After Viacom acquired Paws Inc. Jim Davis’ orange feline icon has been getting his due on DVD thanks to PBS of all places. For the last few years, PBS has taken it upon themselves to give Garfield fans the treatment of the character that they’ve been asking for, for a long time. The long hard to find releases of the original series are now readily available in crisp transfers. Thankfully, the series is about as good as ever. Even without the nostalgia goggles, “Garfield and Friends” is hilarious and Garfield at his best.
Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021)
Taylor Sheridan’s “Those Who Wish Me Dead” is a nice, neatly packed vehicle that hearkens back to the simpler thrillers from the 1990’s and doesn’t really demand too much from her. Back in the decade, this movie probably would have been headlined by someone like Ashley Judd or some such. In either case, “Those Who Wish Me Dead” isn’t entirely an original or groundbreaking film, but as a solid and reliable thriller, it works. And it works damn well once it gets moving.
The Bootleg Files: Our Job in Japan
BOOTLEG FILES 766: “Our Job in Japan” (1946 U.S. Army propaganda film.).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube and Internet Archive.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: In collections of U.S. World War II military films.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No copyright was ever filed on this film, so it can be duped endlessly.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: A digital restoration for commercial home entertainment release is unlikely.
One of the most bizarre news stories of this year involved the decision by Dr. Seuss Enterprises to discontinue the publication of six books by the beloved children’s author due to racially insensitive illustrations of Africans and Asians. The books in question were minor additions to the author’s canon and were never adapted into films or television productions, but for many people the idea that a Dr. Seuss book would be taken off the shelves due to political correctness was the epitome of cancel culture run amok.
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The Djinn (2021)
A 12 year-old who spends more time alone than he probably should finds a book of spells from which he summons a being that wants something dark from him. As he works to survive his night alone and return the being where it came from, more is discovered about his family and why he is the way he is. Continue reading
High Ground (2020)
A young Aboriginal man works with a former soldier to save his family and land from the newly arrived British while tracking down a dangerous criminal.
Joseph Walsh: A Child Actor’s Life
On this week’s episode of “The Online Movie Show,” Joseph Walsh talks about his early 1950s career as a child actor and his work with such stars as Danny Kaye, Frank Sinatra and Kirk Douglas.
Thunder Force (2021)
Riddle me this: If the media keeps boasting about how much of a brilliant actress you are, and you do nothing but star in crappy movie vehicles created by your husband, are you really that much of an actress? I ask that because I’ve about lost all tolerance for Melissa McCarthy. Maybe at one time in her career, she seemed like she could rise to the top of the heap. But her insistence on allowing her husband Ben Falcone to sabotage her career with consistently awful movies has completely tainted any remaining good faith in her.