Wholesale and Distribution Movie Reviews

I couldn't wait for the release of this George Zucco classic (The Mad Monster). I had recorded it off TV about 10 years ago and couldn't wait to see a good copy of the film. Retromedia bragged that it had combined two prints of the film for the best possible copy. Yikes! Putting together two poor copies still makes a poor copy. Alas, I was disappointed.

In case you don't know the plot, Mad Scientist George Zucco has been shunned by the scientific world because of his theories of creating a great army of wolfmen. Now George is plotting his revenge by ... Zucco is priceless too as he weaves his revenge... But this film and sound quality of this version is not worth the [$$].

EXTRAS - This DVD does have some extras. It has an excellent copy of the trailer (from 35 mm). There is also an abbreviated audio interview with Glenn Strange. This is part of the same audio interview that appears on another DVD, but this one has been edited to include Strange's comments on his horror film performance. So, it is excellent. The last extra is the movie the Black Raven, an old Dark House mystery. The quality is much better than the Mad Monster, but still not great. It looks really good in comparison to the other film, but I suspect I would be complaining if I had watched it first. It's a fun little mystery and has some good comic effects by Glenn Strange.

"The Mad Monster" is a bad movie. George Zucco hams it up a lot. But it is a lot of fun, and is atmospheric despite the usual trappings (i.e. old dark house on sawmp). The second bonus feature "The Black Raven" is another fun little PRC flicker with Glenn Strange in comedy releif! Both of these films make a fitting double-bill. The bonus materials are cool also, including an excellent audio interveiw with Glenn Strange, and the original theatrical trailer for "The Mad Monster". Completely worth the buy.

Monkey on a String is the horriblest movie ever. As a memeber of Peta I find puting monkies on strings to be irresponsible behavior. Monkies do not belong on strings. I think we should all band together to stop the mistreatment of the noble monkey.

with the combined skill and adgillity, shawn, parks, darin, collin and more, take up the wakeboard scene in a big way and rip up the water with some huge tricks. Whirlybird 540's, s-bends and big worms are just some of the tricks that these up and coming armerican riders are performing
A definate watch!!

According to the dvd case this movie is called "Montrosity, the Atomic Brain". A more apt title might be "Cheesey, More Neked Girls?". One cannot help but notice yon mad scientist has a knack for grabbing great looking female corpse' to display in his "atomic chamber". The reason one cannot help but notice is that the camera is forever going back to pan these lovelies...repeatedly...up and down...again...again...yawn...again...

Usually I have a fondness for bad movies but they gotta have some redeeming value. I don't care if it's Jacqueline Lovell wandering around in snow drifts wearing nothing but leather hot pants and a gorilla mask -- SOMETHING to spark an interest in what's going on! All this sad film has is semi-adequate acting, a thin script, gawd awful makeup for the dog man, and a true longing for Michael Myers to grab Lovells mask and a huge knife and rip his way through the entire flick putting it and us out of our misery.

Don't even bother renting this stinker. It ain't even worth borrowing.

"The Atomic Brain" is a masterpiece! Pure schlock, held together by cheesey glue! A mad scientist (Frank Gerstle) is experimenting with brain transplants in the basement of his aged female benefactor. Dr. Frank's been robbing graves, with the help of the "dogman" he's created, in order to find fresh, 60s style centerfold model-type, bimbette bodies for his experiments. You see, he's working on a brain transplant that will enable the old lady upstairs to "die" and inherit her own fortune, in the body of a young bodacious babe! Dr. Frank has already turned one girl into a mindless zombie who roams around aimlessly, until she stumbles into the dogman and becomes puppy chow. Then, three girls are tricked into coming to the house for (fake) housekeeper interviews. One is given the brain of a cat. Unfortunately, she climbs up on the roof and won't come down! The old hag has her eye on the blond bombshell of the three. Sadly, blondie gets her eye knocked out by cat girl. So, the third woman is selected as the body for the crazy old bat's cranial goo. BTW, the Dr.s experimants are all being done by dunking folks into some tub of radioactive slime. I won't give away the ending. Let's just say it's purrrrrfect...

This is another DVD distributed by Alpha Video.Unfortunately the transfer to Dvd is horrible, I dont Know where they get their source material, but this Dvd is as bad as their other Bowery boy Dvds.Save your money, I wish I had.

This is one of the best East Side Kids films available. Before they became "The Bowery Boys" and after they were known as "The Dead End Kids", "Little Tough Guys" and "Junior G-Men", there was a slew of "East Side Kids" films. A lot of these films are heavy on dramatics, not so much comedy as in the later Bowery Boys films. But this film combines both extremely well. Gorcey is, of course, classic in his role of Muggs McGinnis, along with the superb Huntz Hall as Glimpy, David Gorcey, Sunshine Sammy Morrison (uncredited for some reason!), Bobby Jordan, Gabe Dell and a comic performance by legendary Hal Roach regular Billy Gilbert as an inept crook. The film quality is actually much better than others in the East Side Kids series, not many glitches at all and the film is somewhat crisper. Lotsa fun as the kids get put in reform school for a crime they didn't commit; then they attempt to find the real bad guys and get Bobby Jordan's brother off Death Row. If you're a Bowery Boys/East Side Kids fan, you'll heartily enjoy this fine forgotten film.

In the early days of cinema, it seems like every third movie involved a murder, after which the authorities would not allow anyone to leave the house before the mystery was solved. Murder By Television is a rather poor representative of that type of movie. I like my plots to make sense, and this movie kept me rather confused from the very start. Worse, the final solution to the crime seems to me as if it was just made up out of thin air. The murder victim in this case is a television pioneer whose plans for a technological breakthrough are in high demand. As he is broadcasting his message to the few people lucky enough to actually have a TV, he suddenly collapses. There are several suspects, as one or two of the guests seem to be doing something akin to spying for a rival television company or two. The inventor's assistant, played by Bela Lugosi, is another prime suspect. There's another guy who keeps snooping around outside and sneaking in the house, but for some reason I don't understand the cops just keep throwing the guy out the door without asking him any questions. The ultimate solution to the crime partly relies upon one of the oldest tricks in the book, a plot device that was surely old and tired as early as 1935. Bela Lugosi is about the only thing this movie has going for it, but his character is by no means interesting. Almost everyone just seemed to be going through the motions on this one, and the result is a flat, forgettable film. The one exception is Hattie McDaniel, whom I was surprised but delighted to find in this pre-Gone With the Wind motion picture. Of course, her character is just one big stereotype, which makes her performance much less enjoyable than it would be otherwise.

I suppose we're all being murdered by television to some degree but here the title is somewhat miseading. Its not really murder BY television (as in forcing someone to watch Jim Carey, for example) but murder ON television.

This minor quibble aside, MBT is incomprehensible, dull, has offensive racial stereotypes and acting not unlike Plan 9. So what's not to like? I knocked off one star as this isn't one of Bella's films that also stars the Bowery Boys...sigh...

Oh - to add to the hilarity the print has more scratches than a driver's ed movie with some bits spliced out altogether. In short, its great! Highly reccomended.

if you like nigel watson ,this is for you
but if you like peter green ....

Since Nigel Watson coaxed 60s legend Peter Green out of retirement in the late 1990s, and formed the Splinter Group, there's been controversy about how much Green --- the marquee player of the band --- really contributes. Watson reportedly does most of the heavy lifting on guitar, adopting a style based on Green's brilliant work of 30+ years ago. This concert video gives you the chance to see for yourself.

There are two sets, an acoustic set made up of blues standards, including the Robert Johnson covers for which the band is noted. Then there's an electric set in which the Splinter Group performs original compositions, concluding with two of Peter Green's old songs. This has been the formula since the band's inception: new arrangements of the Green classics; blues covers, and new material by the other members of the band.

Those other members play well, and this is an enjoyable concert. Sadly, however, Peter Green does not do very much. His voice, never strong since his return from retirement, is very shaky. (Significantly, Nigel now sings "Need Your Love So Bad", since Peter is no longer able to hit the higher notes at all.) And while Green plays some harp, and some guitar, it's really Nigel who's doing the work here. There are one or two spots where Green seriously gets to work, but for the most part he picks indifferently at his guitar, backing Nigel's fiery solos with a few notes here and there.

The disc also includes an interview segment, and here Peter looks and sounds even worse. I could barely understand a word he said. Tragically, he comes across almost as a caricature of a fallen rock star, although those familiar with his life story are aware that serious health problems are responsible for his deterioration, and that he's still in much better shape now than he was before Nigel dragged him back into the spotlight.

Another DVD feature is an MTV-style video of "Real World", a Splinter Group original from their latest CD, "Reaching the Cold 100". Amazingly, in this video Peter smiles, seems awake, actually PLAYS his guitar and seems fully engaged. Did the concert just catch him on a bad night, has his health gone downhill, or does he just feel more comfortable without a live audience?

I'd recommend this disc for die-hard Green fans like myself, but anyone who hasn't heard his seminal work with John Mayall and the original Fleetwood Mac will probably be shaking their heads, asking "What's the big deal about this guy, anyway?" It's a shame, because those of us who love Peter's work know that, after Jimi Hendrix, he was the greatest rock or blues guitar player of his generation. While I'm glad he's enjoying himself (finally), I can't help wishing he still had his songwriting ability. Watching him do other people's songs and warmed-over versions of 35-year-old hits is, finally, getting a bit old.

The disc is in anamorphic widescreen with a fine Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack.

I was worried that it would be aimed at the young, non-surfing Blue Crush crowd, but the Surfer Mag quote on the back ("Every girl, no matter how experienced they are, needs to have this video.") convinced me to buy this for my wife. She has some surfing experience, and I was looking for a video with good female surfing footage and good advice.

Unfortunately, this video is more about image. The first 10 minutes were downright laughable. It got better as it went on, since there are some great surfers in the video, but the actual surfing footage is sadly sparse. For some strange reason, they just kept showing duck dives and butt shots. You'd think that's all female surfing is about from watching this video. They have some great talent in the video but it mostly goes to waste.

The on-board surf-cam footage was really cool, but overall the video was a big disappointment. Too bad; it had potential with all that talent. (If you're looking for a video about the joys of duck diving, though, this one's for you!)

I bought this as an instructional video-but it's so entertaining, and the photography is so incredibly cool and eyepopping-that it's really enjoyable as just a fun treat on it's own. The girls are great, the waves are often incredible, and you get all the basics, shown with no condescension-as if a girlfriend were taking you out to the beach for the first time. Really dug that camera-on-the-end-of-the-board thing. It's inexpensive, too. Can't go wrong!

This Russ Meyer classic opens with a disclaimer heralding the importance of free speech- a movie that David Lame and cobbers will abhore. Which is GOOD for us "jackbooted liberals" "lacking in moralistic backbone". (YOU'RE reading this, so you must be. Right? ha ha ha)
As expected, Russ has filled every possible frame with shots of tight female buns and big bouncy jubblies. One wouldn't expect any less from the "titular" Grandmaster of sexploitation.
CHERRY, HARRY AND RAQUEL's threadbare plot is supposed to center around marijuana smuggling in a small town in the Arizona desert. It's good to see Meyer is clearly anti-drug, which will annoy my other fave people, The NZ Green Party.
Scripted by Meyer and author Tom "Bonfire Of The Vanities" Wolfe from Meyer's story, the movie stars Charles Napier ( later better known as Murdock from RAMBO 2) as Harry, Larissa Ely as Raquel and Linda Ashton as Cherry the nurse; who early on gives a dirty old man a bed bath. Lucky Gramps. As you'd guess from the title, this is a love triangle with lots of hetero and lesbian sex scenes. Meyer also tosses in a scattering of gore; though personally what I found most disturbing was the brief full-frontal of Napier running along a beach with his wobbly bits bouncing left, right and centre. Crikey Russ, people don't pay to see your movies to be subjected to gratuitious salami shots!
That's my sole complaint, but that will give women a reason for watching this. Anything to help spread the disease,so to speak (How un P.C of me). As with his earlier movie BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS Meyer concludes the film with a philosophical, moralistic narrative, which is more sensible than anything the SPCS can attempt to force down the NZ public's throats (This movie was made in 1969. Just goes to show how out of date NZ is). But don't worry guys, Russ has generously insterspersed his moral reasoning with a montage of T&A shots from the movie, just to help jog your memory. This is the most fun you can pack into 70 minutes. Eat your black heart out, David Lame.

This is one of Russ Meyer's finer films, a late 60's collage of psychedelia, sex and violence occasionally overdubbed with psuedo-scholarly narration about class struggle(?) A bizarre and thoroughly entertaining mix. Charles Napier shines, as usual.

The DVD, on the other hand, is a bit of dissapointment. While it sports the "MINT QUALITY--From Original Negative" tag on the cover, don't be fooled..the picture (full frame) and sound (mono) are pretty much indistinguishable from the VHS edition of the same film. You get an animated menu, chapter stops, and a few trailers from other RM films, but that's about it.

If you already own the VHS, you may want to skip the DVD. Otherwise, go for it.

I wonder why any movie with BARBARA STEELE on DVD (with the exception of SYNAPSE'S stunning CASTLE OF BLOOD) has to look like crap? I mean this one takes the cake...of course it is only $, but I found it unwatchable.
And the truly bad pan and scanning treats you over and over to BARBARA STEELE'S amazing talking nose. I guess they did not think in anyway about the framing.
Also the sound is hideous, the print is completely faded to the point of almost black and white at parts. And it looks like swamp mud, what can I say. It really is not worth the bucks...wait until someone puts out a decent copy.
A lot of ALPHA'S releases are fine but this one is just really horrendous. The print quality is much scarier than the witch in the movie.

OK, I bought this for the sake of adding another Barbara Steele epic to my collection. It starts out great. A hideous witch, whose face looks like burnt mashed potatoes is hunted and impaled, then drowned by a vengeful mob, led by the local priest. This all happened 200 years ago. It seems she was killing children in the neighborhood. She curses the decendants of the townsfolk, and croaks. This is OK by me, as I grew tired of "her" tree-like man-legs! Now, fast forward to swingin' 1966, and here come Barbara Steele and her male model boyfriend, tooling down the road in their VW beetle. They are in beautiful Transylvania looking for a hotel. They end up in a scummy dive, run by a fat, drunk, psychotic, sex maniac! The couple flee after said maniac is caught peeking in their window, and gets beaten up by the boyfriend. Their car is sabotaged by the lunatic and causes them to crash into the lake (yepper, same one ol' witchypoo was dumped in). Somehow, the witch trades places with Barbara Steele. This s[tink]s, because it means that Ms. Steele is not even in about two thirds of the movie!! Oh well, the witch goes on the rampage, killing the fat psycho at the hotel, and getting knocked out and carried around several times by the boyfriend and a decendant of Dr. Van Helsing (remember, this IS in Transylvania after all). The state police get involved and a goofy bunch they are! They are basically the transylvanian keystone cops, bumbling along, trying desperately to make the last part of the movie interesting. They fail. By the time Barbara returned, I was no longer interested. Still worth seeing just to hear the witch's scream. It's like a tornado siren...

If you love the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce "Sherlock Holmes" movies like I do, then DO NOT BUY THIS DISC! The film print quality is very poor and the sound is very muddy. The DVD box falsely states a running time of 60 minutes -- but the running time of film they put on the dvd only runs 53 minutes! Do the math. The 7 minutes they cut out are key scenes!!...and the Index of scene selections doesn't even work. Holmes and Watson deserve better...

If you are a fan of Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes then this DVD will complete your collection of this actor's works. The picture quality of the film is far better than the VHS. The picture is clearer and the sounds are crisper. Some people may think it is not one of the best pictures Basil made, but no Sherlock Holmes collection will be complete without it. Basil and Nigel Bruce give such a wonderful performance that it grows on you every time you watch it. I have been waiting a long time to see all 14 movies on DVD, and I am happy to see that dream become a reality