School is Out

This week's column is dedicated to John Thonen, who passed away recently at the young age of 51. John was the very talented creator of this column's predecessor "Vidiocy", which had a long run on Cinescape.com and has been a big influence. Not much more you can say except that he'll be greatly missed and our condolences go out to his family.

Let's cheer up with one of the most exhilarating comedies of recent years:

(O) SCHOOL OF ROCK (Paramount) Jack [IMG1R]Black stars in a surprisingly joyful comedy about a slacker musician who makes the most of a stolen opportunity as a substitute teacher at an exclusive school. Includes commentrak by Black and director Richard Linklater, another by the kid stars, music video, featurettes and more, in widescreen and fullscreen editions.

(O) AQUANOIDS (York) Unofficial remake of HUMANOIDS OF THE DEEP. Includes director's commentrak.
(O) BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS (Buena Vista) 30^th anniversary restored special edition of this 1971 Disney live-action/cartoon feature that tried to recapture the magic of MARY POPPINS. Includes Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts, featurettes, and more.
(O) A BETTER TOMORROW 1 & 2 (Anchor Bay) Two-pack collects two gangster dramas that made the reputation of director John Woo and star Chow Yun-fat.
(O) BLOOD ISLAND VACATION (Image) In the late 1960s, Independent International released a series of outrageous horror films made in the Philippines by the team of Eddie Romero and Gerardo de Leon, starring former teen idol John Ashley battling a variety of monsters on cursed Blood Island, and this highly recommended box set has 'em all: BRIDES OF BLOOD, MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND, BEAST OF BLOOD, and Al Adamson's unofficial follow-up BRAIN OF BLOOD. Includes commentraks, interviews, and plenty of [IMG2R]trailers.
(O) CHAPLIN COLLECTION 2 (Warner Bros.) This volume box includes CHAPLIN REVUE (the shorts A DOG'S LIFE, SHOULDER ARMS, and THE PILGRIM edited into a single feature), THE CIRCUS, CITY LIGHTS, THE KID, KING IN NEW YORK/ A WOMAN OF PARIS and MONSIEUR VERDOUX. All available separately.
(O) COLD CREEK MANOR (Buena Vista) Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone move their family from the big city into a huge old country house, and run into trouble when bankrupt ex-owner Stephen Dorff gets out of prison and starts hanging around. With director's commentrak, deleted scenes, inferior alternate ending, interviews and more.
(O) CURDLED (Buena Vista) Cheerful crime scene cleaner Angela Jones starts putting clues together in murders committed by serial killer William Baldwin in this offbeat feature. Includes commentrak, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes footage, shorts, and more.
(O) DARK WATERS (DEJ) Lorenzo Lamas faces a pack of rogue sharks attacking an oil rig.
(O) DOCTOR FAUSTUS (Columbia TriStar) Elizabeth Taylor plays a demoness who seduces and destroys Richard Burton, just like in real life.
(O) DOCTOR WHO: SEEDS OF DEATH (BBC) Episode 48: humanity is dependent on instant travel, until something breaks down. With commentrak, deleted scenes, rediscovered footage from early episodes and [IMG3L]more.
(O) DOCTOR WHO: THE THREE DOCTORS (BBC) Episode 65, with commentrak, interviews and more.
(O) THE GNOME-MOBILE (Buena Vista) 1967 fantasy about magical creatures discovered in the California Redwood Forest that reteamed child stars Matthew Garber and Karen Dotrice with their MARY POPPINS co-star Ed Wynn.
(O) GOOD BOY! (MGM) A kid learns that his dog and his pals are really invaders from another planet.
(O) HOUSE OF DIES DREAR (Goldhil) A family moves into a house haunted by a Civil War era abolitionist's ghost.
(O) LADY SNOWBLOOD (AnimEigo) Acclaimed samurai revenge saga should please fans of KILL BILL (which borrows from its soundtrack). Available from the AnimEigo website.
(O) LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION (Warner Bros.) Brendan Fraser and Bugs Bunny both struggle against the machinations of evil studio exec Steve Martin. Widescreen and fullscreen editions come with additional scens, alternative ending, behind-the-scenes featurettes, a bonus short, and more.
(O) MUTANT X: Season 1 Discs 10 & 11 (ADV Films) Episodes 119-122.
(O) SAMOURAIS (DEJ) A Euro-samurai fantasy movie? That appears to be the case, from the producers of SWIMMING POOL, no less, with martial arts star Yasuaki Kurata in a major role and music by Kenji Kawai (RINGU).
(O) SPACECAMP (MGM) Kate Capshaw teaches Lea Thonpson and 4 other teens how to be astronauts.
(O) STARGATE SG-1: Season 6 (MGM) 22 episodes, commentraks, and behind-the-scenes [IMG4R]featurettes.
(O) STARSKY & HUTCH: Complete First Season (Columbia TriStar) This inane '70s buddy cop show featured plenty of car chases up and down the same alley, and was a big hit just like every other Aaron Spelling show. Five-disc set cashes in on the S&H-mania surrounding the movie version with a full season, plus star commentraks (David Soul, Paul Michael Glaser AND Antonio Fargas) and featurettes.
(O) THREE STOOGES & THE LAW (Columbia TriStar) Five litigious shorts.
(O) ULTRAMAN TIGA Volume 2: Fugitive from Beyond (FUNimation) Another [IMG6L]dozen or so episodes from a recent incarnation of Ultraman, uncut, in Japanese with English subtitles.
(O) WALK LIKE A MAN (MGM) Howie Mandel thinks he's a dog in this howlingly unfunny comedy.
(O) WALT: THE MAN BEHIND THE MYTH (Buena Vista) Take a break from the turmoil within the Walt Disney Studios by reflecting on the man who founded it via this documentary.
(O) WITHOUT A CLUE (MGM) Sherlock Holmes spoof with Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley.

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

(O) ADVENTURES OF BATMAN & ROBIN: The Joker /Fire & Ice (Warner Bros.) Four [IMG5R]episodes.
(O) ADVENTURES OF BATMAN & ROBIN: Poison Ivy / The Penguin (Warner Bros.) Four episodes.
(O) ALL-PURPOSE CULTURAL CAT GIRL NUKU NUKU TV Volume 1: Keep the Peace on Earth! (ADV Films) Not to be confused with the Nuku Nuku OVA series. Get 'em all!
(O) BARBIE FANTASY TALES (Artisan) Box set of two-fisted Barbie action as the Mattel flagship toy stars in RAPUNZEL, SWAN LAKE and NUTCRACKER.
(O) BATMAN BEYOND: School Daze / Spellbound (Warner Bros.) Six episodes.
(O) BATMAN BEYOND: Tech Wars / Disappearing Inque (Warner Bros.)
(O) CORRECTOR YUI Volume 4: Network of Spies (Viz) Four episodes.
(O) COWBOY BEBOP Volume 6 (Bandai) Four more episodes of the acclaimed interplanetary bounty hunter series.
(O) FINAL FANTASY: UNLIMITED Phase 4 (ADV Films) Fighting the world-eater Chaos.
(O) .hack//SIGN Volume 6: Terminus (Bandai) Heading towards final battle with Morgana. Also available as a 2-disc limited edition that includes bonus episodes.
(O) INU-YASHA Volume 15: Broken Fang (Viz) Inuyasha faces a mind-reading demon.
(O) KIKAIDER 01: Another Journey (Bandai) Jiro comes up against an evil mad scientist and his superweapon.
(O) LUCY MUST BE TRADED, CHARLIE BROWN (Paramount) Two baseball themed Peanuts specials: CHARLIE BROWN'S ALL STARS and IT'S SPRING TRAINING, CHARLIE BROWN.
(O) ORPHEN: REVENGE Season 2 Volume 3 (ADV Films) Orphen fights in alternate realities.
(O) PROJECT ARMS Volume 8: Twas Brillig (Viz) Three episodes of this sci-fi series with a Lewis Carroll flavor.
(O) SUPER GALS! Rule #5: It's Okay to Have a Change of Heart (ADV Films) Fighting supervillains, maintaining secret identities, shopping.
(O) TRANSFORMERS ARMADA: Best Battles (Rhino)

(O) TRANSFORMERS ARMADA: Flashbacks (Rhino)
(O) YOU'RE UNDER ARREST! Box Set 4 (AnimEigo)
(O) ZORRO: First Encounter / Beastly Battle / High Seas Hero (Warner Bros.) Cartoons about Zorro.