DVD releases for Oct 10th

A-team Season 5 (Universal)
“I pity the fool!” Sorry, I could not resist. George Peppard costarred with Audrey Hepburn in the classic Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and ended up working with Mr. T. Somehow that does not seem fair. I suspect the steady paycheck likely softened the blow. This, the fifth season, is the final season of the show and a lot of the initial charm had since worn off.

Black Dahlia (2006) Dir.: Ulli Lommel. Thriller about a modern-day serial killer copying the 1947 "Black Dahlia" murder. Extras: Commentary by Lommel. (Lionsgate).

Black Rain (special collector’s edition) Extras: Director’s Commentary, Black Rain: The Script, The Cast, Black Rain: Making the Film (2 Parts), Black Rain: Post Production (paramount)
Ridley Scott directed this edgy Michael Douglas thriller. I really can't think of anything else to add EXCEPT that Ridley Scott also directed Demi Moore in G.I. Jane. Demi then went on to star, with Michael Douglas, in Disclosure. It really is a small world!

Magnum P.I.: The Complete Fifth Season(uni)
Tom Selleck is back as the viet nam vet turned P.I. that lives on the estate of a wealthy mystery writer and drives his ferarri. As a child, I could think of no better life. Come to think of it, that sounds damn good right now.
Numb3rs: The Complete Second Season Extras: Audio commentary on select episodes, Blooper Reel, Behind the Scenes with Nicolas Falacci, Behind the Scenes with David Krumholtz, Crunching Numb3rs: Season 2. (Paramount).
This is the second season of the math based police procedural. As the gimick of the shows grows older, they continue to develop the characters to make this show deeper and deeper.
A Prairie Home Companion (2006) Dir.: Robert Altman; Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Garrison Keillor, Kevin Kline, Lindsay Lohan, Virginia Madsen, John C. Reilly, Maya Rudolph, Meryl Streep, Yolanda Johnson, Lily Tomlin. Backstage fable about a fictitious radio variety show that has managed to survive in the age of television, based on the real radio show. Extras: Audio commentary with director Robert Altman and star Kevin Kline
Deleted scenes with optional commentary, “Come Play With Us: A Feature Companion” behind-the-scenes featurette, “Onstage at the Fitzgerald: A Music Companion” extended music performances and advertisement segments, Soundtrack Preview, Theatrical trailer(New Line).
While I have never been particularly fond of A Prarie Home Companion, I am a fan of Robert Altman. This is certainly vintage Altman. You don’t have to be a fan of Altman and APHC to enjoy the film, but if you hate them, then this is not for you.
Simon & Simon: Season one Jameson Parker and Gerald McRaney star as brothers who couldn’t be more different, yet make their trade together in San Diego where they own a private detective agency. (Universal)
Simon and Simon followed Magnum P.I. for years on Thursday nights on CBS. Season one is enjoyable enough. The early years are better than the latter ones when their mother was a regular character. Apparently they wanted to reach both the P.I. fans as well as the Murder She Wrote ones. The result is something sitting mushily in the middle. As I said though, the first seasons were the best.

Waist Deep (2006) Dir.: Vondie Curtis Hall; Tyrese Gibson, Meagan Good, Larenz Tate, The Game. Extras: "Going Deep: Analysis of a Scene" follows the choreography of the crucial car-jacking scene, "Drive-By Filmmaking" behind-the-scenes featurette, "Bad Girl" music video, additional scenes not shown in theaters. (Universal).
Tyrese Gibson has his car stolen, with his son in the back seat. This tight thriller follows the labors he must go through to retrieve his son.

Jeremy

DVD Review: Hard Candy.

A captivating and very disturbing psychological horror/thriller that will leave some viewers in a fetal position and requiring extensive therapy. Hard Candy is a movie that gets in your face, manipulates your emotions and then hits you when you aren’t looking.

A teenage girl(Ellen Page) decides to meet a photographer (Patrick Wilson) whose acquaintance she made online. Soon after that, they decide to go to his place for drinks. This film is a true game of cat and mouse, but who is the mouse?

Ellen Page is amazing in her role as Hayley. I have not been this captivated with a young actress since Natalie Portman came on the scene with Leon: The professional. This film could/would have been just another independent exploitation flick if not for the quality acting of Page and Wilson.
While Hard Candy is a good film, it is not for everyone as it is very intense and will prove to be too much for some. Having said that, I think this is far better than the gorreffic flicks that are dominating the horror market these days.

Jeremy Lynch

DVD releases for Oct 3rd

21 Grams (Special Edition)Extras: " 21 Grams: In Fragments" - An Insightful Look at the Making of the Film (Universal)
Not sure what makes this special. Don’t get me wrong, the film is fantastic, but this edition features little that would deserve a closer look.

Body Double Special Edition (1984) Dir.: Brian De Palma; Melanie Griffith, Craig Wasson, Deborah Shelton, Gregg Henry, Dennis Franz. Extras: Four new featurettes including interviews with De Palma, Griffith, Shelton, Henry and Franz: "The Seduction," "The Set-Up," "The Mystery" and "The Controversy." (Sony).
If Scarface is an example of De Palma shining, this is an example of what happens when a film gets away from him. Not all bad, but it is a bit of a mess. One can see where there might be a good film in there someplace, but the final product leaves something to be desired.

Humphrey Bogart: The Signature Collection Volume 2 Seven-disc set with "The Maltese Falcon Three-Disc Special Edition," "Across the Pacific," "Action in the North Atlantic," "All Through the Night" and "Passage to Marseille"; $59.92. "The Maltese Falcon Three-Disc Special Edition" will be available separately for $29.92. (Warner).
The Maltese Falcon Three-Disc Special Edition (1941) Dir.: John Huston; Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Elisha Cook Jr. Extras: Disc One: New digital transfer of 1941 movie from restored elements; commentary by Bogart biographer Eric Lax; Warner Night at the Movies 1941 short subjects gallery: vintage newsreel, Oscar-nominated Technicolor musical short "The Gay Parisian," classic cartoon "Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt ," trailers of "The Maltese Falcon" and 1941's "Sergeant York." Disc Two: Two previous movie versions of the classic Hammett caper: "The Maltese Falcon" (1931) with Bebe Daniels and Ricardo Cortez; "Satan Met a Lady" (1936) with Bette Davis and Warren William; trailers. Disc Three: New documentary "The Maltese Falcon: One Magnificent Bird"; Robert Osborne hosts "Becoming Attractions: The Trailers of Humphrey Bogart"; "Breakdowns of 1941: Studio Blooper Reel"; audio-only bonus: three radio show adaptations featuring the movie's original stars including a version starring Edward G. Robinson.
Across the Pacific (1942) Dir.: John Huston; Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet. Extras: Warner Night at the Movies 1942 Short Subjects Gallery: vintage newsreel, patriotic Technicolor short "Men of the Sky," classic cartoon "The Draft Horse," trailers of "Across the Pacific" and 1942's "Captains of the Clouds"; new featurette "Hollywood Helps the Cause"; "Breakdowns of 1942: Studio Blooper Reel."
Action in the North Atlantic (1943) Humphrey Bogart, Raymond Massey, Alan Hale, Julie Bishop, Ruth Gordon. Extras: Warner Night at the Movies 1943 short subjects gallery: vintage newsreel, musical short "Cavalcade of Dance," classic cartoon "Greetings Bait," trailers of "Action in the North Atlantic" and 1943's "Northern Pursuit"; new featurette "Credit Where Credit Is Due"; audio-only bonus radio show with George Raft and Raymond Massey.
All Through the Night (1942) Humphrey Bogart, William Demarest, Jackie Gleason, Phil Silvers. Extras: Commentary by director Vincent Sherman and Bogart biographer Eric Lax, Warner Night at the Movies 1942 short subjects gallery: vintage newsreel, Joe Doakes comedy short "So You Want to Give Up Smoking," classic cartoon "Lights Fantastic," trailers of "All Through the Night" and 1942's "Gentleman Jim"; new featurette "Call the Usual Suspects: The Craft of the Character Actor."
Passage to Marseille (1944) Dir: Michael Curtiz; Humphrey Bogart, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet. Extras: Warner Night at the Movies 1944 short subjects gallery: vintage newsreel, Oscar-winning patriotic short "I Won't Play," and short "Jammin' the Blues," classic cartoon "The Weakly Reporter," trailers of "Passage to Marseille" and 1944's "Uncertain Glory"; new featurette "The Free French: Forgotten Unsung Victors"; "Breakdowns of 1944: Studio Blooper Reel."
To say I am excited by this release is a massive understatement. I am a HYOOOGE Bogie fan. Bogie is the freakin' man! This set gives The Maltese Falcon a royal treatment and offers us some films that have never been released on DVD. Even if you are not a Bogie fan, but enjoy the films of yesterday, this is worth picking up. I will be posting a complete review as soon as my copy shows up. Usually the review copies arrive weeks prior to the release but not this time.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Locked 'N Loaded Edition (Unrated Director's Cut) (1998) Dir.: Guy Ritchie; Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Jason Statham, Steven Mackintosh, Nicholas Rowe, Nick Marcq, Charles Forbes, Vinnie Jones. Extra footage. Extras: Featurettes: "One Smoking Camera," "Lock, Stock and Two F**cking Barrels." (Universal).
This is the extended director's cut of the film that started more than a couple of careers. One could argue that Ritchie hit his peak with his feature film debut. While scenes are added, I don't think they really make the film better. If you already own this, I honestly can't see the need to buy it again.

Medium: The Complete Second Season Extras:Collectible 3-D glasses included
The Story Of Medium, Season Two, Medium In Another Dimension: a special on the making of the 3D episode, A Day In The Life Of The DuBois Daughters, The Museum of Television and Radio Q & A with Cast and Creative Team, Gag Reel (Paramount)
Patricia Arquette is talking to the dead. How did the dead manage so many years without voices on network TV?

Midsomer Murders, Set Seven Four-disc set with four feature-length mysteries involving murders in the quaint English village of Midsomer; $49.99. Extras: Midsomer map, cast filmographies. (Acorn Media).

Scarface Platinum Edition (2005) Dir.: Brian De Palma; Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Robert Loggia, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. Two-disc set with new sound effects and audio mix. Extras: "Scarface Scoreboard": Keep track of the number of times the "F" word is used and the number of bullets fired; deleted scenes; "Making of Scarface: The Video Game"; "The World of Tony Montana" featurette; "Scarface: The Rebirth" featurette with Pacino, De Palma, producer Martin Bregman and screenwriter Oliver Stone examining the history of "Scarface," from the original 1932 classic to shooting the script; "Scarface: Creating" featurette; "Scarface: Acting" featurette; "Scarface: TV Version Montage" montage of film clips that compare and contrast the theatrical release to the network version of Scarface. (Universal).
This De Palma film has become a cult classic, with phrases like “let me introduce you to my little friend” becoming recognizable even to those that have never seen the film. Al Pacino stars as the latino drug dealer.This edition is loaded with some great extras really talk about how the film came to be and give insight into what went into the filming. And if this special edition….sorry, “platinum edition” does not fill your need for Mr. Face, there is a new video game out in which you play the feisty Latino Kingpin.

Thank You For Smoking (2006) Dir.: Jason Reitman; Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Cameron Bright, Adam Brody, Sam Elliott, Katie Holmes, David Koechner, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy, J.K. Simmons, Robert Duvall Extras: Cast and director commentary; deleted scenes; "The Charlie Rose Show" interview with Jason Reitman, Aaron Eckhart, Christopher Buckley and David O. Sacks; "Making of Thank You for Smoking" featurette; "America: Living in Spin" featurette; more. (Fox).
Ivan Reitman’s son Jason directs a star-studded cast in this very black comedy about advertising, marketing and American greed.

Point Break Pure Adrenaline Edition (1991) Dir.: Kathryn Bigelow; Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty, John C. McGinley, James LeGros. Extras: Deleted scenes, "It's Make or Break" featurette, "Ride the Wave" featurette, "Adrenaline Junkies" featurette, "On Location: Malibu" featurette. (Fox).
Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves and Gary Busey star in this thriller about surfers that rob banks. I swear I am not making that up. Witness riveting scenes between Swayze and Reeves. There are so many jokes just waiting to be made.
While this has become a favorite of many, only a gun to my head is going to get me to watch it again. Having said that, we will have a review in the couple of weeks.

Anthony Award 2006

Crimespree says Wow!!

Thanks guys, an Anthony. So aside from being speechless on Saturday, not having prepared anything and getting the award from Jim Huang and Kent Krueger it’s a little hard to follow up Barbara Seranella. It’s telling that all three of these people have done something for Crimespree. So in essence they were giving themselves an Anthony. And you an Anthony too.

For those of you unaware, The Jordan clan hasn’t had the best of years. Saturday was a highlight. And how typical of the Mystery community to rally around and lift you up. It’s why we cannot get enough of this thing called mystery.

Blogging allows us to now thank the folks who need thanking.

We have other editors at Crimespree. They spend as much time on the mechanics as we do. Jeremy Lynch continues to elevate the Entertainment section of Crimespree. His energy for and love of what he’s doing is great to be a part of. And with the incredible Jill at his side I suspect he’s only just beginning.

Mary Regan’s photos are fab and she manages to get her camera everywhere. The one on one feel of Crimespree is largely due to the photos she somehow gets to match the articles we are running each and every issue.

Sister Jen not only is finding some of the best short fiction out there she is our rock. She gets us through the day to day and travels roads both rocky and lined with gold right beside us.

The content? Well what can we say…. The names are many, so many and hell, when we ask people “Could you…. And oh we don’t pay…” the answer is always, “I’d love to…. What’s the deadline?” Because many of the folks who write for us out of their love for the genre are actually making money with their writing and like us, work comes first.
You all come through for us time after time. If we haven’t tapped you yet, be assured, we will.

And our reviewers, each time you type out a review, realize not only are you reviewing a book, you’ve just given Jon and myself an extra five hours in our lives. To work on the rest of the magazine, make time for the day job, sleep a little or make buttons, a lot of buttons.

We had two parents there and one waiting at home for the results. They gave us our love for reading and that’s where it starts.

We love mysteries. We love Bouchercon. No matter what else is going on in our lives we know that we can rely on this community. We’ve known it since we both ventured on line and typed “mystery” into the search engine. Ram, 4MA, Dorothy L, Book Sense. There are people everywhere who share our obsession. And then we met you all in person. And now…. We hope Crimespree will help to bring more people to this community, these books and our genre for a long, long time.
That said, this award belongs to everyone who’s ever picked up a mystery but more than any other two individuals our Anthony goes out to the two who weren’t there; our dad and Jeremy’s grandmother. They believed in us first and loved us best. Thanks you two.

Showtime’s Dexter is disturbing, somewhat creepy and very entertaining.

A while back, in my Eye on Hollywood column (featured in each issue of the fantastic Crime Spree magazine) that Showtime was bringing Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter character to the small screen. I mentioned that this was going to be a difficult task as the many of the things that made the novels so alluring would also turn off many potential viewers. A main character that is an unfeeling serial killer (albeit of other killers) is not something that many folks will connect with.

Early in his life, Dexter survived a traumatic event, one he can not remember. His foster father, Harry, a former policeman, learns that his son lacks the emotions most of us have, and that he is filled an urge to kill that he can’t ignore. Harry channels Dexter's homicidal urges into good, teaching him to kill only those who deserve it. He also helps Dexter to blend with other folk, teaching him how to emulate the human emotions he doesn't actually feel so that he doesn't draw attention to his extracurricular activities.

After watching the first episode, I have to say that they have stayed true to the overall feel of the books. Watching it, my feelings ranged to disgust to glee. This show left me wanting to take a shower, yet unable to wait until the next episode
The creative forces behind this series have worked on such Cable hits as Six Feet Under, Oz and The Sapranos. They take full advantage of the creative freedom that cable offers and deliver a show that stands alone in its content. Something like this would never make it on network TV. Actually, something like this would never even make it to network TV.

Michael C. Hall, of Six Feet Under does a wonderful job of capturing Dexter. After watching one episode, his character from 6FU is but a faint memory. Hall does a fantastic job of bringing this odd character to life. He plays the role with a certain spark that will help some viewers get past the horrific aspects of Dexter.
This show certainly is not for everyone, but fans of the books should be thrilled with Dexter. Dexter airs on Showtime on Sunday nights at 10pm et/pt.

Jeremy Lynch