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Managing Editor Four films from a low-budget legend, yet another reality show and a new "man-boy" comedy are all in this week's DVD column. Hot Rod I gave up watching "Saturday Night Live" years ago, so I wasn't familiar with SNL cast member Andy Samberg who stars in this new comedy. Much to my surprise it actually had some laughs in it although in the interests of full disclosure I should note my wife thought the film was terrible. Samberg plays yet another in an increasing line of "man-boy" characters: adult men who are in some sort of arrested emotional development. In Samberg's case, his character, Rod, is attempting to be a stunt man like his deceased biological father without much success. His stepfather Frank (played with a maniacal charm by Ian McShane) constantly belittles him and beats him mercilessly in an on-going physical fight. When Frank falls ill and has no way to pay for a heart transplant, Rod vows to raise the necessary money so Frank will become better so he can finally beat Frank up. Naturally Rod is a goof, whose only friends are equal buffoons, but that doesn't stop him from attracting the attentions of his pretty next-door neighbor played by Isla Fisher. In real life unemployed twenty-somethings who are trying to earn their living by jumping over trucks on a moped always get the girl, right? While not a laugh-fest, "Hot Rod" does present some funny moments if you're willing to accept the off-kilter universe it presents. For more information, log onto www.paramount.com/ homeentertainment. Gene Simmons Family Jewels: The Complete Season Two God help me, I'm a sucker for reality shows. I'll watch 15 minutes of almost anything and if it doesn't make feel too guilty I get hooked. "Gene Simmons Family Jewels" is a show that has at least partially hooked me. I don't make a point of watching it, but when I stumble across it, I settle in. The premise is quite clever. On the surface, viewers are getting a behind-the-scenes look at the real life of the front man for KISS. We are introduced to his companion, actress and Playmate Shannon Tweed, and their two amazingly well adjusted children. When compared to The Osbournes, the Simmons-Tweed family is like "Ozzie and Harriet." And that's the real appeal of this show: it's actually a very old fashioned sitcom. In the 1950s and '60s there were plenty of shows in which the father was pretty much an idiot at times and Simmons, while a savvy businessman and performer, is often the butt of the jokes in the show. Many of the episodes show Simmons out of his element and he barely manages to keep his dignity intact. This humor and his obvious love for his two children are the core of the show and, for reality shows, it's almost wholesome. The three-disc set includes a bonus episode of unseen footage. For more information, log onto www.AETV.com. Sam Katzman: Icons of Horror Collection Horror film fans will undoubtedly snort in disgust at the idea that the uber-cheap producer Sam Katzman can be placed along the likes of Boris Karloff who also was the subject of an "Icon of Horror" collection. Katzman, whose began his producing career in 1934, churned out over 200 westerns, serials, comedies, dramas, science fiction and horror films. The majority of them were B-movies designed to be the second half of a double feature. They were movies produced to make money, not win awards, and many were just plain awful. This collection contains four films: "The Giant Claw (1957)," "Creature with the Atom Brain (1955)," "Zombies of Mora Tau (1957)" and "The Werewolf (1956)." They range from unintentionally hilarious to actually pretty damn good. The worst of the lot, "The Giant Claw," features a huge bird threatening the world. It can't be stopped because it is generating an anti-matter force field! It may have flown from outer space! You can see the strings holding it up! "Zombies" is set in Africa where an aged woman waits for the day her now zombie husband can find peace and stop guarding a fortune in diamonds. The climax of the film in which the diamonds are "destroyed" defies all logic. The other two films are actually enjoyable. "Creature" has a crime boss having his revenge on those who testified against him by using dead bodies animated by radioactivity and an electronic brain. The always-appealing Richard Denning stars as the hero. The best film of the lot is "The Werewolf," in which an innocent man is turned into a werewolf by a doctor bent on surviving the nuclear holocaust he believes will happen. Set in a mountain town, the film actually allows the starless cast the chance to deliver some realistic performances. The werewolf make-up and transformation scenes are all quite acceptable as well. I wonder if Katzman actually paid much attention to this film, as it's good! And to show just how strangely incompetent Katzman's productions could be, one of the extras is a chapter from Katzman's "Mysterious Island" serial. It's beyond description. For horror fans who like low-budget films, this collection should be on their Christmas shopping list. For more information, log onto www.sonypictures.com. |
