Mystery Science Theater 3000: Vol. XIX [Limited Edition]

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Vol. XIX [Limited Edition] Review

This set features two shows with Joel Hodgson as host from the Comedy Central era and two with Mike Nelson from the Sci-Fi Channel era. MST3K always worked especially well when the films used were in the sci-fi/horror genre and this set is packed with four such episodes.

Episode 107- ROBOT MONSTER (with shorts: COMMANDO CODY Parts 4 and 5)
This 1953 black and white film is extremely low budget, so much so that the eponymous "robot monster" costume consists of a cheap gorilla suit topped off with an even cheaper deep-sea diving style helmet. It is one of those movies that is so incompetent it is fun all on its own and it's perfect fodder for MST3K. A family survives the destruction of most of humanity by the evil Ro-Man, who hunts them mercilessly yet has trouble finding them though he is living nearly next door! The family has managed to elude Ro-Man through the scientific genius of the older parents and their attractive adult daughter, Alice, and here fiance. Even their young, pre-adolescent children are mental giant compared to the incompetent Ro-Man. As if he didn't have enough difficulties, Ro-Man has a "thing" for Alice, which causes him problems with completing his murderous mission. The movie at times is incomprehensible in its editing, with inexplicable shots of lizards impersonating dinosaurs and other weirdness inserted to pad out the film. There's also lots of shots of George Barrows as Ro-Man stalking about Bronson Canyon. This is a strong Season One MST3K episode and the inclusion of the Commando Cody Radar Men From The Moon shorts just adds to the low budget fun. This one has been a favorite of mine for years and I'm quite pleased to see it in commercial release.

Episode 423- BRIDE OF THE MONSTER (with short: HIRED!, Part 1)
This 1955 Ed Wood film stars Bela Lugosi and Tor Johnson, two of Wood's favorite actors. The pairing is great fun and the movie is everything fans have come to expect from Ed Wood, with cheap monsters, continuity issues, and Lugosi playing a mad scientist assisted by his lumbering, hulking side-kick, Lobo, played by Johnson. Johnson played essentially the same character with the same name in The Unearthly, a movie also used on MST3K. Bride Of The Monster is a quintessential Ed Wood film and belongs right up there next to Plan 9 From Outer Space. The jokes from the MST3K crew come fast and furious and it seems obvious that they had a great, almost too easy time writing jokes for this one. This movie also features Harvey B. Dunn who played "Grampa" in Teenagers From Outer Space. The short, Hired! Part One is also fun and inspires a whole host segment, "Hired, The Musical". Another episode highlight is the host segment where Joel and the 'Bots play out the end of the film with the help of Cambot.

Episode 818- DEVIL DOLL
A 1964 black and white film about a ventroliquist/hypnotist with an evil dummy named, Hugo. The ventroliquist is after the fortune of an heiress, which creates a love triangle since he already has a mistress. Tragedy of course, ensues, but it's all comedy for the viewers of this MST3K version. The movie is atmospheric to a degree, but is also slow and ponderous at times and the slowly pulsating soundtrack delivers as much monotony as it does tension. Nevertheless, there are some good highlights in this episode, most notably Mike Nelson impersonating Hugo and there are plenty of good "riffs" during the movie.

Episode 911- DEVIL FISH
Italy produces many "psychotronic" movies and this 1984 color production keeps that tradition alive. Directed by Lamberto Bava, son of the great Mario Bava, this is silly and fun B-grade monster movie stuff all the way. Years before the upcoming Roger Corman movie, "Sharktopus", this film features a marine biologist, a dolphin trainer, a research scientist, and a local sheriff attempting to hunt down a hybrid monster comprising shark and octopus traits. Filmed on location in Florida, it's another bad "don't go in the water" type follow on to the success of Jaws in 1976. Silly monster movies always worked well on MST3K and this one is no exception. Not one of the best episodes ever, but fairly consistent and enjoyable fun throughout.

Extra features include:
* This Limited Edition version of the set comes with a collectible Gypsy figurine similar to the Tom Servo and Crow figurines sold in earlier Shout! Factory sets.
* A new introduction to the film Robot Monster by J. Elvis Weinstein
* Joel Hodgson's Inventing the "Invention Exchange"
* The Puppet Master: Richard Gordon on Devil Doll
* MST3K: Origins and Beyond at CONvergence 2009
* Exclusive Mini-posters by artist Steve Vance
* Cult Filmmaker Larry Blamire Geeks Out on Robot Monster
* Citizen Wood: Making `The Bride,' Unmaking `The Legend'
* Original Theatrical Trailers

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Vol. XIX [Limited Edition] Overview

You are cordially invited to step aboard the stranded Satellite of Love as its crew continues its ongoing assignment of viewing (and mocking) the most . . . ahem . . . misunderstood . . . films of all time! Join hosts Joel Hodgson and Mike Nelson as they celebrate the very first and only 19th DVD box set of the hilarious cult phenomenon Mystery Science Theater 3000 with their loyal, albeit morally misguided, crew Tom Servo, Crow T. Robot and, of course, Gypsy! Episodes include: Robot Monster, Bride of the Monster, Devil Doll, and Devil Fish.

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Green Zone (Two-Disc Limited Edition + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray]

Green Zone (Two-Disc Limited Edition + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] Review

I expected Green Zone to track more closely to the book upon which the movie was based; "Green Zone, Imperial Life in the Emerald City", and indictment of the Paul Bremer time in Iraq. Instead the movie's focus was on Matt Damon's character and his team of WMD searchers, which was a minor part of the book. The movie perfectly captured the chaos in Iraq at the opening stages of the war as American troops captured Baghdad, and proceeded to consolidate their presence in Iraq. The handheld camera technique emphasized the way unplanned events unfold and the need to plan on the fly as obstacles present themselves. This movie probably captures the feeling of war as well as any movie. Matt Damon is excellent in his role as a chief warrant officer who takes his job seriously and knows when he is getting a lot of b.s. from his superiors. The cast is uniformly excellent and again the movie captures the tension that existed between the CIA and the Defense Department over the authenticity of the information supplied regarding WMD's in Iraq. The CIA was getting it's information from a former Iraqi general in charge of the WMD program whereas the Defense Department was getting its information from a guy code named "curveball" whom even German intelligence said was unreliable. The movie version consolidated the informant into one character, the Iraqi general. There really was a huge disconnect between the civilian political operatives as depicted by the character Poudstone and the military grunts depicted by Damon. Donald Rumsfeld set up is own intelligence operation because he did not trust CIA intelligence or because the CIA was not telling him what he wanted to hear. The movie made it perfectly clear that the CIA and the Defense Department did not get along. I highly recommend this movie since it was not only entertaining but at least 50-75% true account of what happened during that period of time in Iraq.

Green Zone (Two-Disc Limited Edition + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] Overview

Academy Award® nominees Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum) reteam in this action-packed thriller. Damon stars as Roy Miller, a rogue U.S. Army officer who must hunt through covert and faulty intelligence hidden on foreign soil before war escalates in an unstable region. Also starring Academy Award® nominees Greg Kinnear and Amy Ryan, Green Zone is “one hell of a thriller” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times).

Green Zone (Two-Disc Limited Edition + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] Specifications

Matt Damon reteams with his Bourne Supremacy director to create a thriller grounded in contemporary politics: the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) travels across war-torn Iraq, pursuing the intelligence he's been given, but every site indicated comes up empty of WMDs. Investigating the source of the intelligence, he finds himself caught between CIA agent Martin Brown (Brendan Gleeson, 28 Days Later) and politician Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear, Little Miss Sunshine) over the identity of "Magellan," the supposed source. As Miller tracks down an Iraqi general, he ends up further and further afield, facing danger from all sides. It's hard to say which is the greater accomplishment--that Green Zone manages to turn a still-volatile political issue into a propulsive action movie, or that it manages to depict Iraqi people as individuals with a wide range of responses to what's happened to their country. Damon's performance is low-key but effective as Miller tries to maintain some semblance of moral clarity in a circumstance that muddies everything. Also featuring Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone) as a compromised journalist and Khalid Abdalla (The Kite Runner) as an Iraqi civilian who gets dragged into far more than he expected. --Bret Fetzer

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