Bruce on a disc

By: Brian Thomas
Date: Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Last week Sony announced a new offering to try to save their struggling PSP platform: Memory Stick Duo Entertainment Packs. As anyone who owns one of these little boxes knows, it doesn't hold much on its own, but has a slot for a memory stick that can greatly expand its capacity. These new special 1G and 2G packs, available next month, come with a software DVD which contains software for unlocking and transferring one of four different movies to the stick in PSP format: HITCH, S.W.A.T., THE GRUDGE and XXX: STATE OF THE UNION (all but the last one living up to Sony's label as "hit" movies). It seems kind of chintzy of them to only allow one movie to unlock for the $60 or $100 it costs for the sticks, but the retail price could be adjusted for stand-alone discs. If they follow through, this may be a solution to the floundering of the UMD format. Buying a DVD with four movies on it that can be transferred to a Memory Stick would probably retail at a lower price than the current SRP of a UMD movie (currently about $28.98). It would be great for box sets, as you could get portable copies of all three MATRIX titles or a full season of TV episodes on one disc and use a quarter of your shelf space. Of course, this comes if you accept watching portable video in the first place, and are able to run both DVDs and Memory Sticks in your computer. All that doesn't yet add up to what could be called a mass market, but for those who are already set up, they may just have something worthwhile here.

Meanwhile, it's worthwhile for us to open the Prize Closet. Looky here! We've got 5 copies of THE PRETENDER Season 4 to give away, courtesy of Fox. To enter, send one email containing your name and mailing address to psycho@psychotronic.info with the word "HYNDE" in the subject line.

We've also got 2 copies of the teen cross-dressing comedy SHE'S THE MAN, courtesy of Paramount. For this one, put "BYNES DON'T CRY" in the subject line.

Universal, not to be left out, has provided us with one copy of AMAZING STORIES Complete First Season. Tag this entry with (what else?) "AMAZING".
We also have one copy of THE INCREDIBLE HULK Complete First Season. Of course, you should subject this entry with "INCREDIBLE".


SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK

Wow, Bruce Campbell's birthday was last month, yet here we have his two TV series both released in complete editions on the same day. I can't help but comment: Groovy! You can hear Bruce's voice in the upcoming CGanime feature THE ANT BULLY, in which he plays a Bruce Campbell type character who is an ant.

(O) THE ADVENTURES OF BRISCO COUNTY JR. Complete Series (Warner Bros.) Every episode of the late lamented 1993 sci-fi western action comedy starring Bruce Campbell as a, well, Bruce Campbell kind of character: a guy who pretends to be brave and capable, then has to somehow measure up to his act when he gets in over his head. Fox didn't know what to do with it, but now you can watch it anytime you want. 27 episodes on 8 discs, plus commentrak, booklet and featurettes.
(O) JACK OF ALL TRADES Complete Series (Universal) In this even less successful 2000 syndicated series, Campbell plays a wisecracking Zorro-like US spy fighting against Napoleon's efforts to colonize a Caribbean island in 1806. All 22 episodes on 3 discs.

NEW RELEASES


(O) THE AMAZING MR. X (Image) Turhan Bey is a fake spiritualist out to bilk a rich young widow in this atmospheric 1948 suspenser.
(O) AMAZING STORIES Complete First Season (Universal) 1985 Spielberg-produced fantasy anthology TV series that was a ratings and critical disappointment but employed and developed a lot of great talent.
(O) BLOODY BROTHERS (Image) 1994 Hong Kong action with a young couple trying to find friends lost in the world of Shanghai triads.
(O) CAMP BLOOD TRILOGY (Razor) Derivative slasher trilogy of CAMP BLOOD, CAMP BLOOD 2 and WITHIN THE WOODS, in which a deranged psycho clown stalks a summer camp.
(O) CARNIVALE Complete Second Season (HBO) Mythic dark fantasy series in a creepy old time carnival setting. Includes commentraks, documentary featurettes, panel discussion and more. Also available bundled with Season 1.
(O) THE CAVERN (Sony) While exploring a Russian cave system, spelunkers are stalked by something scary. So, there's this and THE CAVE, then DESCENT (which everybody says is the good one).
(O) THE DUDESONS MOVIE (Rhino) Feature version of the Finnish action comedy TV show about a "family" of demented daredevils.
(O) EDISON FORCE (Sony) Dirty cop drama in which Justin Timberlake leads a cast that includes Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, John Heard, Piper Perabo, Cary Elwes and Dylan McDermott. I'm sorry- - what?!?
(O) FILM NOIR CLASSICS COLLECTION 3 (Warner Bros.) BORDER INCIDENT, HIS KIND OF WOMAN, ON DANGEROUS GROUND, THE RACKET and LADY IN THE LAKE. Plus commentraks, featurettes and an exclusive documentary.
(O) HARD JUSTICE / OUTSIDE THE LAW (Image) David Bradley in an action twin bill.
(O) THE INCREDIBLE HULK Complete First Season (Universal) Bill Bixby brings surprising humanity to the role of a scientist whose experiments with gamma rays accidentally makes him turn into a raging green behemoth whenever he loses his temper. Repeats the pilot commentrak from its separate DVD release.
(O) THE LOCATOR (Maverick) Government assassin quits after being forced to kill his own partner, but finds there's no such think as retirement.
(O) LUCHA LIBRE DOUBLE FEATURE (BCI Eclipse/Brentwood) CHAMPIONS OF JUSTICE stars Blue Demon and four other Mexican wrestling heroes vs. evil super-midgets! MYSTERY IN BERMUDA teams Santo, Blue Demon and Mil Mascaras fighting crooks and aliens in the Caribbean. When both these Mexican wrestling features and several others were released on US DVD by Brentwood, I chastised them and other labels in this column for not spending a little extra for English subtitles which would no doubt double their sales. Now they've finally seen the light (in conjunction with Jack Black's NACHO LIBRE theatrical feature) and are re-issuing this double bill with optional English subtitles. Olé!
(O) MASTERS OF HORROR: Homecoming (Anchor Bay) Joe Dante's controversial political horror in which soldiers killed in a needless war come back from the dead to vote! Includes Making-Of featurettes, commentrak, interviews script and more.
(O) MR. JINGLES (Lionsgate) An innocent man gets out of prison and becomes a killer psycho clown.
(O) THE PEE-WEE HERMAN SHOW (Image) Paul Reubens' original Groundlings show that spawned a multimedia franchise, taped live for HBO in 1983.
(O) THE PRETENDER Season 4 (Fox) Jarod uncovers evidence of a DNA experiment involving his father in the final season. All 19 episodes plus commentrak and featurettes.
(O) RED LIPS: BLOODLUST (Inspired)
(O) RED LIPS: EAT THE LIVING (Inspired) Horror anthologies from Donald Farmer (VAMPIRE COP) in which vampire Maria Ortiz tells scary stories between snacks.
(O) ROADHOUSE (MGM) Deluxe edition of the cult fight flick starring Patrick Swayze as an honorable bouncer includes Swayze commentrak, featurette, deleted footage and more.
(O) ROADHOUSE 2 (MGM) Belated "sequel" features an entirely different cast (Jonathan Schaech, Will Patton, Jake Busey) at an entirely different roadhouse.
(O) SATAN'S SLAVE / CORPSE MASTER (BCI Eclipse/Brentwood) Another "Eastern Horrors" volume presents terror trash from Taiwan and Hong Kong.
(O) 7 MUMMIES (Image) Six Mexican convicts find a gold medallion that leads them to a treasure guarded by mummified Jesuit priests.
(O) SHE'S THE MAN (Paramount) Amanda Bynes puts on drag to get on the high school boys' soccer team. And no, this is a PG-13 picture, so no funny stuff. Widescreen & fullscreen editions include commentrak, deleted footage, gag reel, music video and more.
(O) SOME LIKE IT HOT (MGM) 2-disc collector's edition of Billy Wilder's classic 1959 comedy. Includes commentrak, Making-Of, featurettes, booklet, postcards and more.
(O) SYBIL (Warner Bros.) TV movie based on an extreme case of multiple personalities helped revive the career of Sally Field.
(O) TOPO GIGIO Volume 7 (Ventura) Italian mouse.
(O) ULTRAMAN Series 1 Volume 1 (BCI Eclipse) Alien lawman inhabits Earthling. He changes into a giant superhero to battle daikaiju! The uncut original 1966 series in both the original Japanese and English dub tracks. Fist 20 episodes on 3 discs, plus interviews, booklet, collector cards and more.
(O) WARNER BROS. PICTURES TOUGH GUYS COLLECTION (Warner Bros.) Includes BULLETS OR BALLOTS, CITY FOR CONQUEST, EACH DAWN I DIE, G-MEN, SAN QUENTIN and A SLIGHT CASE OF MURDER. With commentraks, featurettes, shorts, cartoons and more.

HD-DVD CORNER

(O) DUKES OF HAZZARD (Warner Bros.) Unrated. Includes commentrak, gag reels, featurettes, music video and more.
(O) ENTER THE DRAGON (Warner Bros.) Bruce Lee classic plus four documentaries, interviews and more.



And be sure to check back next weekand every weekfor CINESCAPE's DVD Shopping List! And don't forget Anime Avalanche every Saturday!

DVD Shopping List (© 2006 Brian Thomas) is our weekly DVD column. Brian Thomas is the author of the massive book VideoHound's DRAGON: ASIAN ACTION & CULT FLICKS, available now!

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at DVDShoppingList@cinescape.com.