Blumhouse has found a little niche market in taking classic comedies and turning them in to bonafide horror movies. After “Happy Death Day 2 U,” they take the creaky Disney classic “Freaky Friday” and add a slasher twist to it. Shockingly, it works more times than it doesn’t. Christopher Landon doesn’t just embrace the classic narrative, but he tops it off with a gory slasher movie, and even injects so many LGBTQ overtones that it wouldn’t surprise me if it picked up steam as a LGTBQ classic very soon.
Blade (1998) [4K UHD/Blu-Ray/Digital]
Stephen Norrington’s 1998 adaptation of the comic book “Blade” is a movie that’s often overlooked and or ignored as one of the comic book movie hits that broke ground. While it was never as mainstream as “X-Men” or “Spider-Man” it was a hit movie starring an African American hero, with an R rating. And while it hasn’t aged quite well since its initial release (it’s aged about as well as “X2,” which is good and terrible), it’s still a trailblazer worth seeking out right this second.
The Bootleg Files: The Divine Mr. J
BOOTLEG FILES 749: “The Divine Mr. J” (1971 religious satire starring Bette Midler as the Virgin Mary).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On a VHS label in 1984.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Legal threats by Bette Midler have kept this out of circulation.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely.
In May 1974, newspapers in New York City began to carry advertisements for a film opening at the Festival Theater called “The Divine Mr. J.” The advertisements alerted moviegoers this was the film debut of Bette Midler, who achieved her career breakthrough two years earlier with the album “The Divine Miss M,” and the caricature of Midler used on her eponymous second album was the featured image of the film’s promotion.
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Glengarry Glen Ross (1992): Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray]
David Mamet and James Foley’s adaptation of the stage drama is a remarkable and intense look at a room full of men in various stages of a job where the clock is consistently ticking down. As a salesman, you begin as Al Pacino’s Richard Roma, a slick and swift salesman who is absolutely cut throat. Then the time begins running out and you invariably turn in to Shelley Levene, a man who is desperately trying to keep his job, clinging to one big deal that may or may not save his job.
If Anything Happens I Love You: The Stellar Short That Became an Internet Meme
One of the bigger more interesting memes at Tiktok right now is the “#IfAnythingHappensILoveYouChallenge.” This particular meme involves a person or people filming themselves before and filming themselves after watching “If Anything Happens I Love You” on Netflix. Every video so far has shown each viewer beginning the movie with a nervous smirk and closing the video with teary eyes. Some of the users are nearly inconsolable afterward. If you didn’t think a short film could legitimately derive so many emotions from viewers, well them you probably have never seen “If Anything Happens I Love You.”
The Greatest Films You’ve Never Seen
Tired of watching the same films over and over? This week, Rob Firsching from The Amazing World of Cult Movies visits “The Online Movie Show” with recommendations on the best under-the-radar flicks!
The Bootleg Files: The Battle of China
BOOTLEG FILES 748: “The Battle of China” (1944 documentary in the “Why We Fight” series).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On public domain labels.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It never had a copyright, so anyone can make a crummy dupe.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Condemned to public domain hell.
In 1942, the U.S. government commissioned Oscar-winning filmmaker Frank Capra to create a series of films that would explain the nation’s involvement and goals for World War II to both the American public and the servicemembers being sent into battle. The “Why We Fight” films became a seven-part series that primarily focused on the threats that Nazi Germany posed to the U.S. and to its British and Soviet allies.
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