Not your typical MONSTER movie

Faithful readers will recall columns last year in which I was begging for new equipment, willing to sell out by saying nice things about plasma TVs and DVD players in exchange for "donated" products. Well, so far no manufacturers have taken me up on my generous offer, but I did get a "free" new DVD player as a promotion for signing up with a satellite TV service. So far, I'm very happy with the dish (though hopefully they'll update the software so it doesn't default to a screensaver after every nightly download), and the player well, the disc drawer doesn't close properly by itself. And while a lot of DVDs can freeze at the layer change, this player usually freezes for a whole minute at some point during a feature. And there are sometimes other glitches during video playback. But hey, it's kind of a cheap Norcent machine, just meant to take the workload off my old one, while giving me the ability to see some of the discs that the old one wouldn't play. It even does zooms!

Maybe next week I'll tell you about the new steamer my dear wife bought me though unfortunately this model doesn't play DVDs.

This week, our spotlight falls on one of America's most talked about serial killers.

(O) AILEEN: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (Columbia TriStar) [IMG2R]Nick Broomfield's documentary on infamous prostitute/serial killer Aileen Wuornos, updated to include the filmmaker's trial testimony.
(O) MONSTER (Columbia TriStar) Dramatization with Charlize Theron bagging an Oscar for her portrayal of Aileen. Terrifically cringe-inducing. Includes interviews and featurettes. Also available bundled with AILEEN.

(O) THE ADVENTURES OF FRANCIS THE TALKING MULE Volume 1 (Universal) Box set celebration of the US Army's secret weapon that inspired MR. ED, includes FRANCIS THE TALKING MULE, FRANCIS GOES TO THE RACES, FRANCIS GOES TO WEST POINT and FRANCIS COVERS THE BIG TOWN.
(O) ALI: Director's Cut (Columbia TriStar) Expanded version of the boxing biopic starring Will Smith. Includes director commentrak and Making-Of.
(O) BACK TO THE BEACH (Paramount) Campy, funny belated final entry in the AIP comedy series starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello.
(O) BEST OF BRUCE LEE & THE MARTIAL ARTS (GoodTimes) Bruceploitation set crams BRUCE THE SUPERHERO, BRUCE LEE: THE MAN THE MYTH, CHINESE CONNECTION, FISTS OF FURY, DRAGON STORY, and YOUNG BRUCE LEE onto two discs.
(O) BEST OF OUR GANG (GoodTimes) Eight hours of Spanky and company on two discs, including documentary featurette.
(O) BEST OF THE THREE STOOGES (GoodTimes) Six Stooges compilations crammed onto two discs.
(O) DAS BOOT: Original Uncut Version (Columbia TriStar) Two-disc set of the complete five-hour version of the hit submarine war movie, plus Making-Of.
(O) CATCH THAT KID (Fox) Three kids plan a daring bank vault heist to save sick Dad. Includes both screen formats, commentrak, deleted scenes, and an Oscar nominated cartoon short.
(O) CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK: PITCH BLACK (Universal) To promote the sequel, Universal has retitled PITCH BLACK for several different DVD releases: both theatrical and directors cuts are available in widescreen and fullscreen editions, all with a new commentrak, interviews, Making-Of, and a featurette on the direct-to-DVD animated feature available June 15.
(O) COCOON (Fox) Includes [IMG3L]commentrak with director Ron Howard and featurettes.
(O) COCOON 2: THE RETURN (Fox) Old folks are rejuvenated by aliens. Everybody hugs.
(O) COP LAND (Buena Vista) Sylvester Stallone is the easygoing sheriff of a small New Jersey town full of New York cops who suffers a crisis of conscience when he discovers some of those cops are criminals. Sharp action drama with Robert DeNiro, Ray Liotta and Harvey Keitel. Special edition includes commentrak, deleted scenes and Making-Of.
(O) THE CRUCIBLE (Fox) Winona Rider and other Salem pilgrim teens get caught up in witch hunting hysteria, pushing several innocents to the gallows. Includes Making-Of and interviews.
(O) DR. JEKYLL & MS. HYDE (HBO) Scientist Timothy Daly transforms into Sean Young in this 1995 comedy.
(O) DOCTOR WHO: The Curse of Fenric (BBC) Episode 158: The Doctor materializes in WW2 England at a secret base and battles a supernatural menace. New feature edition includes footage not included in the broadcast version and new f/x, plus commentrak, interviews, featurettes and more.
(O) DOCTOR WHO: The Two Doctors (BBC) Episode 141: Dr. Colin Baker runs into a past version of himself (Patrick Troughton), and together they battle aliens in 20^th century Seville. Includes commentrak and hours of video and audio featurettes.
(O) DRAGONHEART: 2 Legendary Tales (Universal) Bundles both movies together.
(O) THE DUKES OF HAZZARD: Complete First Season (Warner Bros.) First [IMG4R]13 episodes of this unaccountably popular redneck car chase series. Includes episode commentrak, reunion documentary, interviews, and video game trailer.
(O) EUROTRIP (DreamWorks) Goofball comedy in fullscreen R-rated, and unrated versions in both screen formats with two commentraks, deleted scenes and featurtettes.
(O) EVERYONE IS KUNG FU FIGHTING RELOADED (A55/Image) I loved the first collection of indie fu shorts, and this one promises more of the same, including commentraks, outtakes, etc. Delayed from last month.
(O) FIRESTARTER TWO MOVIE COLLECTION (Universal) This box set collects all two of the FIRESTARTER movies. Includes FIRESTARTER and FIRESTARTER: REKINDLED.
(O) FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR (Buena Vista) Hit 1986 sci-fi fantasy in which an alien-abducted boy returns as a super-genius.
(O) FLIRTING WITH DISASTER (Buena Vista/Miramax) Special edition of this fun comedy in which Ben Stiller learns he's adopted and hunts for his real parents.
(O) FREAKY FRIDAY (Buena Vista) 1976 body-switching comedy favorite, plus interview with star Jodie Foster and game. Also available bundled with 2004 remake.
(O) THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY (Columbia TriStar)
(O) THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY 2 (Columbia TriStar) The wacky adventures of a Kalahari Desert bushman, now available separately.
(O) HEAD ABOVE WATER (Warner Bros.) 1997 black comedy time-killer in which judge Harvey Keitel and wife Cameron Diaz discover a dead body in their vacation cabin, with suspicious neighbor Billy Zane lurking about, and everybody suspects everybody else of murder.
(O) HEART CONDITION (New Line) Racist cop Bob Hoskins gets heart transplant from dead donor Denzel Washington and is haunted by donor's ghost. Alleged hilarity ensues.
(O) HERBIE THE LOVE BUG COLLECTION (Buena Vista) Four-disc [IMG5L]box set features the precocious Volkswagen in THE LOVE BUG (special edition), HERBIE RIDES AGAIN, HERBIE GOES TO MONTE CARLO, and of course HERBIE GOES BANANAS.
(O) PERFECT STRANGERS (MGM) Quirky 1984 action drama from Larry Cohen in which a contract killer falls for the mother of a boy who witnessed his latest hit.
(O) POWER RANGERS DINOTHUNDER Volume 1: Day of the Dino (Buena Vista) Includes two NINJA STORM episodes.
(O) PUNKY BREWSTER Season 1 (Shout Factory) This 1984 kidcom was never mentioned during our survey of TV shows deserving seasoning. Never. Failed experiment at a 15-minute prime time sitcom went on to do well as a Saturday morning cartoon, two hours of which are also included, plus interviews.
(O) RABID (Ventura/Summerville House) In this 1977 David Cronenberg horror, Marilyn Chambers returns from surgery bearing a maddening, infectious parasite that causes havoc. Includes director commentrak and interview.
(O) SPECIAL EFFECTS (MGM) 1984 Larry Cohen thriller in which film director Eric Bogosian tries to revive his sagging career by filming a movie about a murder he's just committed.
(O) SPIDER-MAN (Columbia TriStar) Superbit edition of the action hit, plus exclusive commentrak with star Tobey McGuire!
(O) SPIDER-MAN: Deluxe Edition (Columbia TriStar) Yet another edition. This one has a bonus disc of stuff about the sequel and new video games.
(O) STARSHIP TROOPERS 2: Hero of the Federation (Columbia TriStar) The [IMG6R]war against the bugs continues more in a horror vein in this direct-to-video sequel to one of the most underrated sci-fi epics ever. Do you want to know more? A squad of troopers holds out in a keep on a stormy planet, but the greatest threat may come from within. Includes filmmaker commentrak and featurettes. Also available bundled with the original.
(O) SWEET KILLINGS (Madacy) A businessman/comics fan plots the perfect murder.
(O) TALONS OF THE EAGLE (Fox) 1992 action starring fitness guru Billy Blanks.
(O) TRAINSPOTTING (Buena Vista) Danny Boyle's hit feature about the adventures of a group of Scottish heroin addicts in a special two-disc edition that includes the uncut international edition, commentrak, interviews, deleted scenes, featurettes and more.
(O) VINTAGE MOVIE CLASSICS: HOLLYWOOD HOTTIES (Red) CHOICES (1981) and two German features, BOARDING SCHOOL (1978) and KILL CRUISE (1990). Not "vintage", "Hollywood" or "classics".

And finally, we close off each weekly list with a rundown of the constant stream of anime from around the world:

(O) CAPTAIN HERLOCK Volume 3: The Decimated Planet (Geneon) Space pirate action, plus a bonus pencil board.
(O) COSPLAY COMPLEX (ADV) [IMG7L]Three-part OVA chronicles the comic adventures of folks who like to dress up like anime characters.
(O) GEISTERS Volume 1: Fractions off the Earth (Crash) Faced with an approaching asteroid, Earthlings take refuge deep underground and in outer space. They return to Earth's surface to face a hostile new dominant life form. The first release on the Anime Crash label includes collector cards, insignia pin and mail-in coupon for a free talking figure.
(O) INU-YASHA Volume 17: Shattered Memories (Viz)
(O) INU-YASHA Volume 18: The Demon Within (Viz) Three episodes each.
(O) KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD: The Movie (AnimEigo) Feature length conclusion to the popular TV series. Delayed from last month.
(O) KNIGHTS OF THE ZODIAC Volume 4: The Fire of the Phoenix (ADV) This update of SAINT SEIYA is shown edited on Cartoon Network, but here are four more uncut episodes.
(O) MEGAZONE 23 Volume 1 (ADV) 1985 OVA in which a borrowed motorcycle reveals an incredible conspiracy is said to be a major inspiration for THE MATRIX. Butchered long ago for a feature release, now the original version is finally available again. Also available with collector box.
(O) ORPHEN Season 2: Revenge Volume 5 (ADV) Based on the hit fantasy novels that spawned the popular Playstation game. Includes poster and outtakes.
(O) POKÉMON: JIRACHI: Wishmaker (Buena Vista) New feature includes music videos and trivia game.
(O) ROUGHNECKS: STARSHIP TROOPERS CHRONICLES: Trackers (Columbia TriStar) Five more episodes of the Emmy-nominated CGI sci-fi series based on the novel by Robert Heinlein.
(O) SONIC X Volume 1 (Funimation) The video game hedgehog hero returns.
(O) SPIDER-MAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES Volume 1: The Mutant Menace (Columbia TriStar) Three episodes.
(O) SPIDER-MAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES Volume 2: High Voltage Villains (Columbia TriStar) Three episodes.
(O) SPIDER-MAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES Volume 3: Ultimate Face-off (Columbia TriStar) Three [IMG8R]episodes.
(O) SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS: SpongeGuard on Duty (Paramount) Eight episodes.
(O) STEEL ANGEL KURUMI: Complete Series (ADV) Includes 40 mini-episodes, featurettes, interviews, commentrak and more.
(O) TENCHI MUYO GXP Volume 3: Captain Seina Yamada (Funimation) Amane encounters pirates during training in space.
(O) WEDDING PEACH Volume 3: Spring Storm (ADV) From the creators of SAILOR MOON.
(O) WINSOR McCAY: The Master Edition (Image) Collection of animation from top cartoonist and pioneering silent era cartoon superstar McCay, with commentrak and documentary by animator John Canemaker.
(O) YU-GI-OH! Battle City Duels: Double Duel (Funimation)

(O) YU-GI-OH! Battle City Duels: Mime Control (Funimation)
(O) YU-GI-OH! Season 2 Volume 5 (Funimation)
(O) YU-GI-OH! Season 2 Volume 6 (Funimation)