Ruth Rendell Mysteries 1
Acorn media
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries(Acorn Media) are...mysterious. Sort of as if Stephen King and Agatha Christie had spawned. And the first two in the set, Master of the Moor and Vanity Dies Hard, are flat depressing. I mean stick your head in the oven AND cut your throat to be sure it takes depressing. Put my sixties paranoia into full bloom. They all seem so nice whereas they are sea-bags full of nuts and twisted psyches all living in sweet little towns. Yikes.
The pleasant looking young man in Master of the Moors (Colin Firth) spends all his time in the bogs and heath when he's not sleeping with his bride of four years, which he never does we find out when she takes a lover, the new guy in town who runs the pet store. He began romping about the boonies when his mother took off when he was a sprout, she showing the best sense of anyone in the piece, turning he and his old man adlepated. Suddenly the bodies of young women who bear a striking resemblance to Mum start showing up in the heather as well and our boy comes under suspicion. Wonder why?
This one will keep you guessing, and you'll probably be wrong...sort of.
A pretty good whodunit by most standards that is kicked up several notches by the introduction of the copper, D. I. Manciple, played by one George Costigan. Damn, this guy is good. When he first comes on the scene in part one you think: 'OK, I have now seen the biggest horses ass ever put on film' only to have him completely redeem himself thereafter. A remarkable bit of acting. This guy's my new hero.
Directed by Marc Evans. More on him further on.
Vanity Dies Hard, starring Eleanor David and Mark Frankel, follow two old friends, one rich, the other bankrupt. When the poor one disappears, the rich one suspects foul play and starts snooping, suspecting everyone including her uncle and new (and much younger) husband. And so do you.
This one was directed by Alan Grint, who with the above mentioned Marc Evans, has what can only be described as an obsession with full screen close-ups of actors with no make-up. After about the twenty-third of these (each) you want to lob something heavy at the TV and book a flight to England to commit some murders of your own. No one can stand up under this sort of thing. Stop doing it or some night a stranger may step out of the shadows with a blunt object...hmm, might have a book of my own working here.
The Secret House of Death and The Double are shorter but in no way inferior. House finds Susan Townsend (Amanda Redman) stumbling onto a murder/suicide in the house across the way with unforeseeable consequences and Double (Camilla Power in a duel role)looks at seeing your twin and those reputed ramifications. Both a bit more conventional than the first two, with Secret House of Death having the most action.
Extras consist of a bio of Ruth Rendell and cast filmogrophies.
Lee Crawford
Click here to purchase Ruth Rendell Mysteries from Amazon.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
DVD Review: Ruth Rendell Mysteries 1
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Updates to the DVD Calender this last week.
This last week saw the additions of
Alpha Dog (05/01)
Revenge: Director's cut (05/08)
Donnie Brasco: Extended edition (05/08)
Mission Impossible: Season Two (06/05),
Diagnosis Murder - Second season (06/05),
Walker, Texas Ranger: the complete third season (06/12),
The Hardy Boys Nancy Drew Mysteries: Season Two (06/12)
The Original Nancy Drew Movie Mystery Collection Containing Nancy Drew, Detective, Nancy Drew, Reporter, Nancy Drew, Troubleshooter and Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (06/12)
Lovejoy: Complete Season one (06/17),
Bridge on the River Kwai, Caine Mutiny and Guns of Navarone special editions have all been pushed back to 05/08. They were originally slated to be released on March 20th.
Children of Men has an official date of 03/27. The listing now contains details of the extras.
Monday, February 26, 2007
DVD releases for Feb 27th.
Feb 27th
DaVinci's Inquest, Season one (1998-99). Four-disc set with 13 episodes, $59.95.Extras: Trailer and cast filmographies (Acorn Media)
Click here to order Da Vinci'sInquest, Season one from Amazon.
Based on the real life coroner of Vancuver, Da Vinci’s inquest follows Dominick Da Vinci as he strives to bring justice to the deceased. While forensic shows are all the rage right now, Da Vinci’s Inquest debuted in 95, before the CSIs and their ilk.
Fans of the late 70s sitcom Soap will be delighted to see Donnelly Rhodes (aka Dutch) as a regular here. Rhodes can currently be seen on Battlestar Galactica.
I will have a full review up later this week.
Magnum P.I.: The Complete Sixth Season (1985-86)Five-disc set with 20 episodes (Uni)
Click here to purchase Magnum P.I.: The complete Sixth Season from Amazon.
Season six is not one of the stronger one of the shows run, but the cast wear their roles like comfortable clothes and the chemistry that has developed over years still makes the show fun and entertaining, even if it is no longer fresh and surprising.
Look for appearances by Anthony M. LaPaglia, Alan Hale (The Skipper), Tate Donovan, Dennis Haysbert and Peter Davison (the Fifth Doctor on Doctor Who).
Rockford Files season three (1976-77) Five-disc set with 22 episodes, James Garner $39.98 (universal)
Click here to purchase Rockford Files - Season Three Amazon.
Jim Rockford is back with Pops, Angel and the crew. Simply put, Rockford is as good as TV P.I.s get.
Louis Gosset Jr, Issac Hayes, Roger E. Mosley (T.C. on Magnum P.I.), Gerald McRaney, Ned Beatty, Robert Loggia and Sharon Gless (Cagney and Lacey) all can been seen in the third season.
Mr. Jordan will begiving us and in-depth look at this season adventures in the near future.
Jeremy
Sunday, February 25, 2007
And The Mist makes 3. Darabont will tackle the work of King one more time.
Stephen King has seen much of his work adapted for film and televison, quite often with painfully bad result.
Now the man that has like more success with Mr. King’s material is coming back for a third go around.
Frank Darabont will be directing the big screen version of The Mist. Frank previously directed The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. The Mist was originally published in the anthology The Skeleton Crew.
In a statement to Ain’t It Cool, Frank gave a few reasons why he wanted to tackle The Mist, a film that is a departure from his past work.
".. I grew up loving movies that sought to scare the crap out of me, starting with the classic Universal monsters. Well, of course, that love of the genre is what led me to Stephen King's works in the first place, isn't it? So it's time to repay that debt and try to scare the crap out of an audience myself. With Steve's great story, and a little luck, I'm hoping to do just that."
“Another reason is, it's a project Stephen King and I have been talking about doing for almost twenty years now, since I first got to know and become friends with the man. In fact, it almost was my first directing project many years ago, but I went classy and did THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION instead. But THE MIST never went away; it's been lurking out there calling my name for a long, long time...and it's time to answer the call; it's time to get down and dirty and make a nasty little character-driven gut-punch horror movie."
"In a sense, doing a film like THE MIST is like putting myself into film school and learning a whole new approach to what I do.I had a foretaste of that earlier this year when I had the privilege of directing an episode of THE SHIELD for my friend Shawn Ryan. It was a seven-day shoot, fast-fast-fast, and I have to say there was something wildly liberating about shooting that way…I'd say that if directing something like THE GREEN MILE is the equivalent of conducting a huge symphony orchestra playing Beethoven's Ninth in perfect tune, then directing something like THE SHIELD is the equivalent of jumping up on a small stage and playing with a small jazz combo and not caring if you miss a few notes -- in fact, missing some notes is kind of the point, isn't it? I want to take what I learned doing THE SHIELD and apply it to a feature film, and THE MIST is the perfect venue for that kind of in-your-face, in-the-moment energy. So one might say that if I've been going to film school this year, and if THE SHIELD was my mid-term, then THE MIST will be my class thesis. I can always go back to being the elegant guy later.”
A small Maine town becomes isolated by a thick mist which also contains various gooey creatures that are out to eat the populace. Most of the story concentrates on a small band of folks who hole up in a grocery storeand their struggle to fight off those critters that are interested in making them lunch.
So far cast includes Academy Award-winner Marica Gay Harden (Pollock, Mystic River), Thomas Jane (The Punisher, the forthcoming Killshot), William Sadler (The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption) and Emmy-winner Andre Braugher (Homicide: Life on the Streets).
At this point, the plan is for it to be released in November of this year.
Friday, February 23, 2007
James Ellroy's Night Watchman takes another stab at becoming a movie.
For every movie that makes it to the silver screen, good or bad, there are hundreds that flounder about in "production" or "pre-production". Pre-production usually means some clown with power has an idea, but has not gotten around to doing much with it.
One of those projects that has been bouncing around Hollywood is The Night Watchman. TNW is an original script by famed noir writer James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential, Black Dahlia).
Originally David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club) was going to direct, then Spike Lee (Inside Man, Do The Right Thing)stepped up to take the reigns. Lee then dropped out to tackled Inside Man.
Then Oliver Stone (Platoon, JFK) started talks to direct it with a new script from John Ridley (author of Everybody Smokes in Hell). Stone apparently dropped out because of issues with the script.
So now, it is being reported that David Ayer will not only be directing, but also doing a rewrite of Ellroy's screenplay. Appartently Ridley's version of the script is also out the window.
Ayer has previously written the screenplays for Training Day and The Fast and the Furious. This will actually be Ayer's second time working from Ellroy's material, as he did the final draft of Dark Blue, which also came from an Elroy original screenplay.
Have you got all that?
The Night Watchman is about a disgraced cop that uncovers corruption in the police force.
As has been the plan from day one, Keanu Reeves will star.
Lovejoy: Complete Season 1 to be released on June 19th.
Warner Home Video has announced they will be releasing Lovejoy: Complete Season 1 on June 19th.
"Ian McShane (Deadwood) stars as the irresistible rogue with a keen eye for antiques, intrigue and beauty. Just call him Lovejoy. This antiques dealer and part-time detective scours the murky salesrooms, auction halls and stately homes of Britain, always on the lookout for a find or a quick buck. As if the antiques business isn't exciting enough, Lovejoy has a particular weakness for a good sob story or a pretty face, either of which is enough to send him off in pursuit of villains and help victims recover their property. Whether it's a priceless old master or a pretty young lady, his love of beauty is sure to land him in trouble wherever he goes."
The series was based on the work of British Author Jonathon Gash.
Official retail price (and shame on you if you pay that much) is $49.98. Included as extras are interviews with Jonathon Gash, as well as ones with actor Ian McShane and Gwen Humble (She appeared in season one two-part finale). There is also a featurette entitled Ian McShane looks back on Lovejoy.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Charlie Houston's Already Dead is one step closer to the big screen.
Charlie Houston's Already Dead has taken one more step towards becoming an actual film.
Scott Rosenberg has been picked to write the screenplay. Rosenberg's past works have included Beautiful Girls (A fav of mine), High Fidelity, Con Air and .....Kangaroo Jack. Well, we all do things we are ashamed of. Rosenberg also recently wrote the screenplay for the forthcoming remake of The Dirty Dozen.
Why can't these bastards leave our classics alone?
The film rights are held by Phoenix Films and will be produced by Michael De Luca of De Luca Productions. This actually is a good thing as De Luca is known for his love of comics and Graphic novels. I think his sensibilities will be in line with Houston's work.
No word yet as to who will direct or star in it.
Joe Pitt is a private detective. He is also a vampyre. In Houston's world, vampyres are a result of a virus. Vampyres have divided into clans throughout the city, but Joe chooses to remain a loner.
In Already Dead, Joe is hired to find the runaway daughter of a rich socialite. While Joe is working on finding her, a new virus is spreading throughout the city, a virus that turns folk into brain-eating zombies.
Already Dead is the first of series of 5 planned books. The hope is to turn them into a movie franchise.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Carsten Stroud's Black Water Transit has a director.
Kaye is best known for 1998's critically acclaimed American History X. Bayer is best known for videos from bands like The Smashing Pumpkins and Garbage.
Black Water Transit tells the story of Jack Vermillion (Samuel L. Jackson) , a former Nam vet turned successful owner of container ship company. Jack's son, an ex-junkie, is serving a ten year sentence for robbery and is having a tough time handling maximum security prison.
When Earl Pike (Bruce Willis), a former army colonel with CIA contacts, approaches him about transporting his family's rather illegal collection of weapons out of the country, Jack sees an opportunity to make things better for his son.
Meanwhile NYPD officer Casey Spandau (Sophie Okonedo, who played Don Cheadle's wife in Hotel Rowanda) is working a double homicide with Pike as the chief suspect. Her crew stumbles onto the ATF's sting for Pike, resulting in a firefight that leaves both Feds and police dead.
As a result, Jack now finds himself the target of both the Feds and Earl Pike. Did I mention Pike is already wanted for murder? Did I mention those murders were extremely brutal ones at that?
Jack's only ally is Spandau and he is not going down without a fight. Unfortunately, neither is Pike.
The screenplay is from Doug Richardson. Doug most recently wrote the screenplay for Live Free or Die Hard, the fourth flick in the Die Hard series. He is also responsible for the scripts for Bad Boys, Die Hard II, Money Train and The Hostage. Doug has a rather spotty history. I honestly don't know if I will ever forgive him for Money Train. All of us that suffered through that film should have filed a class action lawsuit for pain and emtional distress.
Production was supposed to start this month in New Orleans, but things have likely been delayed if they are working on signing a new director.
This will be Willis and Jackson's fourth film together...well, fifth if you count Bruce's appearance in Loaded Weapon.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
DVD releases for Feb 20th.
Alias Smith & Jones: Season One (1971)$39.98 Pete Dual, Ben Murphy Four-disc set. Extras: Commentary on the pilot by writer/creator/producer Glen Larson (Uni)
Click here to purchase Alias Smith & Jones: Season One from Amazon.
Having been too young to see this show, I asked Lee, the elder statesman of Crimespree Cinema, to give me a rundown. “A couple of Butch Cassidy/Sundance Kid wannabes make an agreement with the government that they will be good guys. They then go about the west doing good.”
I get the impression that Mr. Lee was not a huge fan of the show. If you were, this is your chance to relive the days of yore.
Look for appearances by Burl Ivs. Cesar Romaro, Susan St. James, Alan Hale (aka The Skipper) and Slim Pickens.
The Prestige (2006) Dir.: Christopher Nolan; Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Piper Perabo, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, David Bowie, Andy Serkis. $29.99 Extras: "The Director's Notebook: The Cinematic Sleight of Hand of Christopher Nolan," "The Art of the Prestige Gallery." (Buena Vista).
Click here to purchase The Prestige from Amazon.
Based on the novel by Christopher Price, The Prestige tells the tale of two turn of the century magicians that go from friendly rivals to arch enemies and the tragedy the results from their obsession to top one another.
Ruth Rendell Mysteries 1 features Master of the Moor, Vanity dies hard, The Secret House of Death and The Double. Extras: Ruth Rendell biography and cast filmographies. (2007) (Acorn media)
Click here to purchase Ruth Rendell Mysteries from Amazon.
A collection of stories from a true legend on the mystery genre that were adapted by the BBC, Master of the Moor features Colin Firth (Bridget Jones Diary, Love Actually).
Lee “the man” Crawford will have a full review in the next week.
Jeremy
DVD Review - Mission Impossible Season One
Mission Impossible Season 1
Paramount
Originally aired in 1966-1967 these 28 first episodes are highly entertaining. I have a fondness for the series from watching the reruns as a kid ( I was only 3 years old when it first aired), and it was nice to see I still enjoyed it. Watching as an adult the experience is different though, and I was able to appreciate different aspects of the show. Martin Landau for instance really was a hell of an actor even back then. I can also understand why Barbara Bain was on the show, she has a sly way about her that is a pleasure to watch. Of course for my money the key to every caper working was always Greg Morris as the tech guy. He’s cool, and slick and the real heart of it.
I also love the theme song.
The first season was a bit different with Steven Hill playing the leader, to be replaced later by Peter Graves.
While you might not be able to tell by today’s television, Mission Impossible was the most expensive show being made at the time. Compared to other shows of that time it really shows, not only in the elaborate sets they used but the really great writing. Of course having the cold war to use as material was wonderful for the script writers. Capturing terrorists, freeing people imprisoned and getting the bad guys taken out is what they do, and they do it well. I thin a lot of today’s television owes all the people involved with Mission Impossible a dept of gratitude.
This review will self destruct in five seconds…..
Jon
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Updates to the DVD Calendar for the week.
This last week saw the addition of CHiPs season one (06/05), WKRP in Cincinnati: complete first season (04/24), Da Vinci's Inquest season one (02/27), Cagney & Lacey season one (05/08) and Kidnapped: The Complete series (04/24).
The release date of The Last King of Scotland has also been moved to 04/17.
At this time, collector's editions of Bridge on the River Kwai, The Caine Mutiny and The Guns of Navarone are all listed as having a release date of March 20th. A P.R. rep is telling me that date might be pushed back. Until she can confirm this, I am going to leave them on that date.
While I am typing away here, I have been informed that a 20th Anniversary edition of Dirty Dancing is coming our way on May 8th. This will be the fourth dvd release of this film, none of which are in my film library.
I have not added it to the calendar yet, but Rocky Balboa is coming out on March 20th. I have not seen it, but have been told it is actually pretty good. I am looking forward to it. I should be adding it sometime this weekend.
I will also be adding more non-crime titles this weekend. Look for new editions of Major League, The Natural, An Officer and A Gentleman and The Full Monty as well as a cool sounding set that is "Not just the best of The Larry Sanders Show" and a set of Tyrone Power's swashbucklin' films.
Click here to go to the calendar.
Jeremy
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Batman has his Two-Face.
Ok, this is not really crime-related but I have to talk about my favorite superhero!
Next wave of remastered Bond films to be released on May 22nd.
I have not had a chance to add them to the calender, but I thought I would give folks a head's up.
On May 22nd, the next wave of individual Bond remasters will be released:
From Russia with Love
Man with the Golden Gun
Moonraker
The Living Daylights
The World is not enough
You only live twice
While these are the remastered versions, they do not have the bonus features that were included on the Ultimate Collections.
I will have these added to the calendar later today.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Ruffalo joins Brody, Weis in Brothers Bloom.
Read More......
DVD Review - Haven
I loved Crash, so when I saw that this is from the same team I was already interested. Add Orlando BloomBill Paxton and Anthony Mackie to the mix and I was ready to go.
It's a Romeo and Juliet story set in the Caymen Islands and it's a wonderful version of a timeless tale. It also has all the elements of a great thriller with plot twists and unexpexted turns..
Paxton is always good, and he was amazing here. I also think Orlando Bloom is really underrated as this peroemance may be one of his best.
Writer Frank E Flowers really delivered.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
DVD Releases for Feb 13th
Feb 13th
Mr. Moto Collection Volume 2 Four-disc set with four Mr. Moto films starring Peter Lorre: "Mr. Moto in Danger Island" (1939), "Mr. Moto's Gamble" (1938), "Mr. Moto's Last Warning" (1939) and "Think Fast, Mr. Moto" (1937); $59.98. Extras: Film restoration comparisons, "Mr. Moto Meets Mr. Chan: The Making of Mr. Moto's Gamble," "Mr. Moto's Creator: The Late John P. Marquand." (Fox).
Click here to purchase Mr. Moto Collection volume 2 from Amazon.
Peter Lorre is back in his one real heroic role as the wise and capable Mr. Moto. Fans of detective fiction should enjoy these films.
Randy will have a complete review for us in the next week.
The Departed (2005) Dir.: Martin Scorsese; Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin. Two-disc set. $29.98 Extras: Additional scenes with introductions by Martin Scorsese, feature-length TCM profile "Scorsese on Scorsese," "The Story of the Boston Mob": the real-life gangster behind Jack Nicholson's character, "Crossing Criminal Cultures": how Little Italy's crime and violence influence Scorsese's work. (Warner).
Click here to purchase The Departed (Two-disc Special Edition) from Amazon.
Martin Scorsesse’s latest crime thriller brings us a loaded cast with Nicholson, Damon, De Caprio and Baldwin. Mr. Scorsesse’s racking up the Best Director awards for this one, but all of those will mean diddly if the Academy snubs him again. See my complete review in the post prior to this.
Jeremy
DVD Review: The Departed
Warner Home Entertainment
After delving into history (the Aviator, Gangs of New York)The Departed finds Martin Scorsese back in the crime genre that made him famous. Guess What? He clearly has not lost a step.
The Departed follows themes familiar to Scorese’s work, the rise and fall of those with power. This time around, the setting is “Southie”in Boston.
Jack Nicholson stars as Frank Costello, an Irish-American crime lord loosely based on real-life crime boss Whitey Bulger. Costello plants young Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) into the police academy. Once Sullivan has risen through the ranks, he acts as a mole, for Costello, in the organized crime unit of the police force.
At the same time, Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio), fresh out of the academy, is recruited to infiltrate Costello’s crew. They arrange for him to be kicked off the force and sent to prison, at which time he hooks up with Costello.
The rest of the movie finds these two struggling to keep their identities secret under pressure from both sides. It is fascinating to watch how each of them handles the tremendous stress that is placed upon them.
Like many of Scorsese's films before this, The Departed is a game of duplicity and betrayal. Much of the time is spent keeping us guessing who is playing who. The twists and turns are done well, never really feeling forced. In the hands of a lesser director, some of this would undoubtedly come across as being clichéd.
All in all, The Departed is an outstanding film that is attribute to the skills and passion of Martin Scorsese.
The extras are pretty good, considering how quickly they got this out. There is no commentary, which is a real shame when you look at all of the talent involved with this.
There is a documentary on Scorsese that is from Turner Classics. It features the iconic director giving us his thoughts on his careergives us a rather insightful look in to the filmography of the iconic director.This is a couple of years old and thus has nothing about The Departed.
There are two other featurettes (Stranger than fiction and Crossing Criminal Cultures) that give us a look into the film and the real life events and characters that inspired it.
Also included are 9 deleted scenes that have introductions by the director. These intros make these scenes all the more interesting, though one can see why they were cut.
Click here to order The Departed from Amazon.
Jeremy
Ben Stiller/Tom Cruise to play The Hardy Men.
Well, now I have heard it all. Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller are making a movie together. Not just a movie, they are playing the Hardy Boys as men.
Shawn Levey (The Pink Panther, Night at the Museum) will be directing. I am still trying to wipe the Panther remake from my mind.
The idea of the story is that the brothers have been estranged for years, but now must come together to solve the biggest mystery of their lives.
The Hardy Men is being described as an action/comedy. Anyone else getting a bad feeling about this?
Simon Kinberg will handling script duties. Kinberg has previously written Mr. & Mrs. Smith, XXX 2: The Next Level and X-Men: The Last Stand.
The plan is to start production in 2008.
Add on:
As I understand it, the film will be based more on the 70's television series, which starred Parker Stevenson and Shaun Cassidy, than the actual books.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Brothers Bloom signs another Oscar winner, plus nominee.
Oscar winner Adrian Brody (the Pianist),nominee Rinko Kikuchi (Babel) sign on for Rian Johnson's Sophmore effort.
Anyone that knows me knows how much I loved Rian Johnson's Brick. It was my favorite film of 2006. By the way, if you have not bought it, do so now! I don't see how one can consider one's self to be a fan noir or hardboiled entertainment and not own it.
Ok, I am getting off track.
Rian Johnson is working on a new film entitled The Brothers Bloom. Inspired by the book The Big Con (Which also inspired The Sting), The Brothers Bloom will be Johnson’s take on the Con man film. It will be an international film, with filming taking place in twelve countries.
TBB is about a couple of brothers that are con men. They decide to call it quits after one more con, but their target proves to be no easy mark and turns the tables on them.
In Crimespree magazine, I had previously mentioned that Academy Award winner Rachael Weis (The Constant Gardner, The Mummy) had signed on to play a millionaire that is the the would be target of the Brothers Bloom.
Now Oscar-winner Adrian Brody (The Pianist, Hollywoodland) has signed on to play the younger of the brothers. Also attached is Rinko Kikuchi, who is up for an Oscar for her supporting role in Babel. Rinko will play the accomplice to the brothers.
Rather than sign with a Hollywood studio, Johnson has chosen to once again go the indie route. He has recently secured financing for a budget of around $20 million. Filming is scheduled to begin in March, with a release in 2008.
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