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10.21.05 by ScottC @ 4:26 am  Film: Written by Richard Matheson Features:
Released by: MGM Home Video. My Advice: Rent it. Carl Kolchak (McGavin) is one of those reporters who believes in getting The Truth no matter what feathers he ruffles or questionable methods he uses to get them. Now if The Truth happens to bring fame and fortune, what's a guy to do? He smells a big story when young girls are being murdered in Las Vegas. The police try to downplay the more sensational aspects like the massive blood loss (no blood on the scene), the great strength of the attackers, and the human bite marks on the girls' necks. Of course Kolchak leaps to the theory that this maybe some whackjob who thinks he's a vampire. The police, who consider Kolchak a pain in the ass at the best of times, berate him for causing a public panic (and a drop in tourist dollars) but Kolchak is on the scent. Then he realizes that there is more than just a story when he sees the murderer toss cops around like rag dolls and shrug off bullets like mosquito bites. Since no one, even his editor Vincenzo (Oakland), believes Kolchak, he takes up the cross and stake and prepares to face The Night Stalker. Categorized as: Reviews and TV
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10.19.05 by Widge @ 4:53 am  Ah, British television comedy. Not enough of it makes it over here stateside (legitimately, anyway), so you know that what does meander its way over here must be pretty choice, which these two latest BBC Home Video releases are. Steve Coogan is Alan Partridge in our first selection, the complete series of Knowing Me Knowing You, which contains all six episodes and the Xmas special across two discs. Sadly, his most memorable exploit, at least for us Americans, is playing the lead in the ill-fated Around the World in 80 Days. But here, Alan Partridge is the phoniest, most shameless and all-around worst talk show host you've ever seen. He even has to make do without celebrities of any note, and has one of his lowest points when Roger Moore gets tied up in traffic and calls into the show from the road. Categorized as: TV
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10.10.05 by ScottC @ 6:19 am  Film: Series Created by John Bowen and David Cook Features:
Released by: Acorn Media. My Advice: Rent it if you're a serious Anglophile. Hetty Wainthropp (Routledge) just had her 60th birthday and she's not happy. She's irritated that, all of a sudden, people consider her old. She's still a vital active woman but society wants her to crochet and join senior citizen clubs. She's having none of that. She goes out looking for a job. Her husband Robert (Benfield) is not exactly happy about this, but he knows better than get in the way of his wife. And since he's retired, the extra money won't hurt either. But then she gets involved with a homeless couple cashing someone else's pension check, a mysterious bag lady with a high-class accent, a biologist with a sudden interest in animal husbandry, and a multinational corporation. Figuring out this mess leaves Hetty to a conclusion: she likes sleuthing and is good at it. So with some ads in the paper, some business cards, and a young assistant Jeremy (Monaghan), Hetty sets out with jobs ranging from missing persons, arson, even murder. Criminals better beware when Hetty Wainthropp Investigates. Categorized as: Reviews and TV
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10.09.05 by ScottC @ 6:21 am   Film: Series Created by Anthony Horowitz Features:
Released by: Acorn Media. My Advice: Rent it. In the autumn of 1940, brave British pilots in their Spitfires battle German bombers over the cities of England. But some enemy planes still get through and they deliver their deadly cargo. Random death and destruction is the order of the day. But the English people persevere through the devastation, the restrictions on food and fuel, and the constant fear of invasion. But people are still people and they still commit illegal acts, including murder. Helping to maintain the rule of law is Chief Inspector Foyle (Kitchen). With his assistant, Sergeant Milner (Howell) and his feisty driver Samantha (Weeks), Foyle investigates serious crimes and works to maintain the spirit of justice against the expediencies of wartime. Welcome to Foyle's War. Categorized as: Reviews and TV
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10.08.05 by HTQ4 @ 8:18 pm  Film: Written by Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, and Ruby Wax Features:
Released by: BFS Video My Advice: Fans should rent. Categorized as: Reviews and TV
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