11-27-99
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This week's Identify That Movie Quote:
"I want the people to know that they still have 2 out of 3 branches of the
government working for them, and that ain't bad."

(answer to last issue's "twinkie" quote: Ghostbusters)
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Hey all,

Sheesh and golly-winkers, we've been pretty busy here at the Mutant
Reviewers From Hell this past week.  Part of that is due to the fact that
I refused to give the staff Thanksgiving off... I mean, what do they have
to be thankful for?  Kyle's started to take lithium, but I think he's a
turkey addict at heart.

You might notice that the front page of MRFH has a different look.  Then
again, maybe you're no Sherlock Holmes.  So, yes, we have given the MRFH a
nice facelift.  Cut down on a lot of the front page garbage, put a text
menu up on the left side of the screen, and generally made a little more
stretching room.  There are two new table boxes on the right side that you
might want to take a look at.  The first is a "featured review"; this is a
recent review that we pick and post on a sort-of weekly basis.

The other box claims that it's a "Friends Of Mutants" program.  I'm not
sure I'd trust strange boxes, but this looks okay.  Basically, the Friends
of Mutants program is part of our marketing campaign to get the word of
MRFH out all over the globe (like some sort of infectious fungal itch).
If you place a link to MRFH on your webpage (with or without our nifty new
animated button), we'll gladly list your page as a "Friend of Mutants".
Most of the traffic to our page comes from either (1) the Internet Movie
Database, or (2) your recommendations to friends.  This is a great way to
spread word of mouth.

What new reviews do we have up?  There's AMERICAN HISTORY X, THE BLAIR
WITCH PROJECT, CUBE, PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS, THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT
MARY, SCREAM 2, TOMMY BOY, and URBAN LEGEND (this last one is our current
featured review).

Since I got a DVD player for last Christmas, I've been in some sort of
movie heaven.  DVDs are terrific, not only for their crisp sound and
picture, but also for the tons of extras that they put on each disks.
I've compiled a list of 10 "must-have" DVDs that I own, and why you should
check them out:

1. Aliens Special Edition
My favorite movie of all time gets a spectacular package in A:SE.  17
minutes of great added footage are not only present, but also added into
the film itself (so you can watch a great new mix of the film).  There's
trailers to all four "Aliens" titles, dozens of photos from
behind-the-scenes, an interview with James Cameron, groovy animated menus,
and WIDESCREEN WIDESCREEN WIDESCREEN (so good you have to say it three
times).  The only thing that would make this movie better would be an
audio commentary, but the added/lengthened scenes more than make up for
that loss.

2. L.A. Confidential Special Edition
A tremendous period piece that is treated with class.  The menus give you
a great Old Hollywood feel, and offer you plenty to explore.  There are no
less than three behind-the-scenes documentary features, including an
innovative "L.A. of the Movie" Map Tour (here you can click on locations
in the film, and a bit of that scene pops up with narrative telling you
where it was filmed).  In case you're picky, there's four trailers with
various styles.  Lots of background info on the movie and its actors, and
even an option to watch the movie with all dialogue turned off -- so all
you hear is the great music-only track.

3. Dark City (New Line Platinum Series)
New Line started the trend for DVDs to be filled to the max with extras,
and Dark City is one of their best.  This sci-fi film noir has two audio
commentaries (one by film critic Roger Ebert, one by the crew), both
widescreen and fullscreen versions, the theatrical trailer (one of the
coolest trailers I've ever seen, by the way), photos of set designs, a
comparison to "Metropolis", cast and crew bios and highlights (with a few
easter egg trailers in there), and creepy morphing animated menus.  My
only complaint is that the "interactive game" that you're supposed to play
with your remote control is confusing, lacks any sort of rules, and is
pretty much unplayable.

4. Ghostbusters (Collector's Series)
There's no reason (save not having a DVD player) that you shouldn't own
this DVD.  This digitally remastered classic comedy has enough extras to
keep you busy for hours.  Four trailers (including ones for Ghostbusters
and Ghostbusters 2) are just the beginning; top on 10 deleted scenes,
storyboard/split-scene compare for a few scenes, 2 featurettes (one from
1984, the other 1999), production photos and drawings, special effects
presentations (including the ability to look at certain scenes with and
without F/X using the "Angle" button on the remote), and widescreen
viewing.  Once you've seen the movie, you can go back with two original
features.  One has production notes with trivia and stories subtitled at
the bottom of the movie (lots of great info here); the other is an audio
commentary with Ivan Reitman and Harold Ramis that can be viewed with
their silhouettes MST3K-style at the bottom of the movie (you can select
the audio only if you don't prefer this).

5. Mallrats (Collector's Edition)
While it may not be Kevin Smith's greatest film, the Mallrats DVD has so
much packed into it that it'll probably be his greatest DVD.  Let's start
out with the basics: over an hour of extra footage.  Yup, an hour.
There's a whole different beginning to the film that affects a lot of
scenes later on.  Unfortunately, there's no scene access for these
additional scenes; you have to watch them in order.  Smith, Jason Lee, Ben
Affleck, Jason Mewes, and other crew have a hilarious audio commentary
that even has a few video bits watching them talk about the movie (you can
access the commentary with or without the video subscreen).  One of the
best extras is a music video of "Build me up Buttercup" by The Goops
starring Jay and Silent Bob.  It's a sarcastic parody of other music
videos that you literally need to see to believe.  Finally, add in the
trailer, a making-of documentary, and lots of photos, and you're set fordays.

6. Army of Darkness: Limited Edition
Don't get this version confused - there are three (!) Army of Darkness
DVDs out there.  There's the first (regular) version, and also a "Special
Edition" that has the original ending and trailer, but little else.  The
"Limited Edition" DVD is a 2-disc pack.  The first disc has the theatrical
release, the original ending, theatrical trailer, and a great
behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of AOD.  Disc two has a
director's cut version, with 15 minutes of added footage.  There's also a
groovy commentary by Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi, storyboards that can be
played alongside the film, and 4 deleted scenes.  I consider this the
authoritative version of AOD, but if you want to get a copy move fast --
there's only 30,000 of these out there.

7. Silence of the Lambs (Criterion Collection)
Don't be confused and get the non-criterion collection version of this
movie.  You might have to pay a little more, but you get the world.  There
are seven deleted scenes, storyboards (with an option to compare to film),
and a great commentary by the director, Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, and
FBI agent John Douglas.  For the morbid among us, you can view the FBI
crime classification manual on sex/serial murder crimes, as well as
"Voices of Death", quotes from actual serial killers.

8. Austin Powers / Austin Powers 2
Both of these titles are some of the best DVDs that New Line has to offer.
Aside from being highly replayable flicks, you get great commentaries
(with Mike Myers, of course), trailers, deleted scenes (there's about 10
from AP2, and almost all of them are hysterical), documentaries, and AP2
has three music videos to boot.  Definitely a good investment.

9. Clerks (Collector's Series)
While not as feature-packed as "Mallrats", Clerks still has much to offer
to any film buff.  Kevin Smith and Co. do an entertaining audio commentary
(with a drunken Jason Mewes lying on the floor).  There are a number of
deleted scenes present, including the original ending (depressing).  In
what Smith describes as the only "sequel to Clerks", there's a Soul Asylum
video with the cast of Clerks, including Dante and Randal chatting, Jay
and Silent Bob dancing, and a reprise of the hockey game.

10. Lethal Weapon 4 (Premiere Collection)
For a true film afficianado, the Lethal Weapon 4 DVD is a great example of
what we expect.  This widescreen version is offered with an audio
commentary by Richard Donner.  There's the trailer, behind-the-scenes
commentary, b-sides footage (cameras recording the actual cameras
filming), and a cast/crew interview gallery (where you click on their name
to see actual interview footage).  For fans of the first three movies,
there are the trailers to Lethal 1-3, and incredible extra footage from
all those films (particularly the first Lethal Weapon).  I was pleased.

That's all for this week, kiddies!  I'll be back soon to tuck you into bed
with a nice warm glass of Jolt.

Head Mutant Justin