“Jackass Forever” is exactly the kind of movie that we need right now. In a world where everything is so dark, it’s kind of fun to see Johnny Knoxville return with the gang to just do dumb crap for ninety minutes. The virtually critic proof “Jackass Forever” is kind of a sequel and reboot of the series that brings back so much of the cringe inducing, horrendous stunts that we’re used too, all the while introducing us to some brand new members in the process.
Jordan Peele’s “Nope” Makes Its Debut
All star cast? Check.
Mystifying use of music (in this case Stevie Wonder’s “Fingertips”) to create terror? Check.
Brilliant editing that tells us everything and yet nothing? Check.
Another spooky trailer from Jordan Peele? Check.
That Jordan Peele sure is a wicked puppet master, and with “Nope” he grabs our attention while giving us literally nothing about “Nope” except the basics. Is it an alien invasion? Aliens weaponizing the weather? Are these interstellar colonizers? It’s going to be a long wait to July 7th.
Alligator (1980): Collector’s Edition [4K UHD/Blu-Ray]
After Spielberg’s “Jaws” took the world by storm, every studio took it upon themselves to create their own facsimile of the killer shark film. They hoped to cash in on the film’s momentum, and from that a whole sub-genre was created. And from “Alligator” there was the sub-sub-genre of Killer Croc and Alligator movies. For that you can attribute to the classic urban legend of sewers being a virtual haven for massive killer crocodiles, thanks to hapless tourists bringing home gators for pets. Writer John Sayles has no shortage of scenes involving the alligator lurking in the sewers and waiting for victims to enter its domain.
The Glory of Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake captivated audiences in the 1940s with her peek-a-boo hairstyle, but she was much more than a decorative presence. On this episode of “The Online Movie Show,” film historian Geno Cuddy returns to discuss Lake’s place in cinema history.
The Bootleg Files: Der Januskopf
BOOTLEG FILES 794: “Der Januskopf” (1920 unauthorized version of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” directed by F.W. Murnau).
LAST SEEN: When it was theatrically released.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Murnau did not clear the rights to the Robert Louis Stevenson source material.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Excellent, provided that someone finds a print of the film.
In the early 1920s, the great German director F.W. Murnau made back-to-back horror films based on popular books from his era: “Der Januskopf,” based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” and “Nosferatu,” based on Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” There was just one problem: Murnau never bothered to secure the rights to these books and tried to get circumvent copyright laws by making slight adjustments to their respective stories and changing the names of the characters.
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Last Looks (2022)
A cop who moved to woods to live a minimalist life after his career went South is called back to his previous life to investigate a star’s wife’s murder. The actor is the prime suspects, but it may not be so simple.
Ghosts of the Ozarks (2022)
Following the Civil War, a young doctor is asked to join in uncle in a utopic village in the Arkansas. Once there, he slowly discovers that many secrets are protected by the locals and that crossing them is quite dangerous.