So, Comic-Con is over and it's time to decompress a bit. What better way than by sitting back drinking a cool beverage, cranking the AC, ordering a pizza and watching some of the magic below.
This week, there are several must sees including the latest MST3K release, Rosario Dawson playing femme fatale in Trance, some rare Jack Benny, Paul Walker behind the wheel, some female standup featuring the ridiculously funny Amy Schumer and an opportunity to have your very own Shark Week.
Fire up that queue and prep that shopping cart and check out the latest releases!
Mystery Science Theater 3000: XXVII
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| Shout! Factory / Released 7/23/13 |
There may be no finer—and certainly no funnier--meditation on monsters than this collection of episodes from the cult comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000. As food for thought, we are served subterranean slime people, giant praying mantis’, Soviet spies and--perhaps the most terrifying of all--enormous teenagers from the disturbing menu of America’s twisted psyche. Battling these Goliaths for us with their slingshots of sass and silliness are Joel, Mike and their robot henchmen Tom Servo and Crow. The monsters are gruesome and the movies even more so, but the riffs are risible and retaliatory, proving definitively that revenge is actually a dish best served funny.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: XXVII brings us The Slime People, wherein nuclear testing has driven a race of subterranean creatures up through the sewers of Los Angeles, and after defeating the military, they erect a dome out of fog over the city to preserve an inhabitable atmosphere. A small band of heroes-in-the-making, stranded inside the dome, must fight to survive; Rocket Attack U.S.A ; a propagandistic film about a nuclear attack on New York City being planned by the scariest monster of the atomic age-The Communist; Village Of The Giants, wherein MST3K mainstay Bert I. Gordon brings to life a tale of the inventor (played by Ron Howard) of a goo that causes animals to grow to many times their natural size. When some rebellious teenagers steal and consume his concoction, they take over the town, the generation gap takes a turn for the worse; and The Deadly Mantis, a film that attempts to answer the age-old question “How can insects and movie lovers be the victims of a single hate crime?” this 1957 knockoff of the much more agreeable Them! proves once again that nuclear testing simply isn’t for everyone.
Extras include an introduction by Mary Jo Pehl, an all-new featurette Chasing Rosebud: The Cinematic Life Of William Alland, Life After MST3K: Trace Beaulieu, an interview with Village of the Giants star Joy Harmon, an interview with The Slime People star Judith Fraser (Judee Morton), original trailers and four exclusive Mini-Posters by artist Steve Vance.
Trance
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| 20th Century Fox / Released 7/23/13 |
After a blow to the head during his attempted robbery of a $27 million Goya painting, Simon (James McAvoy), a fine-art auctioneer, awakens to find that the painting - and his memory - are missing. Forced by his ruthless crime partner Franck (Vincent Cassel) to undergo hypnosis, Simon enters into a deadly love triangle with his seductive hypnotist (Rosario Dawson). As the plot twists, the line between reality and dream becomes blurred in this fast-paced, unpredictable thriller. Extras include making of, Danny Boyle Retrospective, Short Film: Eugene By Spencer Susser and Deleted Scenes.
The Jack Benny Program: The Lost Episodes
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| Shout! Factory / Released 7/23/13 |
Here at last are 18 long-lost episodes - unseen since their original broadcast - that have been lovingly restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive that celebrates the enduring heart, soul and wit of this American icon. This first of its kind set features 18 episodes of the beloved program — unseen since their original broadcast.
In addition to the recurring character lineup of Jack, Don, Mary and Eddie “Rochester” Anderson; The Jack Benny Program: The Lost Episodes also features a superb lineup of guest stars including Natalie Wood, Red Skelton, Gary Cooper, George Burns, John Wayne, Dick Van Dyke, Billy Graham, Milton Berle, Tony Curtis and President Harry Truman.
Extras include excerpts from the Jack Benny color television specials, an new interview with Harry Shearer, director Norman Abbott and Benny’s secretary Dorothy Ohman; newsreels featuring rare footage from the 1930s and ’40s, a 16-page booklet and much more.
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