The Toxic Avenger Remake Unrated DVD

 

TITLE-The Toxic Avenger Remake

SOURCE-Unrated DVD

Feels like 20 years ago I heard a rumor that the cult classic 80s gore/comedy/horror film The Toxic Avenger was getting remade. I was worried. I love the Toxic Avenger franchise and felt a remake wouldn't work. Film gets completed then sat on the shelves for a few years. Mostly cause the owners of the film wanted to get a Unrated version in  wide release. 

This time instead of a nerdy dude that cleans up at a health club our lead is a midget that is a janitor at the big chemical plant that is polluting the entire area. Peter Dinklage is our lead and he is struggling to pay bills and take care of his stepson. Plus Peter is dying from some brain issue.

Kevin Bacon is the owner of this big poluting Chemical Plant and we get Elijah Woods as a very   Danny Devito Batman Returns Penquin looking character. The rest of the cast is mostly folks I dont know from other films or tv shows.

Leaning heavy on the current problem of healthcare costing so much. And how a simple operation  could bankrupt a family,this remake takes the gore and dark comedy of the original updates it for a modern audience and makes it a film that I could see being a bigger hit than any of the previous 4 Toxic Avenger films.

Gory as hell. I do love how this feels like a big budget 80s/90s era Troma film. Yea there is more CGI than you would see in a Troma film. Thankfully most of the CGI works and looks decent.

No clue how this would play to your standard horror fan. One that thinks the Terrifier series is the gorest films ever,not even close if you know Euro Horror or Asian horror. For me it was a great way to kill almost 2 hours.

For me the best scene is when Toxie goes to a concert and does a great cover of Motorhead's Overkill while killing the band on stage.

The Toxic Avenger Remake Unrated gets a B+

That Man Bolt

 

TITLE-That Man Bolt

SOURCE-DVD

It is rare I find a blaxploitation film that I had never heard of. This film is one I had never heard of. I got a big lot of "Kung Fu DVDS" cheap. And this was in it.

Fred the Hammer Williamson is in jail in Macau. He gets released to escort a pile of money out of the country. But it seems various groups want to make sure he doesn't succeed on his mission.

Simple plot. And it works. The almost 2 hours running time flies by. The film is an odd mixture of Blaxploitation+James Bond+70s Martial art cinema. Add in a dash of In Like Flint/Our Man Flint.

You can tell while watching that the writer was sure this would be a hit. So much stuff is hinted at that could be explained in sequels. If there had been sequels I would watch them.

Not amazing but still one where now I want it on Blu ray.

That Man Bolts gets a C.

The Dream Team DVD

 

TITLE-The Dream Team

SOURCE-Universal DVD

Talk about a forgotten comedy. Might be it got overshadowed by Keaton's other big hit in 89,some film called Batman,might just be this wasn't as big as I thought it was.

Michael Keaton is a pathological liar and has anger issues, which means he has spent the last year or so in a Mental Hospital in New Jersey. His therapy group has Peter Boyle,who thinks he is Jesus,Christopher Lloyd,a neat freak that believes he is a doctor at the hospital and Steven Furst ,who only speaks in TV soundbytes. Their doctor arranges for them to go see a baseball game in NYC. But on the way they stop for Furst to take a piss break.  I know the feeling when ya gotta piss you GOTTA PISS.

While in an alley for Steven to piss,the doctor sees to corrupt cops kill someone. Doctor gets knocked out and taken to a near by hospital. Listed as John Doe. Furst gets back to their van but can't explain to them what happened.So you got 4 mental hospital patients loose in NYC and the wacky hyjynx start. 

Keaton of course is the lead. And I sometimes forget he was always great in comedies. For me though Boyle and Lloyd steal the movie. One scene has the four going into the  hospital to see their doctor. Boyle is dressed up like a nurse. Sees a man laying on a gurney in the hallway "You are healed my son. Get up and walk" Boyle tells him. They keep passing by and in  the background you can see the man attempt to stand and just fall flat to the floor.

Lloyd has a great scene where he goes to visit his wife and daughter. Both of whom he hasn't talked to since he went to the hospital. All thru out the film Lloyd has a clipboard with him. Won't let anyone touch it. But when his daughter asks for it to put her drawings on you can see him struggle to let it go but he does.

Of course our group saves the day. The corrupt cops get taken down. And all ends well. With Keaton even meeting back up with an ex-girlfriend.

While the premise is nothing but that part from Once Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,when Jack takes the guys out for a day in the city,just expaneded to a full length movie. What makes this stand out is the casting. While Keaton,Lloyd and Boyle are still remembered for how great they are/were,Steven Furst is forgotten.. Back then he was a bigger name cause of St Elsewhere.

The dvd looks decent sounds good. And it is an older DVD release. The extras are a trailer and a few TV spots. I do know this has a blu ray release and I plan on  tracking it down soon.

The Dream Team while not even in the top 10 comedies from the 80s is still worth seeing.

The Dream Team gets a B-.

The Best of Benny Hill DVD

 

TITLE-The Best of Benny Hill

SOURCE-Anchor Bay  DVD

Yep that is my amazing dog Maggot Ass the Wonder Mutt in the above picture. Lots of the time in  the early morning or late night she will chill and watch dvds with me.

First off I totally forgot that Anchor Bay released stuff like this. For most they are known for their many Horror DVD releases. Lots of classics got amazing releases from  Anchor Bay.

Now Benny Hill,seems for us in the USA it was very much a late 70s thru early 80s thing. Airing in syndication,usually Fri/Sat/Sunday nights after the 10pm news.

I can't remember what channel I saw it on as a kid. Just know I got to stay up late Sundays. At 1030pm was Benny Hill for 30 minutes then 11pm was Battlestar Galactica reruns. Being a kid when Star Wars started BSG was the show I had to see. Even when it was just reruns I had seen before.

Also being a kid under 10 most of the humor in Benny Hill flew over my head. I had no clue the various UK cultural references he was making were. And all the sex humor I didn't get. To me it was a color verison of 3 Stooges. So I loved it. Looked forward to it and Battlestar. Getting to stay up see them made up for having to be up at 6am to get ready for 7am mass.

No clue if this DVD is 3 full episodes,it runs 1 hour and 26 minutes. Or if it is just almost 90 minutes worth of skits. 

When I found this DVD it took me months to get it watched. Then early one morning I got a drink,grabbed Maggot Ass and watched it while the house was quiet. For that almost 90 minutes I was a kid again. But this time getting more of the jokes than I did 40 years ago.

Sure lots of the humor wouldn't fly in today's culture. But it is like that with so much stuff. LOok at early X-men comics,you got Prof X lusting after 16 year old Jean Grey. 

If you remember this show I would say track down one of the dvds cheap and give it a rewatch. It made me laugh more than expected.

The Best of Benny Hill gets a C+

31 Days of Horror Day 16 Killer's Delight

Title-Killer's Delight

Source-Code Red DVD

Before finding this DVD I had never even heard of the movie. Made in 1978 this is one of the many proto-slashers that came out before Friday the 13th took the subgenre and exploded it into mainstream.

As I mentioned in my review of Blood Feast II,this was the other DVD I found while waiting in line. I saw the cover. Saw it was from Code Red and took a chance on it. It was cheap and I know that most Code Red stuff that goes out of print jumps up in price pretty quick. So figured I would get home check it's value sealed. Then if it wasn't worth a bunch open it up and give it a watch. Well turns out this is one of the early releases from Code Red and I guess there is enough supply to satisfy the demand for the DVD. Cause used copies are selling for about what I paid for it new. And sealed copies are at the most 10 bucks. Yep that means I am gonna open and watch it.

Set in San Francisco in the late 70s this movie was inspired by the unsolved Zodiac Killer murders and the then unsolved Ted Bundy murders.  Seems like this movie didn't do much in theaters. Then was forgot about until it got retitled The Dark Ride during it's VHS release. Then got retitled again as The Sports Killer when it got released in syndication for TV airings.

Now Killer's Delight is less like the serial killer movies we have gotten in the last 30 years and is more like a 70s cop drama. The focus is on the two cops trying to solve the murders. And the killer is kept a bit mysterious for a good chunk of the film.

The cast is almost all people I don't know. Outside of 2. First up is Martin Speer.

 Now while most horror fans won't know his name,they will remember him as Dee Wallace's husband in the original Hills have Eyes. And in this movie he is good. The other known actor/actress is Susan Sullivan.

 I know she has been around for decades. I best know her as Kitty on Dharma and Greg. 

The DVD has a decent amount of extras. We get some trailers. But the best extra is the commentary. With the director and a moderator. It is pretty informative and entertaining. 

I wish Code Red had used a different cover. There is plenty of nice movie posters for this movie. Ones that don't make the movie look like a super sleazy piece of 70s exploitation. Which this film really isn't. Hell there isn't much in this movie that would have to be cut for it to air on TV today. And really it feels a lot like a 70s TV show version of an episode of Law and Order SVU than a late 70s slashers.

While I am glad I found and got to see this movie,mostly cause I love finding slashers or proto-slashers I have never seen,it isn't one I see myself watching often. Since I bought it I have watched it 4 times. 3 of the 4 times I watched it with the commentary. 

Killer's Delight gets a C.

31 Days of Horror Day 14 Blood Feast II

Title-Blood Feast II
Source-Shriek Show DVD

Yep the final film the late HG Lewis made.Sadly in 2016 HG Lewis died.

 I have been slowly over the past 20 years been trying to see all of HG Lewis's films. Even the pre-gore stuff. Somehow for years Blood Feast II eluded me. Every time I would think to order it it was out of stock. I never saw it in any store. And back in 2002 when this hit DVD I was in Best Buy and Circuit City at least once a week.

Then back right about the time it was going from spring to summer I found a copy. In an odd place. There is a bodega near a good friend's apartment. The kind of store that if they know you will sell you beer on Sundays,a major no no in MS. Well I had stopped there to grab a drink for my drive home. The line was long. While waiting in the line I started digging thru their cardboard bin of  DVDs. I am guessing the DVDs come from a place that deals in overstock media. Cause you never know what you will find. And sometimes there is even Wii games mixed into the DVDs. So while waiting in this long line I found for cheap Blood Feast II and another DVD that is OOP.

Blood Feast II was made 40 years after the original Blood Feast. And it was HG Lewis's first movie since 1972's The Gore Gore Girls. Even though Lewis had done interviews and appeared at conventions I just assumed he was done making movies. Then in 2000 I started hearing rumors online that Lewis was gonna make another movie. And word was it was a sequel to one of the infamous Gore Trilogy.

I was hoping for a sequel to 2000 Maniacs,which we kinda got years later in the 2001 Maniacs remake/sequel. But instead we got a sequel to Blood Feast. Lewis's first and most famous film. And this isn't even the first time a sequel to that film was attempted. Back in the 80s the movie Blood Diner,a great cult classic horror/comedy,started off as a sequel to Blood Feast. And when you watch it you can tell it is suppose to be a sequel to Blood Feast.

The grandson of Fuad Ramses ,Fuad Ramses the third, returns to Miami.And reopens his grandfather's catering business.He is quickly hired to cater a sheriff's wedding. A Sheriff that knows what Fuad's grandfather did years ago. And is suspicious.

While cleaning up the store to reopen it,Fuad finds the statue of Ishtar that his grandfather had. Ishtar's spirit possesses Fuad. And sets him on the task to complete the blood feast ritual that his grandfather couldn't.

The acting isn't that great.But then the acting in the original Blood Feast wasn't good. The gore is actually pretty well done. And damn gory. About 8 minutes was cut from the film to get an R rated cut. Thankfully the DVD I found is the uncut version. What is odd is that even though it is modern day,lots of the people in the film dress like the cast in the original film from 40 years ago.

I was surprised that there is almost no extras on this DVD. I figured Lewis would do a commentary,since he has done them on most of his films that Something Weird  Video has released. It would have been neat to hear his thoughts on making a film after so many years in retirement.

The film is enjoyable. But only if you like low budget gore films. The acting is a set above porn levels. The gore is better than I expected.

Blood Feast II gets a C.

31 Days of Horror Day 10 Horrors of Spider Island

Title-Horrors of Spider Island

Source-12 Creature Features Mill Creek DVD set

I had seen the creature from this early 60s West German made horror film many times on various Something Weird Video releases. And if this title interest you a lot get their release on DVD. It is loaded as most of their releases are.I on the other hand own the 12 movie Mill Creek Creature feature version. So it is just the same old print every one has used for years.

A semi sleazy night club own wants to fly a bunch of dancers from NYC to his club in Singapore. But during the flight the plane catches on fire,breaks in half ,then crashes but somehow the owner and the women don't die. We see them on a raft and they finally make it to an island.

Exploring the island they find a cabin. Inside is food and a spider web with a dead man hanging from it. Seems a prof has been working with uranium here. After figuring out how long the food will last them,one month I think is what they figure,the owner ends up out in the jungle alone. Gets bit by a giant spider and becomes this human-spider mutant.

Well this was short,80 something minutes,and the creature looked decent for the era. I swear I have seen some of the women in other "films" Something Weird Video has put out on DVD/VHS. 

Horrors of Spider Island gets a D+.

31 Days of Horror Day 10 Piranha DD

TITLE-Piranha DD/3DD
FORMAT-Anchor Bay DVD


Yeah a few years ago I did a short review of this when I covered all 5 movies in the official Piranha franchise. Since then I have watched Piranha DD at least 3 more times.

The movie is stupid as fuck.Danielle Panabaker,yep all the talent left her after Sky High it seems,and this bald comedian fucker I know but can't remember his name are co owners in a big water amusement park. The bald fuck adds an adult only area,fills it with hookers and strippers and it looks like the park will be a huge hit and manage to stay open.

But then piranhas from 3D show up and people start to die. Yeah we never get a resolution to the ending of the film before this. All we learn is the town around the lake is a ghost town now.

While the original was filled with fart humor and abundant topless women,this one triples the amounts.The gore isn't as good. But the part with the piranha being stuck in a woman's vagina and biting off this guy's dick was fairly well done.

Ving Rhames comes back for a small role. Yep he survived the previous film.The dorky guy from the League and the previous film is back as Ving's care giver.

This bombed. I think it might have played 200 theaters. The dvd isn't in 3D.I have never seen a home video 3D release of this film. But yeah was barely worth the 4 bucks I got it for.

Piranha DD/3DD gets a C.

Tour of Duty The Complete Series DVD review

TITLE-Tour of Duty The Complete Series
PUBLISHER-Mill Creek Entertainment

Months ago I found this 11 disc set for around 10 bucks new. Having seen what I thought was the full series back when  it originally aired I grabbed the set ready to revisit a show I had enjoyed years ago in my youth

Airing weeking on CBS starting  in  the fall of 1987,Tour of Duty is as far as I know the first US weekly drama about the Vietnam War. At the time this was a hot topic again  thanks  to the success of films like First Blood and more so Platoon. Being made for broadcast TV of course the show had to be toned down some. But the writers and other people working on  the creative end managed to work in  a few neat ways of the restrictions of being aired over the public airwaves.

Now of course not long after buying this set I found out that GETTV is airing the show Mon thru Fri. Not that big a deal since I got the set cheap.Speaking of cheap....

The case is a really thin and cheap feeling cardboard. You remove the Tour of Duty top half and get a generic bottom half,covered with logos of the various TV show Mill Creek Entertainment has the rights too.Inside the case is sleeves,most of which have a dvd on each side. Sure it was only 10 bucks but this set even with  me taking extra care handling it looks like it could fall apart at any minute. I wish Mill Creek would have used their normal big plastic case full of dvds that I have on  sets like Married with Children.

After watching all 3 seasons of 58 episodes I discovered that I never saw the third season and don't think I saw the last half of the second season. Maybe the show changed nights and was on against another show I watched,I really don't know. After the first few episodes I realized that I am guessing thanks to music rights a lot of the songs in this release have been changed. Back when it was airing I clearly remember lots of hits songs of the era the show happens in  being used. In this release it is changed to very generic rock  music,that in quite a few scenes takes away for the show.

Even will all the  negatives,the cheap packaging and changed music,I still really am happy I found this set. Sure I could just watch it every day on GETTV,but then I would have to sit thru commercials and  only see 1 episode a day. I watched all 58 episodes of this series in a bit over 2 weeks and had fun revisiting a sadly kind of forgotten  80s drama.

Friday the 13th limited edition Ultimate Collection DVD review

Last month while in a local Dollar General I got the numbered Friday the 13th Ultimate Collection DVD set very cheap. Now sure I already owned all the films in this set,this only has the ones Paramount put out AKA the first 8,on DVD. But parts 6,7 and 8 were the old first DVD releases that had no extras. Plus as you will see this set came with some very nice extras.

That is the box. In the bottom right hand corner is a sticker telling you what number this set is. It is 38,283 out of 50,000.I like how the box is mostly blue with some trees on it.

Now lets open up the set.The first thing to come out is...

Yep a nice replica of Jason's infamous hockey mask that he first got in part 3 and wore in that film along with parts 4,6,7 and 8. It is a bit small for an adult sized head.But I bet it fits a kid's head perfectly. Currently I got this mask hanging up on my wall.

Up next is...

Yep two pairs of 3d glasses so you can watch part 3 in 3d. That is the front of them.

And that is the back. Now when the Deluxe DVD of Friday the 13th part 3 first came out I kept seeing online people bitching cause they claimed the 3d didn't work. It does work. But you gotta make sure you are in a completely dark room. Then set the brightness of your TV to the right level. It also helps to have a bigger TV. First time I watched the entire film in 3d on DVD was at my cousin's home. She has a 70 inch TV. And the 3d worked perfectly.I do like how they just didn't throw in some generic 3d glasses. Instead we get ones that on the front look a bit like Jason's hockey mask. And have the Friday part 3 logo and blood splatters on the back.

Then the final part of the set. The main event if you want to use wrestling terms.

That is the front cover to the book like case that houses all 8 films. I really like that picture of Jason. So lets open up the book and see how the inside looks.

Each film gets not only a nice synopsis of the film. But also a listing of the special features.Some Friday facts about each film. And my favorite parts a body count and list of how many weapons are used in each film.Then below all that you get some film credits and a few pictures from the film.

The first film  has a fun commentary with Sean Cunningham and some of the cast and crew. A few short featurettes. And the first part of the brand new Lost Tales of Camp Blood. Which sadly is kind of crap.

The second film has no commentary,BOOOOOO. But has a feature named "Inside Crystal Lake Memories".A feature on horror conventions,Lost Tales of Camp Blood part 2,something called Jason Forever. And finally a theatrical trailer.

Now part 3 gets only one extra.Which is the theatrical trailer. I guess Paramount thought putting it out in 3d was good enough. I would like to have a commentary on this film.

Part 4 gets a buttload of extras. We get two commentaries. One with the director,screenwriter and editor. Then another with huge Friday the 13th fans Adam Green and Joe Lynch.We also get Lost Tales of Camp Blood part 4,no clue what happened to part 3.Some deleted scenes.The lost ending.A feature titled "The Crystal Lake Massacres revisited part 1". Another feature all about Crispen Glover's amazing dance moves. And the original theatrical trailer.

With part 5,which is one of my favorites of the series,we get a commentary from the director.Lost Tales from Camp Blood part 5.Part 2 of the Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited.A making of Friday the 13th part 5 and the original theatrical trailer.

Then part 6 gets a commentary with the director.Lost Tales of Camp Blood part 6.The third part of the Crystal Lake Massacres Revisted. A making of Friday part 6.A feature named Meeting Mr Voorhees.Some deleted scenes and of course the original theatrical trailer.

On to part 7,my least favorite of the series.The commentary this time not only has the director,but also Lar Park Lincoln and Kane Hodder. A making of part 7.A feature on telekinesis.A feature on the make up work in the film.And some deleted scenes.

And now the last of the Paramount Friday the 13th films,Part 8 Jason Takes Manhattan.The commentary this time has Kane Hodder,lead actress Jensen Daggett and Scott Reeves.Then there is a making of Friday part 8.Some deleted scenes. And a gag reel.

There is the back cover of the DVD case. I love the red tint. And how Jason is almost hidden by all the fog.

So since I figure most people reading this have seen either all of or at least most of the films in this set I will not bother reviewing the films. Instead I will review the extras. I love how parts 1,4,5,6,7 and 8 all have really good commentaries. It would be nice if part 2 and 3 had commentaries. The Lost Tales of Camp Blood are all crap. But all the making ofs are good. And it is nice to get to see some of the deleted scenes. The other extras are pretty good also.And you gotta love the mini replica of Jason's hockey mask.

Friday the 13th Ultimate Collection DVD set gets a B-.

X-mas Haul 2014

Double T's X-mas Haul 2014 Part 01

Had various things I wanted to post here in December,but never finished any of them. Had planned on the night after I got back from my trip to the coast for the holidays to do my normal X-mas Haul posting. But put it off,mostly cause I got a bunch of gift cards and was waiting on stuff to arrive at the house. Here it finally is. Might end up breaking this up into multiple posts.

Assorted stuff

Most of what I got falls into 3 categories. So I am gonna start with the few items that don't. I am leaving out one item. Mostly cause it will get a special look at the end.

Yep got the At Games Handheld Genesis system I reviewed back in November.At Games Genesis handheld review. One thing I discovered after my original review is you CAN play Genesis games off an SD card. All you need is the roms in .BIN file type. It works great.

As a kid my paternal grandmother would get me a snowglobe or two each holiday season. I lost most of them over the years. So starting 8  years ago one of my Aunts started getting me ones for X-mas,Halloween and other holidays. 

Got this Atari Flashback 5 console early in December. And I love it. It has 80 games,with some of them being homebrews that never got released during the 2600's lifespan. The wireless controllers are decent. You got to point them in the general direction of the system. But it has ports for the old school Atari joysticks or paddles.

The same Aunt that got me the snow globe got me this creepy clown statue. I just gotta figure out on what shelf it is going.

Another assorted item. My crazy Aunt,and I mean that in the most loving way she is the fun kind of crazy and reminds me of myself all the time, has gotten into making crafts. So this year she made me and my new dog X-mas tree ornaments. Mine was a green tree with my name on it. Maggie's was a dog bone with her name on it. When I opened Maggie's she ran over smelled it and tried to bite it. But she is barely over 6 months old so she tries to bite everything.I don't have pictures of either because they are already packed away with the X-mas decorations.

And one final item for this category. My crazy Aunt got me a shirt. As a kid she hated how my grandparents and other aunts and uncles would give me clothes for my birthday and X-mas. I can clearly remember her ,when I had to be 4 or 5,talking how you should get kids toys and stuff instead of clothes. "Gifts for people of that age are suppose to be fun. Socks and underwear aren't really that fun. No kid asks Santa for clothes." So every year since I became an adult as a cute little nod to this she gets me a shirt or hat. Last year she got me a really cool zombie shirt. This year I got one,and if it wasn't currently in the washing machine I would take a pic,of a baby chicken looking at a sunny side up egg. The chick is saying "Holy Crap! Larry is that you??!!?" I did ask her that for next year try to find me a shirt that isn't black. I noticed a few years back that most of my clothing is black and I a slowly injecting some color into my wardrobe.

DVDS

I love the wish list features at various online retailers. For years,pre-internet,my various family members would ask me what I wanted for my birthday or X-mas. So I would tell them either a film or book I wanted. And would get just that. But it took the surprise out of opening the gifts. So once the internet became more common place I started keeping wishlists at various sites. A few of my Aunts are nice enough to go look at the lists and buying my gifts off the list. This way I get something I want and it is a surprise. Most years the lists are full of DVDs,books and comics. With the Aunts getting me piles of DVDS. This year it was a bit different. I got 2 DVDs  weeks before X-mas day. 2 on X-mas day. Then got another one that I ordered using a giftcard a friend had sent me.

I love Boardwalk Empire.So each year I get whatever season has just come out. Confession time,I don't have HBO. When Boardwalk Empire started I was tempted to pay for HBO for the few months a year that Boardwalk aired. I called up Dish Network and asked the price for HBO. It is something like 10 bucks a month. Normal seasons of Boardwalk are 12 episodes. So 3 months at 10 a month is 30 bucks. So instead of doing that,I get my friend Brian Torrens to send me each episode the day after it airs. Then the following year when HBO releases the season set I get it. With most of the time the season set costing between 40 and 50 bucks. So sure I am pirating the show. But HBO is getting between 10 and 20 bucks more out of me,by my bootlegging the episodes then buying the sets when released. Anyways,with the season that aired in the fall of 2014 being the final season,I am going to have to find another TV show to replace Boardwalk as my X-mas gift from my parents each year.I would have taken a picture of the set,but I have gotten my crazy Aunt into the show. So I brought her down the set at X-mas.

Now this is far from my favorite of the Chainsaw. But I don't hate it like many others do. When I was ordering the Boardwalk set my father mentioned how he wanted to see this sequel. The chainsaw films are one of the few things we bond over. So I added it to the order. The blu looks great and sounds pretty good. And it was for a fairly cheap price.

 Yeah the flash makes it hard to read. But this is all 40 episodes of the one season wonder "Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills". This obscure Power Rangers ripoff aired in the fall of 94 on the USA network. With a budget so low it looks like a high school play of a Sentai show.I saw a handful of episodes when this was originally airing 20 years ago. Then in 2013 I couldn't sleep and saw that the digital sub channel THISTV was airing TTAFfBH as part of it's morning kids block. I watched and episode and loved it. Imagine if Ed Wood or Fred Olen Ray made a Power Rangers rip off show. I was shocked when I saw the complete series on Amazon and for a really cheap price.

 The other DVD I got X-mas day. My favorite Uncle,who is partially responsible for making me into as big of a science ficition/Horror/comic book geek as I am today,normally helps one of my Aunts to pick out my gifts. And since we share a similar sense of humor,he likes to pick out sleazy movies that look somewhat innocent. Like how 10 years ago,thanks to a friend playing a prank on me,a DVD of the Italian ripoff of the infamous 70s sleaze classic Caligula popped up on my DVD Empire wishlist. Well good ole Uncle thought it would be funny if I got that DVD from my then 83 year old grandmother and 91 year old grandfather. I actually do not remember putting Decoys on my wishlist. But looking at the back of the case and reading a few reviews online,it appears to be kind of a sleazy Sci Fi/T&A movie.

Somehow I had never owned a copy of this DVD. I own all the other Evening with Smith DVDs. So when I got a surprise 5 days before X-mas of a Amazon giftcard from a good friend I went looking for cheap dvds/comics/books. Mostly shooting for stuff that was under a  buck and no more than 2 bucks for shipping. I saw this used for 5 cents and 3 bucks shipping. I ordered it and just got it in today. I got one tiny complaint the way the outercase is made it makes it a bit hard to get the dvds out. Being a big Smith fan all these Q&A dvds are great. I can throw one in and doze off while listening.

COMICS

Another great thing about wishlists is now I get way more comics for gifts. Everyone that knows me knows how strong my fandom of the comic book media is. But with the size of my collection people would never buy me comics,fearing it would be something I already owned, And with my taste in comics running towards the more non-mainstream,well known stuff it made it hard to find something for me. So my Amazon wishlist is always loaded up with trades,Graphic novels and Hardcovers. Then I usually keep a wishlist at Mycomicshop.

Alien Legion Piecemaker trade from Checker Books. I can remember seeing issues of Alien Legion on the spinner rack at K&B drugs in Pascagoula MS when I was younger. I have been a science fiction fan since a very very young age,so I don't understand why I never bought an issue of Alien Legion. Maybe it was because of the higher cover price. At the time most comics were 75 cents. IIRC Alien Legion was $1.50. Last year at Coast Con I got 3 or so issues of one of the many Alien Legion runs cheap. I not only enjoyed the stories but really loved the Larry Stroman artwork. I prefer having trades or hardcovers to having the so called floppy copies now a days. After doing some research I saw that Dark Horse had published 1 or 2 volumes of their Omnibus line dealing with Alien Legion.I do like the Dark Horse Omnibus line. But I am not a fan of how they shrink the art some. I understand that they do this to cut down on the cover price. I also saw that Checker Books put of a few trades. Well after ordering the Evening with Kevin Smith DVD I still had a few bucks left on the gift card. The person that gave me the gift card jokingly said "OK Newt please don't spend this all on DVDs. Maybe get you a book or comic. " I had earlier that day found my Jugger Grimrod,the most famous member of the Alien Legion,one shot and looked on Amazon for the trades from Checker books. Found this trade,which reprints a bit over the last year of the second Alien Legion ongoing series from the Marvel comics sub imprint EPIC comics. By this time in Alien Legion history Chuck Dixon is writing most issues and Larry Stroman is handling the pencils. The best thing was the trade was 10 cents plus 3 bucks shipping. I am pretty sure Checker Books has went out of business. So that means technically everything they published is out of print.It is gonna be a long time before I read this trade. I try to read my comics in their chronological order. And this trade has a list in the front of what order you should read the various ongoing,oneshots,mini series and OGNs. From glancing at the list I got at least 12 or so comics I own I need to read before this trade. But if you enjoy military based sci fi and/or would like to see a set in the far future science fiction based "Dirty Dozen" give Alien Legion a try. I am always seeing the single issues in cheap bins. And outside of the Dark Horse Omnibus trades,the others can be had cheap if you don't mind used copies.

This is the first collection of Rick Veitch's cult hit "Roaring Rick's Rarebit Fiends" comic book. Before I get into the trade I want to mention something. As you can see on the cover there is some kind of sticker residue on the upper right. I always tell my relatives if they are buying me books or DVDs at Amazon get me used copies if they are available. It saved money. In some cases saves a bunch of money.Like this trade,the cover price is right at 15 bucks. But this used copy was under 3 bucks. And it is in good shape. Now back to the comic. Rarebit Fiends was Mr Veitch's dreamjournal comic. Each morning when he woke up he would quickly jot down what he remembered of his previous night's dreams. Then he would turn these notes into a comic book. IIRC it came out every 2 months. With most issues being around 30 pages. Most of the time each dream is one page long. So it is like a new story each page. But sometimes you can see underlying things that connect one dream to another. Since I have vivid dreams,I have always been interested into dream research and interpretation. Mr Veitch rarely interprets his dreams in the comic.Still this is a unique comic that has great artwork.

This early 90s 7 issue mini series was either the first or one of the first things Rick Veitch published when he started his own company. My midget Aunt,who also got me the Rarebit Fiends trade,grabbed this one used. And it is obviously an ex-library book. I personally like ex-library book versions of trade paperbacks. Whatever the plastic like stuff they coat the covers with holds up so good. Maximortal is two stories in one. The first story is a very 80s version of Superman and his origin. But taken to a violent place that no Superman story I have read has ever went. The second story is about how the original creators or True-Man AKA Maximortal got fucked over by the comic company they worked for. And their struggles,while the hero they created is making the comic company millions. I had read this trade one time before almost 4 years ago. And re-reading it on the 3 hour car ride back home the day after X-mas made me question once again why this comic isn't talked about as much and in as high regard as other 80's comic classics like Dark Knight Returns,Watchmen or Miracleman. And once again since this was used Aunt Midget got it extremely cheap. She told me that as each package was arriving at her home from Amazon,my Uncle was asking her how much stuff she got me. She told him,then she showed him how cheap each item was. He quickly sat down with his laptop and ended up ordering right at $50 worth of comics. That if he had bought them new would have been over $200 bucks.

Judgement Day trade written by Alan Moore published by Checker Books.Speaking of great comics by great talent that people either aren't that aware of or just don't talk about. In 1997 Rob Liefeld was wanting to boost sales of his various titles. After getting kicked out/let go from Image,Rob took all his books and started up Awesome Comics.He knew cause of his rep he had to do something revive the sagging sales on titles like Youngblood,Supreme,Glory and Newmen.So he gave Alan Moore total control. And Mr Moore set about revamping the entire Extreme/Awesome universe of comics. Judgement Day was ,outside of his run on Supreme,Alan Moore cleaning of the slate. He had come up with the idea of a being with superhuman powers,a hero even,having to go to trial. And what would happen in a celeb/cult of personality obsessed society if a member of Youngblood was murdered and the main suspect was another Youngblood member. Real quick for people who don't know Youngblood is the Extreme/Awesome comics universe's version of the Justice League or Avengers. Now when this was coming out I was still in comics. And I have been fan of Mr Moore since his run on Swamp Thing.But somehow this series coming out totally escaped my notice. I love how the trade not only reprints the Judgement Day mini series but the few other things Alan Moore wrote for Awesome comics. I also really enjoy how he creates a fully realized world with lots of history. Which is something most comics from Image and especially from Mr Liefeld were missing This seems to be the forgotten Alan Moore comic work Maybe it is because by this time that hated of Liefeld and his comics were at an all time high. Doesn't matter,if you love good comics give this trade a read.Once again with Checker Books being out of business you can find this trade extremely cheap. It is actually cheaper to buy this trade than to go buy the issues that are contained in it. I was told that Aunt Midget got this one for me because my Uncle knew the name Alan Moore and wanted to read it.

Warriors of Plasm Special Edition tin set from the Rivers Group. Warriors of Plasm is the start of the Defiant comic universe. I have been collecting all the comics Defiant put out in the short time they were around. They did something that I had never seen before. Warriors of Plasm issue 0 was put out as a trading card set. You bought the packs,built yourself a set. Then once you put the full set into the trading card pages you got a full length comic. I loved the idea. But by the time it was coming out I was getting out of comics. And didn't want to have to buy who knows how many packs of cards to get a full set. Then a month or so later I was flipping thru the Advance Comic catalog. I see that Rivers group is putting out a tin set that not only has all the cards needed to make up issue 0. Plus it has a card you can only get in this tin. And each set is numbered. One draw back. It cost ,and this 21 years ago so I might be remembering this a bit off,$150. Way more than I wanted to pay. Over the past 3 years I have gotten an almost complete set of the Defiant comics. I looked on Amazon and saw I could get a sealed box of packs of the Plasm issue 0 series. But getting a sealed box didn't mean I would get a full set.So I looked up this tin set. Thinking it had to be at least $50 still. Nope,it was $5. I threw it on my wishlist.

That is the back of the tin. There was 25,000 sets made. Which back then when the demand was high is a low number. But 21 years later when only the most diehard comic fans even remember Defiant,it is a decent number.I seem to recall hearing that the cards in the tin are made of better materials than the ones you would get in the packs. You also get a coupon for a free Plasm comic book. Of course I can't use that now. Cause not only is Defiant out of business but so is The Rivers Group.And like most manufactured collectibles in the 90s you get a certificate letting you know this is a legit honest to Steve limited edition.

Mine is number 20082.Well as soon as I got home on the 26th,I quickly unpacked. Then kicked back on my bed. Grabbed my trading card album. Checked to make sure I got enough empty pages. Then started opening the 3 stacks of cards inside the tin. I was sorting the cards and noticed that I had 3 copies of one card."Fuck I bet that means I am missing 2 cards." I had heard that some of the sets were missing a few cards. After sorting everything I saw I am missing 6 cards. But the good news,I went to a comic forum that I enjoy reading. Made a post offering to pay a buck a card plus shipping for the 6 I need. Less than an hour later someone PMed me offering to send me the cards I needed for free. I once again offered to pay a buck a card plus shipping.The person turned that down. "We call it comic book karma around here. If you have any comics you don't want anymore,check around here and if someone wants them.Send them to them for free." So sometime later this month I am making a list of comics and trades I don't want anymore and gonna offer them up. I do like this comic book karma idea. Once I get those 6 cards I can finally read a comic I have been wanting to read for all my adult life. This was another gift from my Aunt Midget. I am not kidding when I say the box she put everything into had to weigh at least 10lbs.

Now these last two gifts are very special to me. Mostly cause of who got them for me.

Mr Monster's Hi-Octane Horror #1 from Eclipse Comics. Sometime in the early 90s I grabbed one of the Mr Monster True Crime comics. Eclipse did a series of Mr Monster specials,each one with a theme,and each of them reprinting public domain pre-code comics. Now these comics are not rare or expensive. But I rarely see copies. And this one is one I have been searching for,for a decent amount of time. Sure I could just order if from MilehighPRICES.. I mean Mile High Comics. Or from MyComicShop. But for something like this I rather buy it in a comic shop or at a con. We get 3 pre code horror stories. With one drawn by the late great comics legend Basil Wolverton. Mr Monster creator Micheal Gilbert does a few pages or wraparound. With Mr Gilbert hosting the comics like the Cryptkeeper did back in the EC days. Then we get a history piece on one of the artist of the pre-code stuff. Plus more info on all three stories. And an interesting letters page.Found out that someone went to 4 comic shops tracking down this issue for me. All because they know that I wanted to get this from a shop.

Most years someone super close to me makes me a stocking and sends it down to my family on the coast.Last year it was full of Pez. This year it had 3 envelopes and the above comic digest. I sadly rarely see the Archie digests in my town anymore. So had no idea they had brought back Archie's Funhouse.  Plus it is a Jumbo Comic. It is 5 times the thickness of a normal Archie digest. And over 2 times the size of the old Double Digests.One thing that I love is most of the stories in this digest actually have credits. I do not remember seeing credits on Archie stuff before. I haven't read much of this yet. But I use Archie Digest for bathroom reading. Think about it,each story is 3 to 5 pages. Perfect for when you have to go take a dump.The three envelopes each had 20 bucks in them. With a note telling me that each 20 was only to be spent at a certain store. "Consider them giftcards for stores that don't have them." The thought and care that went into the various items in the stocking just show me how much I am loved.

Ok I am wrapping this up for part 1. I only got one category left,but it is a huge one. Plus I got one item that would have fallen into the assorted category. But I wanted to save it for the end.

Late X-mas presents

I ended up with a bunch of giftcards to Amazon and Walmart this past X-mas. So of course I ended up using them to get a bunch of DVDs and some comics.

This first item I actually ordered before X-mas. A good friend sent me an Amazon giftcard.

 I first found out about the dvd thanks to Video Watchdog. It is a time capsule based around the old Spook Show theatrical gimmick. Last year I rented it from Netflix. Well I went to buy a copy and it was out of print. Then the weekend before X-mas I got an Amazon giftcard and found a used copy of this super cheap. Paid more for shipping than the dvd cost. Best thing is it came with the booklet and 2 pairs of 3d glasses. I have watched Monsters Crash the Pajama party and half of the second feature,Tormented, and really enjoyed them. Plus the dvd is packed with all kinds of extras.

 Then one of my relatives gave me a Walmart giftcard. So I went digging through the Walmart $5 bin.

 I have no idea why I hadn't bought this film before. But since last week I started reading the novel I figured it was time to grab the dvd. Plus for $5 I couldn't pass it up.

 I haven't seen this film since it first hit dvd what 10 years ago. But I did enjoy it. Sadly the commentary with Method Man and Redman was kind of crap.

When this show premiered a few years ago I watched 3 or 4 episodes. But had a feeling it wouldn't last more than one season so I stopped watching it. When I saw it in the $5 I figured it was in there by mistake. But took a chance. Over the past 2 days I have been marathoning the series and pleasantly surprised with how good it is.Sure sometimes it gets a little cheesy,but it is a pretty decent show.


Then X-mas day I got another Amazon giftcard.So I went through my wishlist and grabbed some stuff.

 I discovered Hack/Slash last year when I got 10lbs of random comics. I read 4 or so issues and really enjoyed it. I have been wanting this omnibus for awhile,but the cover price was $30. So I found it used on Amazon for half that. Earlier this week I had a doctor's appointment and ended up reading almost 3/4ths of it while waiting. If you are a horror fan this is one of the better horror comics on the market.

 Ever since Shout Factory put on Freaks and Geeks I have been a huge fan of the company. I was looking for some cheap horror dvds. Saw this set and I have been wanting to see The Dungeonmaster and Cellar Dweller for years. Plus the price was great for 4 films.

 I had got all 5 seasons of this sitcom when Anchor Bay put them out. But someone stole them. So I had been buying the Mill Creek releases. Which are $5 a season. Then I saw that I could get all 5 seasons in one set for $10. I grabbed it. I am not normally a fan of family based sitcoms,but this one appeals to me.

 Another cheap 4 pack of films from Shout/Scream Factory. This one I bought for The Vagrant. But the other 3 films sound interesting.

 I already own Buffy seasons 1,2,3,6,7. And this was super cheap used on Amazon. I am not a big fan of the seasons when the Scoobies where in college. But for what I paid it is worth it.

I heard all the hype about this film when it came out a few years ago. Plus with David Schow writing it I had to at least try it out. I rented it and loved it. Well I had a few bucks left on the giftcard and this was cheap. I just finished watching it and it more than holds up to a second viewing. Just more proof that all the people saying horror has "been shit for the past 15 years" are ignorant.