It’s hard to believe that anything in “Rock and Roll Terrorist” ever actually happened. But then you look up GG Allin online and then you’re kind of shocked that GG Allin ever happened. GG Allin is a hotly debated and still polarizing figure in rock and roll, he was a man who could be described in so many ways by so many people. Criminal. Sadist. Messiah. Troll. Icon. Rapist. Rockstar. Scumfuck. He’s a man that doesn’t quite fit one peg and that’s just how he liked it.
TV on DVD: DC Comics Television
This year Warner Bros and DC Entertainment has unleashed a flurry of their banner television shows which should help ease the boredom of folks still in quarantine. With a lot of what’s been released, there are long awaited releases, and of course big releases of some of the biggest events of the year. COVID may have ground everything to a halt, but DC is still delivering on animated movies and season sets.
The Orange Years: The Nickelodeon Story (2020)
If you have to ask, then you’ll never understand how big and important Nickelodeon was, once upon a time. For many, “The Orange Years” from Scott Barber and Adam Sweeney might feel like yet another bit of 90’s nostalgia for Millennials, but the documentary is a look at television, its history and how Nickelodeon blazed a trail for a massive industry, and set a precedent that many studios would aspire to topple.
Five Gems Still Not on DVD, Blu-Ray, or 4K UHD
With many calling the death of physical media and some studios switching over to streaming for some of their titles, the market for collectors is as interesting as ever. What with the theaters closing, studios are rushing to release a lot of their films on new formats or present them in a new way for movie fans. Sadly there haven’t been a lot of really big unveilings in terms of titles unleashed. Save for a few surprises here and there (“Rad,” “The Gate II,” “36.15 Code Père Noël”), it’s all more of the same ad nauseum (Do we really need yet another edition of “E.T.” or “Back to the Future”?) there are still so many movies out there that have yet to see a release on Blu-Ray, 4K UHD, and yes, even Standard DVD.
That said, these are five very good movies that deserve a home media release.
Girl (2020)
Director/Writer Chad Faust really knows what he’s doing in “Girl,” as he places a lot of the film’s weight on star Bella Thorne. Thorne is an underrated actress that’s been stuck in a lot of terrible movies, but when she’s paired with the right director, she gives performances like the one we see in “Girl.” Star Thorne carries what’s just an okay movie that feels like it aspires too eagerly to be held in the class of other backwoods dramas like 2010’s “Winter’s Bone.”
West Side Story: Behind the Scenes
The 1961 version of “West Side Story” is considered by many to be among the greatest movie musicals of all time. On this episode of “The Online Movie Show,” we discuss the making of this classic (and dispel some longstanding rumors on its casting) with Richard Barrios, author of “West Side Story: The Jets, the Sharks, and the Making of a Classic.”
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2020)
Sasha Baron Cohen has remained one of the most scornful critics of the modern American political scene and has taken to destroying the status quo whenever possible. He’s been especially vicious in 2020 with his incredibly controversial “Who is America?” limited series, which he then follows up with the “Borat” sequel. This movie is not at all a cash grab, if fans were worried, it’s instead yet another case of Cohen pulling down the curtain in an America most of us doesn’t know exists. Or at least likes to pretend doesn’t exist.