exclusive cardboard, non-embossed slipcover and its back cover. Gonna take a pause here. This is one of those titles that feels like it was mean for me. Yeah.

Did not buy this when it came out in '08. It wouldn't be until 2021 when it would be mine. I knew about this set and had it on my back burner for months. MONTHS. This wouldn't be mine until I pulled the trigger on January 3rd, '21; bought off eBay for $8.25 total - minus one of the last "eBay Bucks" I had. It would have been $12.93.

It arrived later that month - was brand new, still sealed. One copy for sale, no takers for all those months; as if this was waiting for me. Now a part of my collection.



Above is screen shots from the bonus disc. I'm gonna be counting all the extras for the movie. In total this content (two making-of featurettes and two deleted scenes) have a run time of 22:57 minutes, presented in anamorphic widescreen.

The rest is various previews and theatrical trailers for quasi-releated features from Sony. What the hell does the wanna-be horror movie, remake "Prom Night" (2008) has to do with this flick??? The same with "You Don't Mess With The Zohan" ('08). Whatever.

It also came with a second insert, the final store exclusive - Digital Copy instructions, single sided. It expired September 16th, 2009.

- - - - - - - - - -

Rant.

I guess. I suppose. It did somewhat bomb for America.



The movie is about two friends; Tom Bailey, Jr. (Patrick Dempsey) and Hannah (Michelle Monaghan) who met while in college on Halloween night in 1998. She was honest about her dislike with him - he's a Playboy sleeping around in college (Cornell University). Tom was at the time sleeping with her roommate. But it is her candor that makes Hannah compelling to him.

Flash forward ten years later, they best friends. He's never slept with her since he didn't see her as a disposable sex partner. He's made a fortune from creating "coffee collar" a slip for cups that prevents people from burning their fingers.

Hannah works in the restoration department at New York's Metropolitan Museum Of Art on antique paintings. She is given an offer to travel to Scotland to work on some artwork there. She agrees and Tom encouraging her, a great opportunity.



A decision he regrets when she comes back weeks later... with her fiancé, Colin a wealthy Scot who's family made their fortune in fine whiskey. She excited to be married and want him to her her maid of honor - much to the chagrin of her friends. A wedding to take place in Scotland at one of Colin's family estates.

All this time, Tom hasn't considered Hannah as more than a pal, but it was in her absence that he realizes how much she is a part of his life. She shares is interests and passions. The women he tires to fill in that void all crash and burn.

Before he was given the news - Tom was considering becoming more with his best pal. That now won't happen.

Tom's friends give the advice that he should be the best 'maid of honor' possible - so that she will see him in a different light, consider more than just a friend. He does, but it backfires on him. It makes her very firm on her decision - Tom is the best person for the job.

Days to the wedding; friends and family have traveled to Scotland for the wedding.

[JohnIan101]

Best Buy - August 17th, 2021


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[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - Nuclear Apocalypse '80s Style Part II




Same moment above - the differences are huge. A lot of artifact distortions and jagged edges. Plus the film is cropped. I did not expect that. Why? I don't know. On the right is the Kino version - holy crap so much was cropped out. You can now see all the various details like those pipes and fallout shelter sign.

There not much more to say. If you want to own this movie, don't bother with the MGM DVD. Oh - those still were just after the first nukes impacted.

I should, this is for some - unseen.

The movie is mostly focused on a middle of America town of Sweetsage, Missouri. We follow families and individuals who are dealing with the after effect of a nuclear exchange. Why Sweetsage? It was next door to a U.S. missile defense silo and near Kansas City - one of Russian targets.

This is a farm lands. We follow the Dahlberg family who was at the time getting ready for the wedding of their eldest daughter, various dress rehearsals. Nope. Nuke happens. Then this gears towards the dying and what happens when authority break down, even the loss of technology - the explosion created an EMP killing everything with a computer chip.

We are witnessing society coming undone. This is bleak, people die. And no, no happy ending. As I wrote, the living would envy the dead. [smiles] And no SkyNet.

This has some Hollywood tropes, but held strong in presenting a realistic 'what if', few punches pulled. Can imagine this movie made a lot of people upset and scared. Not just from the war, but from man's inhumanity to man. If you could put a label on it - 'life isn't fair'.

- - -

Okay I'm gonna shift a bit, but not by much. Once again, story...

So after the mega hit that was "The Day After", the Brits wanted their own version - what would happen to England if such a nuclear exchange happened? They opted to go more graphic with more gut punches with "Threads". The BBC (Two) aired on September 23rd 1984. This was a two hour movie.

Both "The Day After" and "Threads" are considered companion movies.

Their production could be considered a docudrama - what could happen to a working class city of Sheffield, England as society unravels from the deaths, hoarding and utter chaos.



Above is the home video ad; this was released as a remastered, special edition on DVD ($19.95) and Blu-Ray ($25.95) from Severin Films, Inc on January 30th, 2018. Extras are the same on each format.

Commentary with director Mick Jackson - moderated by film writer Kier-La Janisse and Severin Films’ David Gregory. Interview with actress Karen Meagher. Interview with director of photography Andrew Dunn. Interview with production designer Christopher Robilliard. Interview with teleplay writer Stephen Thrower and U.S. trailer.

Four months after broadcasting in England it aired in America and was the most watched basic cable program of its day, making history; [B]Superstation TBS[B] on January 13th, 1985. Unlike the U.S. film, this included the harsh after effects of a nuclear winter. Later it would air on PBS. It was a big deal, TBS presented the film without commercial breaks.

I have both TV movies on DVD; Kino and Severin. There is more. The movie was repeated on BBC (One) on July 31st, 1985; aired as part of their fortieth anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.

They didn't want just to re-air the program, they wanted more and found it. In 1966, during the Cold War, documentary filmmaker Peter Watkins was commissioned to do a docudrama about what could happen after a nuclear attack on Great Britain - to inform folks. It was called "The War Games". He didn't pull punches. The BBC said it was too much and refused to air it (too graphic).

Now it's '85. They were looking for additional content and rediscovered this unaired program. It took nineteen years, but Watkins' docudrama finally aired - aired before the movie. Sway.



On July 25th, 2006 it was released on DVD as a double feature - "The War Games/Culleden: The Cinema Of Peter Watkins" from New Yorker Video for $29.95. I have it, but have yet to watch. I paid thirty bucks for it in September of 2018. Now this is going for 'like new' for $50.39, used. It came with a commentary by Patrick Murphy and a booklet on the history of the production.

To be clear - this was screened at several film festivals, just not aired on TV.

There you go. Yeah, it's a gloomy post. Depressing stuff, but not woes are negative. Seek them out. Okay.

See you here on September 16th, 2021 - back to the normal stuff. And yeah, October is coming. Just saying. *wink*

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - Counting Your Money, After The Is Done Part II


What happened? I'm fuzzy on that. It wouldn't be until 1991 that the next installment came out. But not on CBS, now coming from NBC. I'm guessing rights were lost and the other network snatched it up. Like before this was about finding time in Roger's schedule to make it and having solid quality in the teleplay.

"The Luck Of The Draw" aired on November 3rd and 4th of '91. Like the productions for CBS this was another hit too. Can imagine their executives were ticked off for lost ratings.

The final entry was taken back to CBS with "Playing For Keeps" - another two parter, aired on October 2nd and 4th, of 1994. It was once again a solid hit for the network. But ended the decade long franchise. Why? These things even were nominated for emmies.

Kenny Rogers was getting up in age and these productions were hard for him to make; not a young man. He had a knee and shoulder injuries. So bad, during his concerts he would sit down. There were some talks about another installment.

Even coming up with the idea on why the character was moving slower with difficulties - Hawks was in a shootout, nearly was killed and took various injuries happening at the start of the next mini-series. But sadly this didn't happen. He fully retired in 2017 after finishing concert tour (ending in Nashville, Texas).

Kenny Rogers died on March 20, 2020 (10:25 p.m) at the age of eighty-one from bladder cancer.

The other reason for the failure was the drift; networks no longer believed audiences were interested in westerns. That pretty much was the final nail in the franchise.

Many like myself wish there was one more; a final mini-series, even killing off the character. Which would've been grand, a blaze of glory, perhaps done to save the country.

- - -



This wasn't the first time one of his songs were turned into a movie. After the first, CBS did it again with his other popular song, "Coward Of The County" (written by Rober Bowling and Billy Ed Wheeler) 1979. The stand alone TV movie aired October 7th, 1981 with Rogers in the lead role of Uncle Matthew.

He played a beta who after the rape of his would-be girlfriend (Largo Woodruff) rises up to do some justice. It was dark and set in the early 1940s.

You could say this is the sole extra in collection. As of writing, I haven't seen it. Never seen it. So it would be new to me.

I'm reminded of a lost adaptation.



Years ago this almost happened to singer Avril Lavigne; her hit song "Sk8ter Boi" (written by Lavigne, Lauren Christy, Scott Spock and Graham Edwards) 2002. There was going to be a theatrical feature based on it; announced in 2003. Produced by MTV Films and written by David Zabel (producer and series writer for the NBC series "ER") for Paramount.

Would Lavigne had starred in it? Don't know. She did some acting, minor - in various skits on "MadTV" and "Saturday Night Live".

The production was stuck in development hell for years - in April of 2008 the project was dropped. Too much time had passed. When the song first came out, it was an anthem for teens. A song about thwarted love because of cliques and prejudges.

As I understand the song is about her - she wrote about her life, switched the gender.

- - -

"The Gambler" universe is set in the Old West of the 1880s. Established poker player Brady Hawks makes his living by the cards and by his gun. He's hardly looking for trouble, but trouble finds him often. Beyond the deck, he's earned the respect of many, including the red men; a honest fellow.

No super hero, just a decent guy thrown in extraordinary circumstances.

Pretty much the only constant in the franchise is his partner, Billy Montana (Bruce Boxleitner). We meet him in the first one; he's a wanna be poker player - who wants to learn from the best - much to Brady's chagrin. The kid keeps trailing him. But proves to be an asset on his travels. They become friends; he tags along, less about poker, but because of the adventures Hawks gets himself into; excitements and escapades. And the women. *wink*

That's it. Cool exclusive. I'm happy.

Sorry about this being a day late. I'm in Southern California; for weeks it's been 104 -108 degrees here. Too hot to cool down the home. Only parts of the house could be air conditioned, no central air (or heat). Was in no mood to write or research. Did do the image work, but that's about it. So everything got delayed.

Sorry.

Come back here on September 30th, 2021 for another comparison post. Why? They're pretty easy to write and I have all the image work in the can. I need to start working on the 7th "Annual Limited Edition Horror". Yup, it's that time once more.