Austin Movie Reviews

After hearing her Decca recording of La Fille du Regiment, I'm disappointed with Sutherland's singing in this performance. It's just sad to hear her way past her prime. High notes are forced and effortful. Timbre is thick, heavy, and mannered. What more, as always, her acting is below mediocre, and as this being a comic opera, the entire performance suffers. Sutherland should have known better than to step back into a role she knows she's not capable of handling anymore. Sorry, but that's how I feel.

I had watched my VHS tape for years and enjoyed the staging of this comic opera. I ordered the DVD when it came out, and boy, did I regret it! The DVD production is horrible! It came at the usual poor Kultur DVD production level (no extra features, DD2.0 sound, no subtitle selection, etc.) That's fine, I can live with that. But the video quality is so poor, you can literally see the screen as a bunch of small pixels! I don't know what kind of video compression technique was used for the DVD production, but it is about as poor (if not poorer) than a VCD (MPEG1) quality. And the compression is so bad that some times you watch the action in slow motion!

Regarding the opera production, it is a real delight! Joan may not have all her power and high notes in her prime, but she showed us what a brilliant actress she is. The orchestra played real well under Richard's conducting. The tenor is no Pavarotti, but is quite acceptable.

I just hope that Kultur can start improving their DVD production quality. Otherwise, so many great performing archives that Kultur owns the release right will be ruined.

Sutherland is good here. But she is spectacular in the DVD "The Complete Bell Telephone Hour Performances 1961-1968, and the VHS "Age of Bel Canto". These two are Joan Sutherland's most accomplished performances and among the most mind bogglingly awesome recordings available today.
In this Daugher of the regiment, she is way past her prime. If you like the opera, buy the Sutherland/Pavarotti cd or cassette instead.

WWF No Way Out 2002 is possibly and probably the worst pay per view (ppv) of 2002, the wrestling was for the most part poor and the New World Orders Return was to most people a disappointment. Below is a review of all the matches and the overall DVD, hopefully it will help you decide if you should buy this DVD or not. The review will not directly give away who wins any of the matches but the winner may seem pretty obvious by my explanations of some of the matches.

( Match Reviews )

--- Tag Team Turmoil Match for a Title Shot at Wrestlemania 18 - Hardy Boyz Vs Dudley Boyz Vs Christian and Lance Storm Vs APA Vs Scotty 2 Hotty and Albert Vs Billy and Chuck ---

This was for the most part a fast paced match, the Hardyz made there return allowing for Jeff to do some of his high risk moves. The last two team to be in this match are in my opinion the two least entertaining teams in the match. I believe the winners are undeserving. Although the match truly is not bad it is still the worst tag team turmoil match the WWE has put together that I can think of. (5.5/10)

--- Goldust Vs Rob Van Dam ---

This was a basic RVD match except this is slower then usual and contained a few cool moves and submissions by Goldust. This match dragged on at points however it did go back and fourth, contain some cool counters and have some stiff moves, pretty good match. (5.5/10)

--- WWF Tag Team Championship Match - Tazz and Spike Dudley Vs Booker T and Test ---

There is not much to say about this average tag match that contained some sloppy moves and a pretty good and slightly comical finish. (4/10)

--- Brass Knuckles on a Pole Match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship Match - William Regal Vs Edge ---

This was like a cheap version of a ladder match, it contained some high impact moves however the biggest move of the match turned out very sloppy. The finish is screw jobbed however it works alright with the match. (5.5/10)

--- The Rock Vs Undertaker ---

Despite this matches fast start the action in this moves pretty slowly, the match contains some sloppy moves and long walks through the crowd and around the ring. There is pretty good back and fourth action and again, although the finish is screw jobbed and chaotic it worked alright with the match. (4.5/10)

--- No. 1 Contender Match - Triple H Vs Kurt Angle ---

This whole match is basically a chaotic screw job served with a bunch of ref bumps. This suplex filled match was poorly paced and to unrealistic, even for wrestling. (4/10)

--- Undisputed WWF Championship Match - Chris Jericho Vs The Rock ---

This match was a huge chop fest, the chops where basically needed to give the crowd any sort of life. The match moves around the ring and contains 3 repetitive superplexes. Austin and Jericho do a good job of countering each other's finishers. I believe the screwjob finish did not work because the interferer's of the match provided minimal damage. It is predictable but overall not an bad match, by my count the best on the card. (6/10)

( Overall DVD )

The DVD itself is poorly put together with no extra features, some superstar and the ppv music is changed to much poorer themes. There is no 3 minute or so music video to start off the show, The show starts immediately with a short graphic and pyro that lasts about 3 seconds. None of the matches are absolutely horrible (although some come close) but none of them are anything special either. The whole show is rather boring to sit threw. The three main events plus the pole match end in screw jobs. The New World Order's return was a disappointment by my standards and not a good enough reason to buy this DVD. The reason I gave this DVD 1 star is because I simply cannot recommend it to more than 20% of all wrestling fans. The fans I could just maybe recommend it to are those who where at the event, those who like to collect historic footage and those who like to collect wrestling DVD's despite there overall quality. Its your choice but there are better WWF/WWE DVD's out there and lots of them.

WWF No Way Out 2002

NWO Return
Hulk Hogan,Scott Hall,Kevin Nash

Tag Team Turmoil
Lance Storm & Christain vs Scotty 2 Hottie & Albert vs Hardy Boyz vs Dudley Boyz vs Billy & Chuck vs APA

WWF Tag Team titles
Tazz & Spike Dudley vs Booker T & Test

WWF Intercontinental title
Brass nuckles on a pole match
Edge vs William Regal

Goldust vs Rob Van Dam

The Rock vs Undertaker

Triple H vs Kurt Angle
Stephanie Mcmahon Referee

WWF Title
Stone cold vs Chris Jericho

This is a Great Pay Per View to be so slow. The nWo did have an impact on the main event. They came back with a bang. Good to see them back. The matches at this No Way Out set up Wrestlemania without a doubt. My match reviews go like this:

Tag Team Turmoil:
Hardy's -vs.- Dudley's -vs.- Christian & Lance Storm -vs- APA -vs.- Scotty 2 Hotty & Albert -vs.- Billy & Chuck

Started off slow but picked up when the Hardy Boys entered. Sucks how they get beat up after defeating the Dudley Boys. Pretty good opener. 4/5

RVD -Vs.- Goldust

A great match. RVD got his but kicked all over the ring, but in the end lands the 5 star frog splash. 5/5

Tag Team Title Match:
Tazz and Spike -Vs- Test and Booker T

Tazz is extra tough. Both put on a hell of a show. The ending is pretty funny. Gotta love the champs. 3.5/5

InterContinental Title Match:
Edge -Vs- William Regal

Brass Knuckles is a page out of the idea of the Ladder Match.
Edge beat the hell out of William Regal. Regal used an illegal pair of brass knuckles and knocked Edge out. A lot of nice spots for both competitors. 5/5

Rock -Vs- The Undertaker

A lot of emotions mixed in this match. This match started off very fast with the Rock landing a lot of high impact, fast paced moves. The Undertaker made this match very slow. Rock showed how great of an entertainer he was by making the match interesting again. The ending was the best of the night. 5/5

# 1 Contender Match:
Triple H -Vs- Kurt Angle Special Referee: Stephanie McMahon

A great match, but after Triple H dumped Stephanie, you knew that he had no chance in hell. Triple H did put on a show with a lot of good spots from him and Kurt. The ending sucks, but a good match. 5/5

Undisputed Title Match:
Chris Jericho -Vs- Stone Cold Steve Austin

This was not a good main event. A good match, but not main event material. The NWO made their presence in the WWE felt with their impact on the main event. Not a worthy main event. Should have been Kurt -Vs- Triple H. 4/5

This DVD is one of the slowest, as far as the matches go. The matches were drawn out and boring at some spots, but other spots showed the WWE that everybody knows and loves. I say buy it, especially if you like the nWo. I recommend that if you buy this DVD, that you also buy Wrestlemania X8.

Sometimes you expect a certain something from a film. You expect it to just be good. At least. But the first impression when you hear of "Mr. Nanny" is instant nausea. Now, you might not know why this produces nausea until I lay down the plot for you. Think of image no. 1: Hulk Hogan as a babysitter wearing a tutu. While I freely admit that it doesn't sound promising, it's nevertheless astounding that the production team was able to take this simple idea and create one of the most monstrously agonizing motion pictures to come along this year. Now, here is image no. 2: Hulk Hogan giving a small child weapons training. Image no. 3: The child electrifying the school bully with his newfound weapons interest. Image no. 4: Hogan and Kid celebrating because Kid has electrocuted Bully in an awful manner.

What we have here is good material for a spoof. How funny would it be to see an eight-year-old electrocute his bully in a Farrelly Brothers movie? But it's not a spoof. The problem is that in "Mr. Nanny" it is not played as a spoof, but as the real thing. The kid supposedly electrocutes his school bully (for real), and we are supposed to feel happy because he has beaten the bully at his own game. That has to be the most sappy excuse for an emotional rush I've ever heard. I don't feel like celebrating with this kid, but rather arresting Hogan and ordering a restraining order on him.

Hulk Hogan plays down-on-his-luck ex-wrestler Sean Armstrong (get it, "Armstrong"?). He has long since exited the ring because of recurring nightmares involving violence in the ring. To give Sean something to do, his best buddy and manager, Barney (Sherman Hemsley), gets him a job as a bodyguard for computer genius Alex Mason (Austin Pendleton). Mason has invented a new super chip and a psycho is out to get it, so the engineer needs someone to look after his two motherless children (played by Raymond O'Connor and Madeline Zima). Reluctantly, Sean agrees, but only because they already have a nanny and his job will be strictly protection. No sooner has he arrived, however, than the nanny quits and Armstrong finds himself babysitting two demons.

A film like "Mr. Nanny" is intellectually insulting on all levels. You have to wonder what the producers and filmmakers were thinking when they gave the "OK" to this film. It doesn't have a plot. It doesn't have good acting. It doesn't even have a half-decent script. The only reason for this film, apparently, is so that Hulk Hogan could be shown in a ballet tutu.

Hulk Hogan can't act. His best performance was his three-liner in "Gremlins 2: The New Batch." So you can imagine how awful it is when the testosterone-junkie with the deep voice fills up the majority of screen-time in the film, and tries to teach a father the values of family interaction and why it's good to tell your kids you love them. Perhaps this would be good material for, say, a muscle-man that can act, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but "the Hulk" can't act half as good as Mr. Schwarzenegger, and most likely never will be able to.

Most of the apparent laughs in this film come at the expense of Hogan, and at the expense of every film it has borrowed from. It's a bunch of recycled gags posing as new ones. But it might as well be said that I expected it.

To name some of the recycled gags, here they are: He's hit on the head with bowling balls (see "Uncle Buck"), drenched with water (see "Dennis the Menace"), covered in flour (see "Dennis the Menace" a second time), and electrocuted (see "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York"). Not one of these instances is funny, and it isn't because we've seen it so many times before. And another thing that doesn't help this film at all is the inept direction of Michael Gottlieb. Such comedy, while once amusing in Home Alone, has long since worn out its welcome. Here, it's handled in such a pedestrian manner that it comes across with the audible clunk of a standup comic's joke falling flat. Don't see this movie, whatever you do. If you see it glaring at you in the video store with Hulk Hogan's god-awful smirk on his face, pass it up. Even if it looks like clean family entertainment. It is far from it. It is PG-13 material packaged in a sweet little box. It's not a film. It's merchandising, plain and simple.

There used to be a time when wrestling and Hulk Hogan where what Tony Hawk and skateboarding are today to children. Anything with Hawk sells and, at one time, anything with Hogan sold. Film execs knew this, and played to it. And that's all "Mr. Nanny" is: Marketing, plain and simple. Don't give any more money to these selfish corporations. They can live with what they did. "Mr. Nanny" was a spur-of-the-moment film made for cash-purposes. I'm surprised that all copies weren't burned after Hogan withered away into the recesses of "has-been," because this film stands out as a single merchandising attempt, and its time has long since passed.

I gave this two stars for the two people who make this movie funny in my opinion. This movie is stupid because you see the same stuff these kids do in other movies. Home alone 1,2,3 and Dennis the menace spring to mind. I've owned this movie since I was 8 and to this day, I fast forward to the parts with Mother love and Sherman Hemsley. Mother love plays the sassy maid. You see why the kids didnt try to get rid of her. Sherman Hemsley plays Sean's old manager, Burt. These two really make the movie worth watching. Especially the scense when they are together. These kids needed to get they're [butted] kicked. Especially for what they did to the gym. They better thank God they didnt have my grandfather as they're father.

i also couldn't find the same doghouse song and "rough stuff" by buster poindexter. and i know that more people were searching for it unluckily. well these songs are really cool, so i think in publishing music it is the biggest crime ever made.

Poor quality film. Poor DVD transfer. No Extras. Waste of time. At least I didn't throw a lot of money away on it. Terrible film.

This double feature DVD includes one of the best science fiction films, an adaptation of H.G. Wells' story "The Shape of Things to Come." This melodramatic tale, released in 1936, foresees a second World War beginning in 1940 and continuing into the 1970s, devastating the Earth. Eventually, mankind rebuilds, constructing a new and better civilization, culminating in the beginning of space travel in 2036. The film's striking production design, first rate photography, literate, intelligent script, and fine performances (especially by Raymond Massey) make this an essential film for science fiction fans.

Unfortunately this DVD is a low-budget, no-frills disc, made from a smudgy print. The audio has not been cleaned up; it's scratchy and dialogue is not always intelligible. Hopefully a remastered version will be released someday, with perhaps a few extras.

The less said about the second film, "Journey to the Center of Time", the better; it's worthwhile only as an example of how not to make a movie.

This DVD is worth buying for "Things To Come"; at least until a remastered version is available.

“Things To Come” is one of those intelligent sci-fi films that you dream about. It is an adaptation of H. G. Wells book of the same name. Filmed in 1936, it traces the history of a (fictitious) world war that begins in 1940, and is continually fought until the 1970’s. The film show life before the war, life during the apocalypse, and finally traces world society into 2036, with a planned space mission, and a group of futuristic luddites who are opposed to the plan.

The sets and cinematography is pure eye-candy, and remind me of a rough Fritz Lang, and life during the apocalyptic war has become chilling, considering the possibilities that may happen in this war on terrorism.

It is an anti-war film. However, Wells naively thinks that scientific endeavor can save humanity. Contrast this with the idiotic statements that we got when the genome was cracked:

“Perhaps most surprising, two analyses released this month suggest that the entire human genome may contain fewer than 40,000 genes - about half the number that scientists have presumed (no more than a worm and a fly combined, Collins quips).”

Would you want scientist Collins, who can’t see the difference between a fly, a worm, and a human, to operate on you? And we are to build humanity on this foundation? Science had given us many trinkets, but she has failed to give us any meaning—due to the Naturalistic Fallacy. How do you get from “E=mc2” to “Love your neighbor?” The scientific endeavor, therefore, would just be a type of busy-work.

The copy is very rough and blurry at times, and the dialogue fades in an out, and the DVD has no frills that we love and use. But this rough copy is better than no copy at all! This is a perfect classic, and a must for an sci-fi junkie.

“Journey to the Center of Time” is bad. But I think it should be mandatory viewing for people who think that Star Trek: The Original Series was bad, since “Center of Time” makes Kirk look like Shakespeare!

The problems with this workout are:
1. She goes from pose to pose quickly without explaining how to do the pose correctly. She is assuming that you already know the poses
2. If you know enough yoga to know the poses she does, the workout will most likely be too easy for you
3. I couldn't be serious about the workout because I was laughing too hard at her commentary ("let me see your smiling face!")
So, it's not good for beginners or for more experienced yoga practitioners, either. Don't buy it.

Not a bad workout if you're looking for something to get your blood flowing a little or you're tired (definitely for a beginner). However, her annoying voice is enough to make you wish you could be temporarily deaf. She should probably get a script writer and/or a thesaurus. She says the word "wonderful" so many times that I actually cringe as I'm doing the workout. I could eventually see myself having nightmares about this woman, so I'm sticking this video in a drawer.

I purchased this because I liked the Pilates tape so much and this one is now the only one I do. I enjoy doing it right before bed at night and I alternate the two workouts. I have a bad back so I love the extra stretch that the first workout provides and the ab exercises in the second workout. I exercise with one or both of Denise's shows each morning and do either the yoga or pilates workout every night before bed. I have 3 little kids so I love to do these at night when I can be alone and wind down and relax.

To contradict some of the other reviews, I happen to be in excellent shape already and I have had a lot of experience with yoga. I find that no matter how often I do yoga or pilates, I can always modify the workout to meet my needs, whether I want my workout more challenging or less. That's the beauty of pilates and yoga. Anybody can do it and make it as hard or as easy as they'd like.

I'd highly recommend this video to anybody looking for a yoga/pilates workout. It's a great supplement to any fitness routine.

For starters, I love independant horror films and like the work of Trent Haaga (who wrote this and made a small appearance) but there is no way in any hell asylum that I can endorse this film.

I picked up my copy as soon as it came out, mainly because I love Dead & Rotting which is a great film and the limited special edition has so many featurs that it puts to shame most major studio DVD releases. Also Hell Asylum was pushed as being "the most gory Full Moon production". Sadly I found that the film's gore entirely consisted of hooded figures eating thin entrails, that couldnot possible be confused with anything in the human anatomy, which had merely been placed on top of the actors.

The story, which could have worked under different cirumstances, is no lesser than the average horror flick and the acting isn't that bad at all ( Tanya Dempsy is cool ) but still the clumsy and extremly poorly done gore and the directors failure to capture even a split second of tension or surprise renders this production totally unwatchable.

Full Moon productions seem to have only two types of flicks: great horror films that exceed their low budget with their brillaince Dead & Rotting for example and films so baddly directed and technically clumsy that they waste the time of the viewer as well as that of all involved. Witchhouse 3 for example had Debbie Rochon, Tina Crause and Tanya Dempsy all in starring roles and got some hype and 'generous' reviews but isn't worth a single watch, it's just that amazingly flawed.

Well, this was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I enjoy renting movies that are made by Full Moon or Trimark because they're so stupid they're funny. The people that make these aweful movies actually think that they are making a horror movie, but it turns out to be a comedy. Hell Asylum or however you spell it seemed like it was going to be a stupid horror film when I started it. Mostly because of the short running time and the wide variety of cast members that would have never went on a reality TV show in the first place. C'mon! Why would a ditz that said she was afraid of everything go on a reality television show about getting scared? It's pretty sad. I'm trying to remember other bad stuff in the movie, it's just that I haven't watched it in one or two months. Well then there's the lady that is an incredibly bad actress that talks about how famous she's going to be. Then of course she has sex with the production guy just so they can show it on the trailer and get people to want to see the movie. Well....... if you want to get a laugh from a dumb horror movie, don't rent this one. Try renting House on Hunted Hill from the 60's or something.

I Love all of Danny Draven's work. He is a genius!

For starters, I love independant horror films and like the work of Trent Haaga (who wrote this and made a small appearance) but there is no way in any hell asylum that I can endorse this film.

I picked up my copy as soon as it came out, mainly because I love Dead & Rotting which is a great film and the limited special edition has so many featurs that it puts to shame most major studio DVD releases. Also Hell Asylum was pushed as being "the most gory Full Moon production". Sadly I found that the film's gore entirely consisted of hooded figures eating thin entrails, that couldnot possible be confused with anything in the human anatomy, which had merely been placed on top of the actors.

The story, which could have worked under different cirumstances, is no lesser than the average horror flick and the acting isn't that bad at all ( Tanya Dempsy is cool ) but still the clumsy and extremly poorly done gore and the directors failure to capture even a split second of tension or surprise renders this production totally unwatchable.

Full Moon productions seem to have only two types of flicks: great horror films that exceed their low budget with their brillaince Dead & Rotting for example and films so baddly directed and technically clumsy that they waste the time of the viewer as well as that of all involved. Witchhouse 3 for example had Debbie Rochon, Tina Crause and Tanya Dempsy all in starring roles and got some hype and 'generous' reviews but isn't worth a single watch, it's just that amazingly flawed.

Well, this was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I enjoy renting movies that are made by Full Moon or Trimark because they're so stupid they're funny. The people that make these aweful movies actually think that they are making a horror movie, but it turns out to be a comedy. Hell Asylum or however you spell it seemed like it was going to be a stupid horror film when I started it. Mostly because of the short running time and the wide variety of cast members that would have never went on a reality TV show in the first place. C'mon! Why would a ditz that said she was afraid of everything go on a reality television show about getting scared? It's pretty sad. I'm trying to remember other bad stuff in the movie, it's just that I haven't watched it in one or two months. Well then there's the lady that is an incredibly bad actress that talks about how famous she's going to be. Then of course she has sex with the production guy just so they can show it on the trailer and get people to want to see the movie. Well....... if you want to get a laugh from a dumb horror movie, don't rent this one. Try renting House on Hunted Hill from the 60's or something.

I Love all of Danny Draven's work. He is a genius!

A crime writer, Edmund Bancroft (Michael Gough), dabbles in gruesome murder. He gets such a rush from thrilling killing that he needs medical attention. Edmund's home includes a version of the famous Black Museum, and '50s style computer equipment complete with red and blue flashing lights. The purpose of this technology remains only vaguely defined, but it looks impressive. Furthermore, there is a vat of bubbling acid. Note how Edmund gets a new skeleton for his collection. Edmund's mistress is voluptuous. Her cups floweth over. Blonde and greedy, she increases her accommodation fees, and Edmund decides to diminish her stature. When he is not dispensing dreadful death himself, Edmund sends his drugged assistant, Rick, out to commit mayhem. When Rick's wholesome girlfriend complicates Edmund's schemes, she suffers a stabbing pain. This flick is from Herman Cohen, England's answer to William Castle. The proclaimed "Hypnovista" is just so much gimmicky eyewash. The dull, lengthy prologue is a problem. One can only wonder how much debris was hurled at movie screens in 1959 when restless viewers began to stir. Michael Gough's two-tone hair color remains one of the marvels of 20th century cinema. The way he shouts his dialogue proves he sees the esoteric humor. In the "so bad, it's good" world, this movie leans more to the bad. Determined collectors of old horror flicks may be pleased. Sensible viewers beware. ;-)

Michael Gough suavely chews the scenery in yet another one of his revenge-inspired madman film roles. He does them so well, why hire anyone else? Please, let others be your guide to the quality of the movie. (Suffice to say that I love it, but then again it's exactly the sort of movie I love, so it doesn't have to try very hard!) I'll tell you about the DVD...

The picture quality is a bit soft, more so in the darker scenes, but nothing too unpleasant. It'll look fine on a big television. (I check all my DVDs on a computer for consistency, but it's a bit less forgiving of image quality problems - which is a bonus, because I can spot them easier to let other people know!) It's an anamorphic (16:9 or "enhanced for widescreen televisions") widescreen presentation, framed at about 2.30:1. The colors are good, which is a good thing because it's a colorful film. The sound is decent, though mono (of course) and therefore nothing spectatular. The extras are abundant, and since the Amazon listing doesn't detail them (as of this writing), I'll list them:

A video tribute to Herman Cohen (producer) by film journalist Tom Weaver and lifelong friend and associate, Didier Chatelain
English and French language option
Original US theatrical trailer
Original European theatrical trailer
Hypno-Vista opening featuring psychologist Emile Franchel*
Commentary by Herman Cohen (from archival materials)
Commentary by music composter Gérard Schurmann and film critic David Del Valle
Phone interview/video featurette with Herman Cohen by Scarlet Street publisher Richard Valley
3D motion menus
Scene selection, photo gallery, biographies, bonus trailers**, booklet insert***

*Now, about the Hypno-Vision introduction. It IS included on the disc (unlike the French release of this movie on DVD), but NOT as part of the feature as intended. Instead, it is an extra, and although it is widescreen, it's non-anamorphic. The feature's running time is 78m 06s because it doesn't incorporate the introduction...that the back cover reads "94 minutes" is a bit of a cheat in that respect.

**Apart from the two trailers already mentioned, the disc also includes trailers for many other movies either related to producer Herman Cohen or VCI (the company that released this disc). They are: Target Earth (also newly available on DVD), The Headless Ghost, Blood and Black Lace, The Whip & the Body, City of the Dead, Ruby and The Bird With the Crystal Plumage.

***The booklet insert isn't just a single sheet of paper with a chapter listing - it's a foldout, with a European poster reproduction on the inside and a liner note essay on the other. I think that's very nice indeed.

Oh, and before I forget, the disc is region free, too! All in all, a very nice package for a relatively obscure little horror movie. If you like this one, also seek out "Konga" (also with Gough) and "The Woman Eater" with George Coulouris.

Outrageous British shocker from the Herman Cohen output of the late fifties-early sixties that was made for sheer lip-smacking sensationalism. Film opens with a looney "prologue" explaining Hypno-Vision and then proceeds to a girl recieving an anonymous gift of binoculars. When she raises them to her eyes to try them out---tiny spikes plunge into her eyes when she adjusts them as her roommate screams her head off. We then meet Michael Gough (as over-the-top as you would expect) as a novelist who specializes in shockingly lurid crimes. He also keeps a "Black Museum" of sensational murder weapons that he purchases from a crafty antiques dealer (Beatrice Varley) who knows a bit too much. He dispatches her with a huge pair of ice tongs when she resorts to blackmail. Gough is an avowed mysoginist and as much says so to his young apprentice (Graham Curnow) who has a pretty marriage- minded girlfriend (Shirley Anne Field). Gough also has a girlfriend (June Cunningham)---a bleach blonde strumpet after his money. She's a Jayne Mansfield look-a-like only smaller on the top. When he refuses her more money, she tells him off and throws him out. She then trots on down to the nearest bar, knocks back some drinks, plays some Latin dance music on the Rock-Ola and does a sexy dance routine for the boys in the bar (and the camera) before becoming another victim...But anyway, there's more and you have to get this to enjoy it. In vivid color and voyeuristically photgraphed, this is a nasty but fun item to have in your collection. The acting is about par but the shocks abound in this gruesome goodie. Shirley Anne Field (also in "Peeping Tom") became a respectable actress and still appears in British films today. I wonder what she would have to say about this little item? "Horrors" is coming from VCI and should look great as they have a good reputation for quality products. Watch for it.

If you're looking for sexy scenes, and why else would you watch these movies, don't waste your time.

The film is essentially suffers from a too ordinary story and set-pieces such as car bomb and shoot-out, but "Sheba Baby" will surely entertain Pam Grier fans.

Sheba Shayne, a PI in Chicago, has to fly back to her hometown after hearing that her father was threatened by the local mob. Naturally, before she knows it, Sheba is involved in a fight against the cruel syndicate. The rest is almost the same as her movies prior to "Sheba," only difference being some twists in a rather trite story. The most attractive part is the last chase scene on a river, and there Pam herself operates a motor boat. It is enjoyable, but has no cutting-edge of "Coffy." At least "Sheba Baby" is not awfully banal or impossible like "Drum," in which Pam is to appear the following year. "Sheba"s soundtrack by Barbara Mason. Strictly for fans of genre.

Pam Grier being my favorite actress makes it hard for me to rate this video anything lower than a 4. But, in all sincerity, it's a fun, fast-paced movie of revenge and adventure on the high seas. Pam's sexy presence makes it hard to divert your attention from the video, even if it's to pause the tape to take a bathroom break! Pam Grier in one of her more tame roles is sure to please.

When I saw the opening credits, I knew I was probably in for a letdown. "An Allen Smithee Film, Directed by Allen Smithee." For those who do not know, "Allen Smithee" is a name tacked up on the credits of a picture that has been so badly mauled between original concept and final release that the actual director does not want to place his or her name on it. I can see why whoever actually did make this film wanted no association with it. Chamberlain's acting and his terrible British accent are an embarrassment. Actually, it's very much like the charcater he occasionally plays on the Drew Carey Show (in drag as Craig Ferguson's mother!). Oh, this film is bad. All the acting is stilted and you couldn't care less what happens to any of the characters. Don't waste time or money on this one.

A dreadful waste of talent and celluloid. If you get to the end, ask yourself "What was the point." There was none. Thaddeus (Chamberlain), an aging gay man in the final stages of AIDS, sets out to find the two "loves" of his life--2 street hustlers--under the guise of "helping" them by leaving them his non-existent inheritance and imparting his "wisdom" (also non-existent, as far as I could tell). One of the hustlers had apparently gotten his life in order UNTIL the arrival of his former "lover" (Chamberlain); the other hustler, who looked like he would have been about 10 when he was involved with Chamberlain alternates between street hustling and aspiring to be a Buddhist monk. (Huh?) At the end of the film, Chamberlain is dead and BOTH former lovers are back on the street. (Huh?) Dreadful dialogue. "Since we're both [expletive deleted]-up, we might as well be [expletive-deleted]-up together." Seeing a wonderful actor like Richard Chamberlain as an over-the-top effeminate old man was embarrassing and made me cringe.

Very well done. Loved every minute of it. However it is a matter of taste as to whether on not you will like it. More than one of the characters really hit home with me. Certainly much better than many of the movies out there which are full of the same old boring young straight predicable characters.