Thought I’d check in real quick just before the holidays to give the lowdown on this week’s releases! So before I go off and do some grilling and set off some legally questionable pyrotechnics, here’s what’s new! (And I should still have all my fingers the next time I see you!) 
Barbarella (Blu-Ray)- This is it! The quintessential sexy Sci-Fi classic, now on Blu-Ray for the first time! Based on the famous European comic, it’s the movie that pretty much cemented Jane Fonda as a sex symbol for decades. Fonda plays Barbarella, an adventurer who works as an operative for Earth’s government in the distant future, using both her weapons skills and her feminine charms to protect Earth and the rest of the galaxy. In this movie, she must thwart the plans of the evil mad scientist, Durand Durand (Milo O’Shea), who threatens Earth with his Positronic Ray.
In addition to Fonda and O’Shea, the film also co-stars John Phillip Law (who would later go on to play Sinbad in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad opposite Tom Baker), Anita Pallenberg (a paramour of both Rolling Stones Keith Richards and Mick Jagger), and renowned mime Marcel Marceau. And yes, this is the movie from where the band Duran-Duran got their name!
God Bless America- A very dark and biting satire that was directed by Bobcat Goldthwait. Yes, THAT Bobcat Goldthwait!
The movie is about Frank Murdoch (Joel Murray), a middle-aged man who is told he is dying of brain cancer. Fired from his job, disgusted by the state of American popular culture and the obnoxious behavior of people in general, and feeling that he has nothing to lose, simply decides, “What the hell?” and goes across the country killing all those he doesn’t like. Obnoxious reality TV stars, people who talk on cell phones during the movies, Westboro Baptist Church-style religious fanatics; no one is safe. Eventually, he reluctantly takes on a protege in the form of a young teenaged girl named Chloe (Maddie Hasson), who quickly - and with disturbing enthusiasm - takes up his cause.
The movie could best be described as Falling Down meets Idiocracy meets Super. It’s not for everyone. But if you’ve ever looked with disgust at American Idol or The Jersey Shore, and just wished someone would put a bullet to their heads, then this movie’s probably for you.
Treasure Planet (Blu-Ray)- This was one of the lesser offerings from Disney to come out in the late '90s; a Sci-Fi retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, featuring spacegoing sailing ships and a cyborg Long John Silver. Not well-received at the time of its release, I consider it to be an underrated film, along with Disney’s other Sci-Fi animated adventure Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Definitely worth a look.
The Most Dangerous Game- I mentioned this movie before when I talked about The Hunger Games, but this is pretty much the original story about humans hunting other humans for sport. It was produced by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, who would make King Kong after this. The survivor of a shipwreck washes ashore on the island of an eccentric millionaire, only to find that he and a couple of other guests are to be quarry in his hunt.
The Entity (Blu-Ray)- This was a Horror movie that was released in 1981, and was purportedly based on real paranormal events that happened to a woman and her family in the 1970’s. Barbara Hershey plays Carla Moran, a divorced single mother living in southern California and raising her two sons, who suddenly begins to be violently sexually assaulted by something she cannot see. Eventually, scientists and parapsychologists arrive to investigate to find just who or what is responsible for the attacks. Is it a spirit? A being from another dimension? The movie never makes it clear, which is part of what makes it suspenseful.
Elvira’s Movie Macabre: Giant Monsters- The legendary Horror hostess with the equally legendary rack is back with another release of movies, this one dedicated to one of my favorite subgenres: Japanese giant monster movies (or Daikaiju). Of course, Elvira presents them complete with her snarky comments and double-entendres. I haven’t been able to find out just what movies are included on this set, but chances are it features at least one Gamera film!
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Vol. 1- This great set features some of the best and most fondly-remembered Warner Bros. classic animation shorts along with several documentaries on legendary animator and director Chuck Jones (including the acclaimed Chuck Amuck) and plenty of commentary. The shorts in this volume include…
Hare Tonic, Baseball Bugs, Buccaneer Bunny, The Old Grey Hare, Rabbit Hood, 8 Ball Bunny, The Rabbit of Seville, What’s Opera Doc?, The Great Piggybank Robbery, A Pest in the House, The Scarlet Pumpernickel, Duck Amuck, Robin Hood Daffy, Baby Bottleneck, Kitty Kornered, Scaredy Cat, Porky Chops, Old Glory, A Tale of Two Kitties, Tweetie Pie, Fast and Furry-ous, Beep-Beep, Lovelorn Leghorn, For Scent-imental Reasons, Speedy Gonzales, One Froggy Evening, The Three Little Bops, I Love to Singa, Katnip Kollege, The Dover Boys at Pimento University, Chow Hound, Haredevil Hare, The Hasty Hare, Duck Dodgers in the 24th 1/2 Century, Hare-Way to the Stars, Mad as Mars Hare, Devil May Hare, Bedevilled Rabbit, Ducking the Devil, Bill of Hare, Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare, Bewitched Bunny, Broomstick Bunny, A Witch’s Tangled Hare, A-Haunting We Will Go, Feed the Kitty, Kiss Me Kat, Feline Frame-Up, From A to Z-Z-Z-Z, Boyhood Daze, Fright Before Christmas, Spaced-Out Bunny, Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24th 1/2 Century, Another Froggy Evening, Marvin the Martin in the Third Dimension, Superior Duck, From Hare to Eternity, Father of the Bird, and Museum Scream.
That’s it for now. To everyone, have a happy 4th!