DARK CITY The Director's Cut

I can remember the first time I saw a trailer for this film. My first thought was;
"Is that Richard O' Brian?"
Being a huge Rocky Horror fan I knew I'd need to see this. O'Brian is pretty creepy in this flick, but Kiefer Sutherland manages to out do him in overall creepiness. While I would like to tell you what the movie is about I think that any explanation would ruin it. Plus, for those of you that have seen this, I have news. Whether you look at it s good or bad is your opinion. This is the director's cut so we have an additional fifteen minutes that actually manages to change the film quite a bit and make it, for me anyway, a little more palatable in the process. This is incredible stuff and deserves the new release because it is, in effect, a new film because of the additional footage.
And if that wasn't enough, you get three commentaries. Some behind the scenes stuff and a whole lot more in a film that has deserved this treatment for years. It's good to see that the folks over at Warner Brother's have done this for what is one of my favorite weird films.

FREAKAZOID! CHIMPANZEE!

The theme song to this show from the 90's is probably most memorable for it's theme song. Hit the right age group and most peoiple can sing the tune at the very least. But, is what makes a show memorable it's theme song? No, but it sure don't hurt.
Freakzoid tells the tale of Dexter Douglas who is swept into Internet land and beomes the wacky hero that goes by that freaky name. Freakazoid!
Thanks to the lovely folks at Warner Brothers we get season one in a great box set. This is a really great way to watch the show with a mini marathon. My family blew through the set in a few days and loved every frame of it. The comedy is in your face goofy and funny as heck. Spielberg put his name on this and you can see why. Like The Animaniacs, this is a labor of love with all involved. Definitley one of the better cartoon series to come out of the nineties and there weren't many.
Floyd The Barber cuts his hair. Freakazoid! Freakazoid! Come on sing it with me and go get this set. It's worth every penny.

Check out this clip for some of the fun with commentary included.

HAROLD AND KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY

I have to admit that I saw this one first in the theater. I had never seen the first one where they went to White Castle. Did that ruin this for me? No, it's reminiscent of the string of stoner comedies that sprang from the minds of Cheech and Chong, but on a smarter level. That's right, I said that Harold and Kumar were smart. What of it? Of course the break away performance for this one would have to be Rob Cordry as the head of national security. He is insane throughout the course of this film.
Now the fun with the two disc set. First, it's unrated. This is a good thing. Second they do a choose your own adventure kind of thing where you get to choose how the movie goes. This is definitely fun.
There are tons of extras on the two disc set and Neil Patrick Harris makes this the must have movie of the summer. I would even go so far as to say that this one is better than the first.

THE WOMBAT!!

Many moons ago I used to hang at this place called The Comic Works. We chatted about comics, drew comics and other fun stuff. I met quite a few characters there that I still know to this day. One of them is Neil Bryer. He used to do a comic called The Crime Fighting Monk. I thought the monk ruled and was always glad to see a new issue.
Now Neil is online with another comics called Wombat. Wombat is pretty funny if I say so myself. Currently, he is on his way to Chicago Comic Con and the adventure is just beginning.
I ran into Neil today while going to get coffee. He gave me a cool Wombat trading card and I thought, 'Hey! I write for a site devoted to all things comic. Why don't I pimp his comic?' So, that's this in a nutshell.
Go HERE and see the fun for yourself. You'll be glad you did.

THE NEW WIGGLES DVD CONTEST!!

That's right, something for the little ones in the audience. We have three of these to give away top the first three people who email me with the name of the newest Wiggle. Have fun and I look forward to giving these away!

SCOOBY DOO AND THE GOBLIN KING

First, check this out:

Title: Scooby-Doo and the Goblin King

Street Date: September 23, 2008

Synopsis: What a predicament! The Amazing Krudsky, whose carnival tricks are anything but, steals the light magic from Princess Fairy Willow and it’s up to Scooby-Doo and Shaggy to stop him or everyone will be turned into horrible Halloween monsters! Our heroes board the Grim Reaper Railroad bound for the fantastic world of Halloween Land to retrieve the powerful Goblin Scepter from the Goblin King before Krudsky can. Along the way, the Mystery Inc. crew encounters the infamous Headless Horseman, the helpful Jack O’Lantern and a frisky broomstick that takes them on the ride of their afterlife. Your house will shake with enchanted creatures and weird worlds in this merry animated adventure where hobnobblin’ with a goblin is frightful fun!

An amazing cast including: Hayden Panettiere, Jay Leno, Lauren Bacall, Tim Curry, Jim Belushi + more
That sounds cool! To make it more fun here's a trailer for the flick here.

CARTOON ROUNDUP

Warner Brothers has been busy! With the release of three sets of DVDs sure to appeal to everyone. First up is SHAGGY AND SCOOBY DOO GET A CLUE Volume 2. This second in the series follows our erstwhile duo as they fight the evil of Dr. Phineas Fives. I like the art of the new series and the idea of having a continuing villain is something that is usually not explored in the Scooby Doo Universe. Kind of a refreshing change of pace. Does it compete with the original? No, but what can? That being said, this is a pretty good series and the little kids will love it.
Next, with all the Batman stuff hitting us we get the fifth and final series of THE BATMAN. From the creepy title song to the vast array of villians with new, weird looks, The Batman is probably one of my favorite Batman series. I like the way the artwork looks and the storylines are always fun. This season has a lot of Justice League members in it which makes it my personal favorite. It's a shame they cancelled the series after this season because I really never got tired of this one. Something to definitely look for.



Finally we get the fifth season of TEEN TITANS. I love the anime styles of the characters and the wild, eclectic story telling that goes on in this series. There are little things that tie the series together as a whole, but at the same time you can enjoy every episode as an individual. Not an easy feat to manage and a definite plus for any series. TEEN TITANS is a personal fave at The Waltz household and the episodes rocket by at a dizzying pace. Serious blends effortlessly with funny, again not an easy trick.
All of these are on sale now and worth adding to your collection.

THE MACHINE GIRL

FEVER DREAMS Films Presents a TOKYO SHOCK/NIKKATSU Production
Written and Directed by Noboru Iguchi
2007 "The Machine Girl"

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If you've suddenly stumbled into Japanese Splatter films and, for some bizarre reason, you've decided to view it purely for the dialog, well, you're in it for far beyond the wrong reason. Conversely, if you've grabbed a Asian Gore flick specifically for the geysers of Franco-American spaghetti sauce-hued blood that rampantly encompass the genre, well my friend, you are in the right place.
As I sat down to view THE MACHINE GIRL, it was pretty obvious from the pictures I saw in Rue Morgue that I was going to see a girl with a machine strapped to her arm. More to the point: A MACHINE GUN! Now that's quality entertainment. So, from the get go we see Ami Hugo (Minase Yashiro) taking on a group of baddies and literally shredding each and every one to slaw with her amazing use of the aforementioned machine gun arm extension. And so the veritable blood pool that this film is begins: right from the very get go.
As we find out in a massive flashback, Ami's brother Yu and his friend Takashi get mixed up with some young members of the Japanese Yakuza (what else) and manage to find themselves free falling to their untimely demises from the roof of a rather tall building. Now, the real aside here that ends up becoming more and more of the story itself is the fact that the Yakuza/Ninja clan, led by smart-ass punk kid, Sho Kimura, are almost vampiric in their desire to prove their 'blood lines' and even manage to swig back a few swallows of daddy's blood. Outstanding. Anyway, with the belief that this will grant them great power, the Ninja/Yakuza continue to torment the innocent and Ami decides, no, must seek revenge.
Ami begins her quest by questioning a friendlier member of the Yakuza/Ninja clan who was once actually a playmate to her brother. However, since everyone thinks her and Yu' parents were murders (falsely accused begat suicide story.. sad really), they do little to help and end up Tempura-frying her arm (silly but quite painful to witness) which, inevitably, leads to their gruesome deaths. In fact, in a quite memorable scene, the boy's mother opens a miso soup pot only to find her son's head floating around and much to her surprise, she is gouged through the back of the neck through the mouth and watches her own vomit/bile/organs spill out into the pot. Dinner is served!
Well, as all good revenge movies offer up, Ami is captured by the Yakuza and tortured particularly brutally by (let's go ladies) the mother of the clan consequently losing her arm in the process. Once escaping, Ami manages to track down Takashi's family who, in exchange for her guarantee to systematically slaughter those who wronged them, help her back to health and construct her the very machine gun with which she ultimately exacts her vengeance. Once Miike (Takashi's mom) and Ami start whittling down the opposition, with a fair nod to Sam Raimi, the two use, in various ways, a chainsaw attachment meant for Ami's stump. In fact, just as a weapon in and of itself, it comes in quite handy not only bifurcating a Yakuza, but also halving the heads of Sho and his mother after a rather nasty slice-and-dice with a drill bra! No, I am not kidding.
All of this comes to a nice head with an ending that could, for all intents and purposes, bring on a sequel and, as we of fans of the genre know, the Japanese horror folks love them some sequels. So, sit back and enjoy plumes of pretty-colored body fluid and ichor, and laugh heartily at the exquisitely shitty dialog slightly lost (ha!) in its translation. find this flick, you'll be glad 'Yu' did. See what I did there?

BATMAN - GOTHAM KNIGHT

Tomorrow is probably one of the more significant dates for any true fan of Batman. Warner Bros. is releasing BATMAN-GOTHAM KNIGHT. The excellent combination of our time honored Dark Knight with the anime stylings of the masters of the business. Batman-Gotham Knight gives us a series of short films that are connected. It definitely exists in the Batman Begins universe. We get more information on Scarecrow as well as some supporting characters from the film.
The PG-13 rating gives the animated film an edge that is missing from most animated features. There is a scene where Bruce Wayne is volunteering at a hospital and the doctor is operating on a man with no anesthetic. It's pretty gruesome, but helps to show us who Bruce Wayne/Batman is and why he chose the path that he did.
The six short films speed by at a rapid rate and the running time of 75 minutes flies by in what feels like half the time.
DC did a good job with the first PG-13 cartoon in the Justice League film, but this one hits it out of the park. Long time fans will never look at Batman the same way again.
It hits the shelves tomorrow and I advise that you get yours fast because this one is not going to be gathering much dust. In the single disc, double disc and Blu-Ray options there are a few choices when it comes to what you get. Of course, if you have a Blu-Ray player I recommend the Blu-Ray version.

DUKES OF HAZZARD DOUBLE FEATURE!!

Just when you thought that that was all there was with the release of the seasons of Dukes Of Hazzard and the release of the revamped, and horribly inferior, series based on the original, comes the completion for all true Hazzard completists. That's right, it's the two movies that went a little like this;

The Dukes of Hazzard series originally aired on CBS from 1979 – 1985 and was #1 in its time slot for six of the seven seasons on air. Reunion! (original air date: 4/25/97) brings the original cast back home to Hazzard County, only to discover a plot by crooked developer Josephine ‘Mama’ Max (Stella Stevens) to destroy Hazzard Swamp and turn it into a theme park. Before the swamp critters can be left high and dry, good ‘ole boys Bo Duke (John Schneider) and Luke Duke (Tom Wopat) vow to put a stop to the plans and must dust off the General Lee and win a cross-country moonshine race to do so. The plot thickens when Mama Max stops at nothing to prevent the Duke Cousins from competing in the race, including kidnapping Daisy (Catherine Bach). Will Hazzard Swamp be saved or will Mama Max triumph in her evil ways?

The Duke Boys head west in Hazzard in Hollywood (original air date: 5/19/00) to sell musical recordings in order to raise money to build a new hospital in Hazzard County. However, their plan goes awry when their belongings are stolen and they realize their big-time recording deal is with some shady 'fellas. Russian gangsters, mysterious hit men and vicious loan sharks make the Dukes Boys’ mission to retrieve their music a bit of a challenge. Bo and Luke will have to use their quick wit to overcome the fraud they encounter on this wild ride.

Sounds like the new Dukes movie stole more than a little plot and tweaked it for their own satisfaction. But why settle for that when you can have all the original cast members back in roles that you know you love them in.

Penguin Comics is so excited about this release that we are gonna have us a contest. I've got some copies of this two disc DVD set to give away. I'll make it easy for everyone. Send me an email at dwaltzwriter@yahoo.com and tell me the basics for making moonshine. The first set of people that do that get a DVD set as long as supplies last.

Oh yeah, one last thing; YEAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Man I feel like I'm in the General Lee when I do that.