Success of 'Running with Scissors' doesn't carry over
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Real life Author Augusten Burrorughs (right) and actor Joseph Cross
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By G. Michael Dobbs
Managing Editor
A really awful "comedy" with a western Massachusetts connection, four film noir entries from Great Britain and a new collection of "Reno 911" are featured in this week's DVD column.
Hammer Film Noir Double Feature, Volumes Four and Five
Say the word "Hammer" around older horror film fans, one usually you get an immediate and appreciative response. The British production company won worldwide fame for its films such as "Horror of Dracula" and "The Curse of Frankenstein" starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.
VCI Entertainment is pulling a bit of a fast one by calling this series of crime drama "Hammer films," as they were produced before the company was formed under that name. Although these films were produced by Anthony Hinds, who also produced many Hammer films, and have some key Hammer technicians, they are not Hammer films.
And since they are crime dramas, instead of being horror or science fiction, they aren't even the sorts of films with for which Hammer is known.
Each film features an American actor as star so the film would be more accepted in the lucrative American market. Volume Four includes Dan Duryea in "Terror Street," and Zachary Scott in "Wings of Danger." Volume Five has John Ireland in "The Glass Tomb" and Dane Clark in "Paid to Kill."
Of the four films all crime dramas in which innocent men are thrust into a situation not of their making I enjoyed "The Glass Tomb" because of its sideshow setting. Ireland plays a small-time promoter of an interesting act a man who is locked into a makeshift apartment and starves for 70 days. Ireland was an actor who could play an outsider well and he does so here.
My other favorite was "Wing of Danger," directed by Hammer star director Terrance Fisher. It's perhaps the most "noir-ish" of the four films and has the most visual style.
"Paid to Kill" was easily the worse with Clark sleep-walking through his role, while "Terror Street" has an absolutely ridiculous plot.
If you're die-hard Hammer fan or a very hard-core B-movie fan these films might be of interest.
For more information, log onto www.vcient.com
"Reno 911!: Most Wanted Uncensored"
Okay, I have admitted several times in this column of my love for this improv show that parodies "Cops," and this collection is a welcomed addition to my shelf.
That being said, if you already own the other collections of "Reno 911!," there is little reason to buy this collection.
This is a "best of" volume whose principal attraction is the fact there are no "bleeps" and you can hear the actors swear.
Now, that's not a great incentive to buy it if you already have the other collections.
It's funny stuff, but it's the same funny stuff we've seen before in a new package.
For more information, go to ww/comedycentral.com
Running with Scissors
Author Augusten Burroughs made a huge literary splash a couple of years ago with the publication of his memoir on his childhood titled "Running with Scissors."
The book tells the story of how his mentally ill mother decided her crackpot therapist should raise him during his teen years. Reviewers found the book darkly humorous and harrowing, but ultimately uplifting as it told a story of survival and triumph.
The movie was released last year and I meant to go to it not because I was a fan of the book I hadn't read it but because Burroughs lives in Amherst and was raised in western Massachusetts. His brother owns a business in Springfield and his mother lives in Shelburne Falls. The local ties were intriguing.
Even more interesting is the article in the January edition of "Vanity Fair" that claimed much of what is presented in the book and movie isn't exactly true.
The film is also supposed to be a comedy and a story of a survivor, but I thought it was one of most wretchedly self-indulgent films I've ever seen. Director and screenwriter Ryan Murphy the creator of "Nip Tuck" on television apparently believes he is telling a true story, but his characters have the depth of those in a poorly written comic book.
Mom (Annette Bening) is a deeply delusional woman who dreams of being a famous poet. Dad (Alec Baldwin) is an alcoholic professor. Dr. Finch (Brian Cox) is a quack. His wife Agnes (Jill Clayburgh) is downtrodden and their two daughters (Gwyneth Paltrow) and (Evan Rachel Wood) are messed up.
Augusten (Joseph Cross) is the innocent who must endure all of the adult angst. He discovers he is gay and sleeps with a guy twice his age. Somehow a relationship between a 15 year-old and a 30 year-old is dubbed as "love" rather than pedophilia.
You know I try to be open-minded, but child abuse and pedophilia aren't funny not even darkly funny. This film is a major mis-fire.
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