W♥M

Vestron Video: Earth Girls Are Easy

Read More Vestron Video Here is a Bluray series that I love: Vestron Video Collector's Series. When they first came out in 2016, the retail prices were very, very expensive. Normal prices were $40 (and that didn’t even include digital copies!), so I …

One of the Bluray that I recently purchased during my Black Friday purchases was Earth Girls Are Easy, number 27 in the latest Vestron Video Collection.

I remember actually seeing this film in the theaters, thinking how strange it was to see stars Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum together again after seeing them in David Cronenberg’s The Fly remake. What I didn’t know then, and what I found out listening to the commentary of this film, was that the Davis and Goldblum were actually dating at this time.

The other funny thing was that Earth Girls Are Easy was supposed to star writer/creator Julie Brown (based on her music EP Goddess in Progress). The studio executives thought it would be better if they had a “real” star in the film to draw in a crowd. Better yet, since Davis and Goldblum were a two-for-one deal, they could double their star power, so they gave the lead role to Davis.

They did give the role of Davis’ best friend to Julie Brown, who had originally written the role as a gay man.

Not much of a story that you can base on a few songs… but it was a fun little weird comedy about aliens picking up on Earth girls.

As with all first-run Vestron Videos, they come with a nice slip case and the price is decent ($13), and it comes with a digital code. I highly recommend picking this up if you’re a Vestron fan or just a fan of those late 80s comedy.

The next Vestron release will be a Silent Night, Deadly Night collection. It’s number 3, 4, and 5, which means that Vestron didn’t distribute or released the first two Silent Night, Deadly Night films. I’ll also be picking this up when it comes out. Thankfully, you can find them at Walmart or Best Buy easily… but there’s always Amazon if you don’t live by either retailers.

VESTRON VIDEO COLLECTION

	01 Chopping Mall (1986) Concorde Pictures September 27, 2016		02 Blood Diner (1987) Lightning Pictures September 27, 2016
	03 Waxwork (1988) Waxwork II: Lost in Time (1992) Vestron Pictures/ Electric Pictures September 27, 2016		04 Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993) Trimark Pictures November 22, 2016
	05 C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D. (1989) Vestron Pictures November 22, 2016		06 The Lair of the White Worm (1988) Vestron Pictures January 31, 2017
	07 Parents (1989) Vestron Pictures January 31, 2017		08 The Gate (1987) New Century Vista Film February 28, 2017
	09 Wishmaster (1997) Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies (1999) Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell (2001) Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled (2002) LIVE Entertainment Artisan Entertainment March 28, 2017		10 The Unholy (1988) Vestron Pictures June 27, 2017
	11 Warlock (1991) Warlock: The Armageddon (1993) Warlock III: The End of Innocence (1999 ) New World Pictures / Trimark Pictures / Tapestry Films July 25, 2017		12 Slaughter High (1986) Vestron Pictures October 31, 2017
	13 Gothic (1987) Vestron Pictures January 30, 2018		14 Class of 1999 (1990) Lightning Pictures January 30, 2018
	15 Beyond Re-Animator (2003) Lions Gate Entertainment July 24, 2018		16 Dagon (2001) Lions Gate Entertainment July 24, 2018
	17 Maximum Overdrive (1986) De Laurentiis Entertainment Group October 23, 2018		18 Shivers (1975) Cinepix September 15, 2020
	19 Little Monsters (1989) Vestron Pictures September 15, 2020		20 The Wraith (1986) New Century Vista Film July 20, 2021
	21 Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1991) Vestron Pictures August 17, 2021		22 Dementia 13 (1963) American International Pictures September 21, 2021
	23 Steel Dawn (1987) Vestron Pictures October 26, 2021		24 Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999) Artisan Entertainment January 18, 2022
	25 Dream a Little Dream (1989) Vestron Pictures March 15, 2022		26 Extreme Prejudice (1987) Carolco Pictures May 17, 2022
	27 Earth Girls Are Easy (1988) Vestron Pictures November 8, 2022		28 Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! (1989) Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990) Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker (1991) International Video LIVE Entertainment December 13, 2022

Read more Movies and Television.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Black Friday 2022

Read More Black Friday Sure, I didn’t need all those extra things in my life, but I couldn’t pass up these deals. The prices are Black Friday level (even better in many cases). …

With Black Friday coming up this Friday (November 25), we are already starting to see some really good deals on Bluray/UHD discs. Some of my favorite A24 films are on sale, including X, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and The Green Knight. I bought a ton of discs this week. Most UHD discs are $10 and Bluray are either $5 or $8. It’s really the only time that I make mass Bluray purchases.

Over at Target, the best deal I’ve seen is $200 for the Xbox Series S. That’s $50 off and a $50 Target Gift card (which is as good as cash). I’m very tempted to try and buy it, even though I already own the Xbox Series X (the superior version). But the price is so good that I’m really thinking about it. If you are going to buy an Xbox this year, you might as well get Elden Ring for $40. This is the lowest price I’ve seen for this amazing game. Honestly, Elden Ring is my Game of the Year.

Walmart has the best deals on 4K TV. They have a 50 inch ONN 4K LED for $150. Onn is Walmart’s brand, and for that low bottom prices, I’m not sure if it’ll have the quality. On the bright side, the TV has Roku built into the television. If you want to upgrade, Walmart also sells a TCL 65” 4k TV for $228 (also with Roku).

If you’re looking for a Macbook, Best Buy is selling the M1 MacBook Air 13.3” for $800 (a $200 savings). If you want this year’s MacBook Air, with the M2 chip, you can get it for $1,050… but from what I’ve read, it’s not worth the upgrade.

LG 48” 4k WebOS TV for $570

Also, the best OLED TV prices I’ve ever seen is for the LG 48” 4k WebOS TV for $570. This is a $730 savings, and I’m definitely looking at this very closely. I think the biggest problem is that I rarely watch TV. I spend all my time sitting at my computer and watch YouTube videos or movies I’ve ripped from my Bluray…

So maybe the better money might go to another 4k monitor? My current favorite monitor is on sale for $230. I bought the monitor for $320 in Apr 2022 and absolutely love the “Picture in Picture” feature: “There is another feature that they highlight, and I found it really useful. The monitor has the ability to do Picture in Picture (or as Samsung lists it PBP). What this means is that the monitor can display two simultaneous sources on the monitor at the same time. You have some options, side-by-side or a small popup screen (which you can position in four areas and with varying sizes). The P-i-P is the best thing about this monitor.”

If you’re looking for a new PC or laptop, I would recommend looking at MicroCenter’s Black Friday sale. They have my Lenovo Legion PC for the same amazing price of $850. I’ve said it before, the video card (3060) costs $400 by itself(!), so to have it come with your computer, it’s a steal.

MicroCenter also sells really cheap Wyze cameras. Their v3 camera with color night vision is $30. I currently own two Wyze cameras that I use for my security cameras.

This year, I’ve already started my Black Friday shopping last week. Most retailers already started their sale last week. I’ll be looking at bigger purchases sometime this week, since some retailers won’t unveil their biggest deals until closer to Friday.

Read more Black Friday, Movies and Television.

Vu’s Early Black Friday Bluray/UHD purchases

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Sci-Fi 2022: Andor, The Peripheral, and Quantum Leap

Read More Star Wars No one likes The Book of Boba Fett. The story is slow, and more than half of it is told in flashback. No one seems to know what the point of the new Boba Fett show is all about. ....

Andor (2022)
disney.com

It seems like no one is watching Andor… or at least you rarely hear people talking about this Star Wars new television show on Disney Plus. Maybe it’s because fans are tired of Star Wars or maybe they’re just not interested in this weird prequel to Star Wars: Rogue One?

For what’s it worth, I think Andor is possibly the best Star Wars television show since The Mandorian.

Andor is about Cassian Andor, five years prior to Rogue One. He starts off with an accidental murder, and follows his story of a grand heist. It’s weird but by episode 6 or 7, the show turned into a prison story. Personally speaking, I didn’t care for the prison story, but the overall story of building a rebellion against the empire is interesting. You can see how the empire started off as bringing order to the galaxy, but slowly turns dark and evil…

The cast is amazing, obviously some were from the film, including Forest Whitaker, reprising his role as a younger Saw Gerrera.

I really love the puppet master, Luthen Rael, who is trying to build this organized rebellion. That amazing starship fight at the end of Andor shows us that he is a real bad-ass! All this time the character is in the shadows and working behind the scene… but when it he’s forced to make a move - he can really throwdown!

Coming off the very disappointing (and boring) Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi television show, Andor was a true delight. It gives me hope that Disney is heading in the right direction, when it comes to quality writing… and I’m very excited to see what Andor Season 2 will bring to Star Wars canon.

Description:

The “Andor” series will explore a new perspective from the Star Wars galaxy, focusing on Cassian Andor’s journey to discover the difference he can make. The series brings forward the tale of the burgeoning rebellion against the Empire and how people and planets became involved. It’s an era filled with danger, deception and intrigue where Cassian will embark on the path that is destined to turn him into a rebel hero.

Read More Westworld HBO has been struggling to find its new hit show since Game of Thrones ended (and it ended badly). Westworld potentially could have been the next-Game of Thrones, but unfortunately Season 2 of Westworld was not good. …

The Peripheral (2022)
amazon.com

There is a great new Sci-Fi television show called The Peripheral that airs on Friday on Amazon Prime. The premier was October 21st, and currently we can only view up to episode 5. So far, I’m loving it.

The series takes place in the future, and centers around Flynne Fisher (played by Chloë Grace Moretz). She thinks she’s trying out some new VR game… but in reality, she’s remote controlling something. I don’t want to give away too much, but I’m sure if you look online, you can find out more.

The show was based on a 2014 book of the same name written by William Gibson and has a Westworld vibe… maybe because Westworld creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy serve as executive producers.

Although I am enjoying the show, there are some things that I don’t really think is realistic. For example, there are some some technology from the future that made its way to people in the past. Stuff like invisible cars or sonic blasters… yet no one in the show is surprised or calling in the government. There is also the issue of a hit squad trying to kill Fisher, but they were taken out by Fisher’s brothers and his squad. It was like, huh?

Fisher’s brother is ex-military, and his buddies are all former military… including a triple amputee character, so maybe they can take out a hit squad, but I didn’t really believe it.

Anyway, it’s a good show, I would try and tune in on Friday to see how the story unfolds. Sometime the show is super violent, but if you can stomach it, you’ll like the show.

Description:

The Peripheral centers on Flynne Fisher, a woman trying to hold together the pieces of her broken family in a forgotten corner of tomorrow's America. Flynne is smart, ambitious, and doomed. She has no future. Until the future comes calling for her. The Peripheral is master storyteller William Gibson’s dazzling, hallucinatory glimpse into the fate of mankind — and what lies beyond.

Read More Quantum Leap Dean Stockwell (American actor and recording artist), 85 Former Quantum Leap star Dean Stockwell, an Oscar- and Emmy-nominated actor whose stage, film and TV career spanned more than 70 years and 200 credits, has died ... via deadline.com …

Quantum Leap (2022)
nbc.com

You guys know I love the original Quantum Leap, so I was excited to see that NBC has brought the show back for 2022.

In the original series, Sam Beckett is trying to get home by leaping into random bodies. Each episode is a mystery, and with the help of Al, the hologram from the future, and the computer Ziggy, they work out the mystery and Dr Beckett leaps.

Unfortunately, they’ve decided to go in a different direction in the new show. In the new Asian Quantum Leap, Dr. Ben Song deliberately jumps into the past to save someone. The show is half in the past and half of it is in the future. I absolutely hated whenever you see the future. Who cares about the future characters?

The cast now is diverse, an Asian lead, a white woman hologram, they/them programmer, a black director, an Asian security person… it’s a whole rainbow roster. I hate it that they try and please everybody. I suppose none of that matters, but if only the stories and acting are good. The writing is predictable, and everyone gets so emotional. Think The CW, only on NBC.

The best episode so far is the latest, Episode 8. It’s about four runaway students from some sort of school and they get lost in the woods. In the original history, the kids are never seen again… so it’s up to Ben to save them all with the help of his girlfriend hologram.

Description:

Physicist Ben Song and a newly revamped team embark on a journey through time.

Read more Movies and Television.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Minneapolis: November 19 to November 25

11/19 The Princess Bride ⏤ An Inconceivable Evening with Cary Elwes at The Fitzgerald Theater

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

11/19/2022 Saturday

The Princess Bride ⏤ An Inconceivable Evening with Cary Elwes
at The Fitzgerald Theater
first-avenue.com

The Princess Bride is one of my favorite films. It has the best sword fighting scene, and some of the best lines, such as “Inconceivable” by Vizzini and, of course, “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

Actor Cary Elwes will screen the film with an audience, and I’m assuming a Q&A with the actor.

If you love the film, this screening is a must… even if you own the DVD or Bluray.

Tour Dates

10/07/2022 Chico, CA Laxson Auditorium
10/08/2022 Sacramento, CA Crest Theatre
10/16/2022 Syracuse, NY Crouse Hinds Theater
11/19/2022 Saint Paul, MN Fitzgerald Theater
11/26/2022 Wallingford, CT Toyota Oakdale Theatre
11/27/2022 Medford, MA Chevalier Theatre
12/09/2022 Omaha, NE Kiewit Hall
12/10/2022 Denver, CO Paramount Theatre
02/04/2023 Red Bank, NJ Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre

11/19 The Garden with Machine Girl at First Avenue

11/19/2022 Saturday

The Garden
with Machine Girl
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com

The upcoming The Garden show got a venue upgrade. They will now play the bigger First Avenue, originally from the Fine Line. The experimental rock/punk duo (twin brothers Wyatt & Fletcher Shears) is touring in support of Horsesh** on Route 66.

Machine Girl to open.

Tour Dates

10/22 – Las Vegas, NV @ When We Were Young Festival
10/23 – Las Vegas, NV @ When We Were Young Festival
10/26 - Pomona, CA @ The Fox Theater
10/27 - Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
11/08 - San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theater
11/10 – Dallas, TX @ Studio at The Factory
11/11 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s
11/12 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
11/15 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
11/16 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
11/17 – Detroit, MI @ Eastern
11/18 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
11/19 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
11/20 – Omaha, NE @ Slow Down
11/21 – Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
11/23 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
11/25 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
11/26 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
11/27 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
11/29 – San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
11/30 – San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
12/01 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst

11/20 The Happy Fits with Daisy The Great and Phoneboy at First Avenue Read More Daisy the Great Openers Daisy the Great are actually a Brooklyn-based duo, fronted by Kelley Nicole Dugan and Mina Walker who made waves last fall when they teamed with AJR on the song, “Record Player”, a re-worked version of their own 2017 folk-pop song. ...

11/20/2022 Sunday

The Happy Fits
with Daisy The Great and Phoneboy
at First Avenue
first-avenue.com

Lively alt/indie-pop trio The Happy Fits will headline First Avenue on November 20, in support of their highly anticipated third studio album, Under the Shade of Green.

All the US dates will feature Daisy The Great and Phoneboy as support acts.

Tour dates:

Oct. 17 - Glasgow, UK - Attic
Oct. 18 - Manchester, UK - Night & Day
Oct.. 19 - London, UK - Colours
Oct. 22 - Berlin, DE - Pratchwerk
Nov. 9 - Hamden, CT - Space Ballroom
Nov. 11 - Washington, DC - Union Stage
Nov. 12 - Pittsburgh, PA - Spirit Hall
Nov. 13 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall*
Nov. 15 - Detroit, MI - El Club
Nov. 16 - Indianapolis, IN - Deluxe
Nov. 18 - St. Louis, MO - Delmar Hall
Nov. 19 - Chicago, IL - Metro
Nov. 20 - Minneapolis, MN - First Ave
Nov. 22 - Denver, CO - Summit Music Hall
Nov. 23 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
Nov. 25 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
Nov. 26 - Seattle, WA - Neptune Theatre
Nov. 29 - San Francisco, CA - August Hall
Nov. 30 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues
Dec. 1 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda
Dec. 5 - Dallas, TX - Trees
Dec. 6 - Austin, TX - Scoot Inn
Dec. 7 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall
Dec. 9 - Orlando, FL - The Plaza Live
Dec. 10 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
Dec. 11 - Nashville, TN - Basement East
Dec. 13 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
Dec. 14 - Washington, DC - Union Stage
Dec. 16 - Boston, MA - The Paradise Rock Club
Dec. 17 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
Dec. 18 - Philadelphia, PA - TLA*

* without Daisy The Great

11/25 Raffaella with Hank and Ryann at 7th St Entry Read More Raffaella New York’s Raffaella (with live backing band bassist Charlie and drummer Alonso) opened up the show with a very brief 30-min set. This was the singer/songwriter’s first time in Minneapolis, and she started her set with her first single, “Bruce Willis” …

11/25/2022 Friday

Raffaella
with Hank and Ryann
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

Recently Raffaella released her new single/video for “Grown Up”, directed by Nathan Castiel.

Raffaella (30 Sep 2019)

We saw Raffaella in Sep 2019 and wrote, “New York’s Raffaella (with live backing band bassist Charlie and drummer Alonso) opened up the show with a very brief 30-min set. This was the singer/songwriter’s first time in Minneapolis, and she started her set with her first single, “Bruce Willis” (which she jokingly called it “yippee ki-yay motherf***er”). Although she’s still very new to the music scene (with only one EP called Ballerina released in August 2019 via Mom+Pop), you can tell that she’s been performing for a while now. It probably won’t be long until she’s back in town, and with a strong audience support, given that she’s won over quite a few fans in the audience.”

Although it was her first time in Minneapolis in 2019, she quickly adopted the city as one of her “two hometowns”, as mentioned below. Minneapolis must have been very good to the singer.

Hank (aka Sara L’Abriola) and Ryann to open. Ryann is the moniker for New York-born, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Victoria Ryann Zaro, who is also in the band Peach Fuzz.

Raffaella writes:

:)my first two headline shows in my two hometowns lucky to have my wickedly talented friends Hank, Ryann & Nick Cianci joining whatta dream !! TIX on SALE this FriDaY

tickets at https://raff.world.

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to [email protected] with a good lead time. Thank you.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Countdown to Halloween

Read More Hellraiser Some commonly seen t-shirts were Nightbreed and Hellraiser, which I thought were cool, since I have always thought Clive Barker is genius. Also, this year they had music as part of the show. …

October is the month of horror, as we countdown to Halloween.

Hellraiser (2022)
hulu.com

The first really good horror film to come out this year is the new Hellraiser film, exclusive to Hulu. The 2022 Hellraiser film based on and re-imagined Clive Barker’s Hellbound Heart novella. Barker, himself, wrote and directed the original Hellraiser film in 1987, which set a new standard for horror films.

Instead of just another sequel, like so many of the other Hellraiser films, this new Hulu version created new rules and lore on the Lemarchand’s puzzle box… namely that the box can cut you with hidden blades to feed the box. Once you are marked, the Cenobites will appear to destroy you. The other new rule is that if you solve the box’s six configuration, you are granted with an audience with the Cenobite’s god Leviathan.

I like the new additions to Clive Barker’s original story, and I think it is fresh and exciting to get new ideas to this franchise. I didn’t even mind that Pinhead is now played by a woman. We’ve had different actors played Pinhead in the past, so it’s not out of the realm of possibly to replace the original Pinhead played by Doug Bradley. There’s also a new Chatterer, a new Angelique, and some new Cenobites that I’ve never seen before.

Next to Hellraiser and Hellraiser II: Hellbound, this new 2022 Hellraiser is worthy of the title.

Note: When I first heard that Hulu was making a Hellraiser film, I immediately thought it was a television show. To me, that made a lot sense, to treat the franchise as a regular television program. For example, you can have a death every episode, as the box travel from hand to hand. You can tell so much different stories, based on the box. The comic book did a good job in telling different stories in that universe… and a television show could have the same structure.

Read More Let the Right One In I will admit to having reservations about the American re-make of Let the Right One In, called Let Me In. I mean, if you ever saw the 2008 Swedish film (based on the 2004 best-selling book "Låt den rätte komma in" …

Let The Right One In (2022)
sho.com

I’ve never read the original book, but I am a fan of the 2008 Swedish horror film Let the Right One In. I even thought the American re-make of the film, titled Let Me In (2010), starring Chloë Grace Moretz, was not bad and it told a more cohesive story.

If you’re not familiar with the story, it’s about vampire child who befriends a 12-year-old boy. The way the story is told, it’s not really a horror film, but more like a weird love story.

The new Showtime television series, Let the Right One In, is loosely based on the book. Right away, they made all sorts of changes to the novel, like changing the race of the 12-year-old boy. Eli the vampire girl, they made her Spanish. Her father (perhaps?) is Lebanese, and the whole story takes place in America. They also introduce this secondary story about how they are trying to solve the vampire problem by hunting down and killing the original vampire. There’s also another family with a vampire child. I don’t think these new storylines … I think they did this so they can stretch out the story in a new directions. Again, I haven’t read the novel, so I don’t know how true they are to the story, but I suspect these new ideas were created for the television show.

While it’s too early to judge the series, right now, I am not loving this new TV show. The only exception is that they cast Grace Gummer (Meryl Streep’s daughter) as Claire Logan. I love Gummer when she was in Mr Robot, so I love seeing her in Let the Right One In.

Read More Werewolves In my final installment of Halloween treats, I'm going to compile some songs about Werewolves. I actually had a lot more Halloween-related posts I wanted to do, but lately I have not been home. …

Werewolf by Night (2022)
disneyplus.com

Based on the Marvel Comics of the same title, Werewolf by Night is the latest horror film from Disney Plus.

This might be the first of the new type of Marvel’s Horror titles, which will likely to include Blade, Son of Satan, and other Supernatural horror in their back catalog.

While I understand the film maker’s decision, I actually did not like watching Werewolf by Night as a Black & White (with some splashes of red) film. I think the B&W made it look hokey and cheesy. Like it is a bad Roger Corman film… and perhaps that is what they were going for.

The one redeeming thing about Werewolf by Night is that they introduced Man-Thing, which is one of my favorite “Swampy” creatures (with Swamp Thing and The Heap in that same family).

Description:

On a dark and somber night, a secret cabal of monster hunters emerge from the shadows and gather at the foreboding Bloodstone Temple following the death of their leader. In a strange and macabre memorial to the leader’s life, the attendees are thrust into a mysterious and deadly competition for a powerful relic—a hunt that will ultimately bring them face to face with a dangerous monster. Inspired by horror films of the 1930s and 1940s, the chilling special aims to evoke a sense of dread and the macabre, with plenty of suspense and scares along the way as we explore a new corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Read more Movies and Television.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Shawscope: Volume Two

Read More Shaw Brothers I got my beautiful Shawscope: Volume One boxset by Arrow Video on New Year Eve, via Amazon. The boxset officially came out on December 28, 2021, but I know, for a fact, that many fans got their orders in the mail early. …

I’m so happy to see that Arrow Films has finally announced their Shawscope: Volume Two boxset. The extra long boxset will be officially released on November 22, 2022… but as we all know, they sometime will ship out early.

As I have already mentioned in my review of Shawscope: Volume One, I thought it was missing some key films and would hope they address it with the 36th Chamber of Shaolin trilogy - and, of course, the three films (The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Return to the 36th Chamber, and Disciples of the 36th Chamber) will be the centerpiece of Volume 2.

With that said, it looks like Volume 2 has a few ‘comedy kung fu’, that I dislike so much. So I’m not looking forward to seeing the comedy stuff (even if it’s on Bluray): Mad Monkey Kung Fu (in fact, I just bought this from 88 Films in March 2022 and hated it) and My Young Auntie. I own both of these films already, and don’t really care for them. It’s just too goofy for my taste.

They did offset the comedy with some classic “Venom” films, including Invincible Shaolin (love this one! aka “Shaolin vs Wu-Tang”), The Kid with the Golden Arm, Magnificent Ruffians, and Ten Tigers of Kwangtung. I own all of Chang Cheh’s films (that’s officially released), and I always enjoy a good Cheh throw-down.

It looks like the odd/weird film in the bunch is the Shaw Brothers horror film The Boxer’s Omen. This is a gruesome film. In fact, I love most Shaw Brothers horror, so it’s a welcome addition to my collection.

The rest of the collection, I have not seen, so I won’t comment on them for now.

So this might be the last Shawscope set we will get… even though Shaw Brothers have produced over 700 films. The reason for this is due to licensing. From the 2021 rumor in a Criterion forum, someone said Arrow only has the rights to 26 Shaw Brothers films. 88 Films also has its hands in some of these licensing, so far 88 has released about 40 Shaw Brothers titles.

The Arrow’s 26 number is probably true, based on the fact that between the two boxsets, Arrow would release 24 titles. The missing two? Well, that’s The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter and Come Drink With Me, which they released as a single release. The The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter release really puzzled me, as 88 Films also released their version of the film, only months prior. Yes, I own both version, and yes, I have collector’s remorse.

I hope these Shaw Brothers boxsets does well… so we can get more releases in the future. I hate to say it, but there’s not a huge kung fu market in the United States, so I doubt Arrow Films will likely negotiate to release more (obscure) films.

Anyway, here is a list of films including in Shawscope: Volume Two:

Disc One – The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin

Disc Two – Return To The 36th Chamber / Disciples Of The 36th Chamber

Disc Three – Mad Monkey Kung Fu / Five Superfighters

Disc Four – Invincible Shaolin / The Kid With The Golden Arm

Disc Five – Magnificent Ruffians / Ten Tigers Of Kwangtung

Disc Six – My Young Auntie

Disc Seven – Mercenaries From Hong Kong / The Boxer's Omen

Disc Eight – Martial Arts Of Shaolin / The Bare-Footed Kid

Disc Nine – Music From The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin, Five Superfighters, Invincible Shaolin And The Kid With The Golden Arm (CD)

Disc Ten – Music From Return To The 36th Chamber, Magnificent Ruffians, Ten Tigers Of Kwangtung, My Young Auntie, Mercenaries From Hong Kong And Disciples Of The 36th Chamber (CD)

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Ripping 4K

Read More Handbrake Handbrake is my choice for ripping DVDs. It's by far the slowest ripper I've ever used, but what it lacks in speed, it does make up for being free. There are some presets, but personally I've been ripping at the best …

If you know me, you know that I own multiple thousands of DVDs and Blurays. Since the early 2000s, I’ve been ripping my DVDs, as a form of backup… and also a way for me to easily access my films and television shows. In those early days, I did recommend a paid program called DVDFab … but, as the program shifted to a subscription model for Bluray, I couldn’t support the software anymore. You can buy a “lifetime” subscription for $200, but I chose not to.

Instead, I went with a free Bluray ripper called MakeMKV, which I really liked. It’s free as long as you get a new license from them every month. I did that for a while, until I got sick of the license expiring every month… so I did pay (or “donate”) for the software. I’ve no regret about the one-time payment, it’s probably the best purchase I’ve ever made, considering that I use it on all my Blurays.

Very recently, I bought True Romance on 4K from Arrow Films. It was very expensive, I thought it would just come with a Bluray for me to rip… but it did not. I own a lot of 4K discs, and all of them came with a Bluray, so naturally, I just thought this new release would automatically come with a BD. To add insult to injury, Arrow Films, charging as much as they do, they have never offered a free digital or streaming copy of their films.

Without a BD, I had to teach myself how to rip from a 4k UHD disc. This is how I did it:

#1 UHD 4K Blu-Ray Reader
I bought Archgon’s External USB 3.0 UHD 4K Blu-Ray Writer Super Drive for $125 from Amazon. The aluminum encased drive will read UHD, read/write Bluray, M-Disc BD-R, DVD, and CD… and will work for PC and Mac. It comes with a travel protective case and all the necessary cords to plug into your computer.

In order to get the drive to rip 4k, you need to flash the drive image to from BU40N to BU40N 1.03MK. You can download all the drivers and the “MartyMcNuts” Flasher on forum.makemkv.

#2 MakeMKV
Once you flash your UHD drive, MakeMKV will be able to read the disc. I normally rip all the English audio tracks (some are audio commentaries that I want to hear) and I rip the subtitles.

The 4K files are huge. True Romance was over 70GB. You have to remember that the size of DVDs are only 4.7GB.

#3 Handbrake
The raw file is too large, so you’ll need to shrink the film to a more manageable size using the free Handbrake. My personal preference is 720p, which is “good” quality and the file size is small enough that you can locally stream or put on a USB drive for travel. Unfortunately, re-sizing the 4k resolution to 720p, took my computer over 9 hours to encode. If you have a really fast computer, I’m sure you can make it go a little faster… but if you have a slower computer, I’ll bet it might take a day!

These are optional steps:

Optional: Subtitles
You can use Subtitle Editor to extract the subtitles to a text file called *.SRT. From there you can attached it to Handbrake to offer select-able subtitles.

Optional: Tagging
I use MetaX to tag all my files with artwork and metadata. The software used to be free, but they are now a paid software. I used it a lot, so I just paid $10 for it.

I hope this helps you. It was a learning experience for me, particularly about flashing the drive to the correct firmware. If you don’t want to go through the same problem I went through, they do sell “pre-flash” drives from resellers. I’m certain there’s an upcharge.

Between you and me, I probably won’t be buying too many 4K discs (especially if it doesn’t come with a Bluray), because it just simply takes too long to encode a 4k file.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ @weheartmusic

From South Korea

Read More South Korea If you haven’t heard, Squid Game is Netflix’s blockbuster television show. Everyone, at least over 111 million, is watching this South Korean drama/thriller. …

Read more Movies and Television.

The Witch: Part 2. The Other One (2022)
wellgousa.com

A few years ago, I bought the film The Witch: Subversion on Bluray and was both blown away at the story and was also disappointed to learn that it’s only part of the story.

In The Witch: Subversion, it’s about a young girl who decides to enter a contest. She has telekinetic powers that she used to win the contest. When news of this reached this shadowy superhuman killers, they sought her out. It turns out “the witch” was part of a government super soldier program… and she must’ve escape and lost her memory.

In the sequel, The Witch: Part 2. The Other One is actually a story about another girl with powers… although the way the story is told, you thought it was the origin story of the original “witch”.

You’re also introduced to this elite Australian/Korean duo, who goes around killing superhumans. Their task is to kill the girl, but they end up kind of like the heroes, as they fight against the killer hit squad. I know this doesn’t make any sense, until you watch the film.

The original was a hit, and this new film is also a hit, becoming South Korea’s highest grossing film.

I recommend watching the first one, as a refresher, as I’ve forgotten many of the characters and their motivations.

Like the first film, I’m disappointed that this second film is still only part of the story... and there will be a third film. I hope they resolve everything in the third film, I don’t want the story to go on forever.

Read More John Woo Pushing it to an LP status and re-titled to "A Much Better Tomorrow" in 2000. The title, looks like, was taken from John Woo's crime trilogy of the same name. …

The Killer (2022)
thekiller2022.com

Not to be confused with John Woo’s The Killer (1989) or David Fincher’s The Killer (2023), this new The Killer (aka The Killer: A Girl Who Deserves to Die) is a South Korean action film.

Critics mentioned that this was Korea’s John Wick, but I thought it felt like another Korean film, Deliver Us From Evil (2020). In Deliver Us From Evil, the story is about a hitman on his final hit before retiring, finds himself trying to save a young girl. He’s pursued by a crazy mobster. I really like Deliver Us From Evil, because they took the film seriously and portrays it in a realistic world.

The Killer (2022) is just an over-the-top, stylized, unbelievable story of a retired hitman. It starts off simple enough, our hero, Bang Ui-gang, is babysitting a 17 year old girl… who gets in trouble with the wrong crowd. In order to fully keep the girl safe, he has to take down an evil criminal organization.

His main nemesis throughout the film is played by Bruce Khan, who looks like Donnie Yen. Khan is supposed to be a Russian assassin, but I never thought he looked Russian at all. I mean, what kind of Russian speaks fluent Korean?

My main problem with the film is that it’s just too unrealistic. It portrays Bang as an unstoppable badass, who cannot be taken down. It’s just boring to watch, when you know he can never lose a fight! I feel like they should bring it down to earth a little… maybe show that Bang has some weakness.

I guess it’s not meant to be taken seriously, just watch it for the action and have some popcorn. It’s a summer action blockbuster-type of film.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Shaw Brothers in 2022, part 3

Read more Movies and Shaw Brothers.

Description When former Shaw Brothers executive Raymond Chow founded rival studio Golden Harvest in 1970, he quickly teamed up with “Jimmy” Wang Yu – Hong Kong’s first kung fu superstar and formerly Shaw’s biggest box office draw. Bringing over his peerless talent for taking on all foes with one hand tied behind his back, Wang wrote, directed and played the title role in one of his most unmissable kickass classics. From the legendary star of One-Armed Swordsman and The Chinese Boxer comes… One-Armed Boxer! Yu Tian Long (Wang) is the best fighter to come out of his local martial arts school, but when he crosses the ruthless leader of a local crime syndicate, the big boss’ brutal bevy of deadly killers make mincemeat out of the school and everyone inside. Now the only survivor of the massacre, and short of one appendage, Yu is gifted a powerful elixir that promises to give him the strength to take swift revenge on the army of assassins, each representing the most lethal forms of fighting from across the Eastern hemisphere. Proving once and for all that you only need five fingers of death to get the job done, Wang would later reprise his role in the infamous sequel Master of the Flying Guillotine, but it’s the dementedly inventive original where he’s arguably at the height of his powers. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS 2K restoration from the original elements by Fortune Star High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation Original lossless Mandarin mono audio, alternate Mandarin soundtrack and original English dubbed audio Optional English subtitles, plus hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub Commentary by Frank Djeng from the NY Asian Film Festival Career retrospective interview with Wang Yu, filmed in Nantes in 2001 and never released before, courtesy of the Frédéric Ambroisine Video Archive Trailer gallery, featuring the original Hong Kong theatrical trailer, a US TV spot (as The Chinese Professionals) and over half an hour of trailers for other Wang Yu classics including One-Armed Swordsman and Master of the Flying Guillotine Image gallery Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ilan Sheady Read More Shaw Brothers Thankfully, their latest release for Jimmy Wang Yu’s The Chinese Boxer, is available domestically in the USA (their first simultaneous UK and US release). …

ONE-ARMED BOXER (1972)
arrowvideo.com

For those not familiar with what’s going on with Shaw Brothers and their competitor, Golden Harvest, we are currently getting their movie back catalog released in Bluray to the English market (America or UK)… which is exciting, because for many of us, this will be the first time we are seeing these films in glorious HD.

Currently, the rights holder for Golden Harvest is Fortune Star, who licensed old Golden Harvest films to Eureka Entertainment in the UK. Eureka is releasing the classic Kung Fu films under their Eureka Classic line, which is on a budget pricing model with no special features… and no interests in bringing their titles to America.

Thankfully, Arrow Films will be releasing selected Golden Harvest films to the U.S. market, starting with One-Armed Boxer. So far, they’ve only released Shaw Brothers films: Shaw Scope Boxset, 8 Diagram Pole Fighter, and Come Drink With Me… so seeing Golden Harvest on their release list is making me very happy.

One-Armed Boxer is one of the best film that Jimmy Yu ever made. I previous mentioned this title when I heard that Yu had died in April 2022.

Anyway, I finally bought the film earlier this week. I didn’t pre-order the title, so when it was released on May 24, 2022, it was out of stock. I wasn’t exactly sure it was completely sold out - given the limited run of these films due to lack of interests (I’m sorry but Americans don’t like to buy foreign films)… but thankfully, the Bluray was back in stock in July 2022.

So, I’m very happy to now own One-Armed Boxer. This film is amazing, given that it came out in 1972 (it was released in America in 1973). It had all the great elements that you see in later Kung Fu films, including really wacky villains… and it laid the groundwork for my favorite Jimmy Yu film, Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976).

The story of One-Armed Boxer can be broken into two parts. The first part is about the two rival martial arts school - the Hook gang and the good Ching Te school. When the two masters of the school meet and the Hook gang was defeated, they decide to hire professional fighters to take out their rivals. So enter “The Chinese Professionals” (which was the alternate title): a Karate champion and his two students, two Tibetian lamas/monks, two Muay Thai fighters, a Judo master, a Taekwondo master, and a Yoga expert.

The Karate champion looks like he is a vampire, based on his two fangs and his unusual fighting style (which does not look Karate-esque at all). But ultimately he was the person who chopped off Jimmy Yu’s arm, and destroying the entire Ching Te school.

The second part of the film is about Yu’s recovery and learning how to make his remaining arm a deadly weapon. Yes, there is a montage, but it’s done through still photographs. Once Yu finished his training, he sets out to kill each of the hired fighters to take his revenge. The fight sequences were very entertaining, and overall a very enjoyable movie.

The sequel, Master of the Flying Guillotine, is, in my opinion, the superior film. After Yu killed the two lamas from Tibet, their master, a blind monk with a pocket version of the flying guillotine seeks revenge for his students. Master of the Flying Guillotine has everything that One-Armed Boxer had, but throwing in even more “Street Fighter” characters and the guillotine.

THE FLYING GUILLOTINE PART II (1977)
88-films.com

Speaking of guillotine, The Flying Guillotine Part II is coming out on August 8, 2022, via 88 Films. This Bluray is made available to the US and UK market and limited to 3,000 pieces. Naturally, I will be pre-ordering the title closer to the date, if I don’t forget.

I already own all the Flying Guillotine movies on DVD via Celestial Pictures (Hong Kong), but also some titles via Dragon Dynasty (USA). It’s weird that 88 films will release part 2 before they release the original, first film. I can speculate that they don’t have all the special features ready for the first film - maybe it needs a new artwork, maybe it needs a commentary … or perhaps they just don’t have the rights to it, seeing as, perhaps Arrow Films could have outbid them. Who knows? I just know that the first film is so important, that it needs to be released on Bluray.

Since I have already seen Flying Guillotine Part II, I can tell you that the main character developed an anti-guillotine defensive weapon… which is basically an umbrella! It’s a fun film, and I love the engineering to all the weapons.

MARTIAL CLUB (1981)
88-films.com

For some reason Martial Club was delayed to the US market… Amazon told me it was going to be mailed to me on July 30th, but somehow, they sent it to me today (July 24th). So I have not had a chance to watch it.

I did open the Bluray and admiring the nice slip case (matted, not glossy anymore), with a booklet and fold-out poster. I love all the extras, keep it coming.

Note: The spine number is #34, which is late, considering #35 already came out months ago.

I know there are a lot of Lau Kar-leung fans out there, I’m just not one of them. I think his film are more on the comedy-side, and I take my Kung Fu films seriously. That’s just my preference. As a martial arts film enthusiast, I don’t mind owning any Lau Kar-leung, but I just don’t go to his films when I recommend or want to watch an old film.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Strangest Things

Stranger Things: Season 4 It's been eight months since The Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Struggling with the aftermath, our group of friends are separated for the first time - and navigating the complexities of high school hasn't made things easier. In this most vulnerable time, a new and horrifying supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery, that if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down. Read More Stranger Things For me, synthwave started with Stranger Things. In late July I went on a date with a fellow dungeon master who mentioned this show which started with some kids playing D&D (Dungeons & Dragons). …

Read more Television.

STRANGER THINGS
netflix.com

I’ve been enjoying Stranger Things since it debut in 2016, and, personally speaking, I think Season 4 is one of their strongest season yet. The show’s really matured, and that’s not to mention how all the child actors have all really grown up in the four years we’ve known them. I mean in both story and, the fact that the real actors have really grown up. Just look at the actor Finn Wolfhard, he looks like a fully grown young man. It’s clear to me that the Duffer Brothers couldn’t possibly continue telling their stories forever.

The story of Season 4 goes back to the first time we meet 11. We’re reminded that 11 killed everyone in this secret base in a flashback. The story goes deeper, and you’re given more back stories. Somehow, at least how I perceived it, that it was that 11 created “The Upsidedown”, a twisted version of Hawkins, Indiana. It’s really cool, I bought it.

Season 4 also has some of the most horrific death scenes, featuring some gruesome body breaking/eyeballs destroying moments. I feel like sometime the show borders on Rated R and PG, especially with some of its goofy moments, like the Suzie’s mad house or the crazy greedy Russian pilot.

My biggest complaint about the new season is that they’ve introduced (or focused more on) a lot of new characters. I wish they just stick to the original group of fans. Instead, we’re seeing characters like Hellfire Club’s Eddie, Robin (who was introduced last season and plays a bigger part this season), and Argyle. With so many characters, it just seems like the writers tried to devote more time to everyone… making for very long episodes. In fact, the last two episodes (which just released by Netflix) are one and half hour, and two plus hours, respectively. They are movie length!

Stranger Things Soundtrack Stranger Things: Soundtrack from the Netflix Series, Season 4 includes essential music tracks evoking various classic eras and styles as featured in "Stranger Things 4." The soundtrack album is conceptualized and produced by The Duffer Brothers and Nora Felder.

STRANGER THINGS: SOUNDTRACK
legacyrecordings.com

As you know, one of the best thing about Stranger Things is their amazing 80s soundtrack. With Season 4, the soundtrack helped Kate Bush back on the music charts, over 35 years after “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” was originally released!

I actually own a few Stranger Things Soundtrack, so I’m looking forward to Legacy Recordings’ release of Stranger Things: Soundtrack from the Netflix Series, Season 4. The soundtrack is available now on digital and CD.

If you’re a vinyl collector, like I am, be on the look out for the double LP 12” on November 4th. The vinyl will come in standard black (with 12inch poster insert), or exclusive retailers’ editions.

Walmart will have a Creel House cover and puzzle, Target will have a California cover and diorama, Barnes & Noble will have a Russia cover and stickers, and Amazon will feature a Lab cover with a 12x12 Butcher Billy lithograph (details here).

Surfer Boy Pizza Surfer Boy Pizza Pepperoni Pizza, 23 oz. Each mouth-watering variety contains rich tomato sauce, delicious mozzarella cheese, and a gnarly range of toppings.

SURFER BOY PIZZA
palermovillainc.com

The first time I saw Surfer Boy Pizza, I was so confused. This is an imaginary pizza brand from Stranger Things… yet, here it is, in real life at my local Walmart. I decided to try one out.

To my surprise, it was really good. Especially for only $7. Don’t believe all the food snobs on the internet, I really like the pizza. I would cut it in thirds and air fry a piece for about 9 minutes, and it’s crisp and tastes great.

The frozen pizza is made by Palermo Villa Co. and comes with a fake pair of punch-out 3D glasses. There are four types of topping available: supreme, multi-meat, pepperoni, and pineapple & jalapeno. I’ve tried them all, they’re all pretty good, except for my least favorite, the pineapple & jalapeno. It’s just the topping, the crust is still good. The best value is the supreme, so I would recommend trying that first.

At the moment, I believe the pizza is only available from Walmart. Right now, they are phasing out the pizza, since the show is over… but you can still buy a 4-pack from their website for a high price of $50.

If you can find it for $7, it’s worth checking out.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com