My review of the DVD box set, The First Films of Samuel Fuller, is now up over at Kevin Smith’s grab-bag site, QuickStopEntertainment.

In the review, I conclude: “What a relief that the Eclipse box sets come shed of supplements. One can dive right into the movies. Many film buffs may demand more than the anonymous text on the inside cover of the slim cases, to me it was a holiday. Thank god I don’t have to either feel guilty for not reading what little there was (as I did not). What the lack of scholarly apparatus also means is that innocent viewers will be able to experience Fuller’s first three films the way original filmgoers did.”

Don’t go into park tunnels in Manhattan if you can help it.

That’s the message of many a NY film, be it Cruising, Birth, or Narc (which yes, I know, is set in Detroit, but still, it’s a tunnel). That’s what happens to radio personality Erica Bain (Jodi Foster) in the forthcoming The Brave One. While walking her dog in the park one night with her fiance, she enters the tunnel, is raped by hoodlums, and the boyfriend is killed. In the aftermath, the justice system is helpless, whereupon she turns into a vengeance machine. It sounds like the brilliant Ms. 45 only without the sexy lethal nun costume. In fact, from the trailer, it seems to be a direct, unofficial remake of Death Wish. The Brave One is directed by Neil Jordan, the Irish helmer who strides both the art house and the popular cinema.

(As a side note, among films about the unpleasant subject of rape, I would highly recommend Outrage, the 1950 film directed by Ida Lupino.)

The Brave One almost starred Nicole Kidman, but she dropped that project in favor of The Invasion, the forthcoming (and fourth) remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (and this is not the first time Miss Foster has inherited a project from Miss Kidman — see Panic Room).

But what’s curious about The Brave One is that it isn’t the only vigilante film about to come out featuring a surprisingly unlikely actor at the center. Death Sentence stars Kevin Bacon as a man whose family suffers at the hands of a gang, and when the legal system can do nothing about it, he takes the law into his own hands, becoming as much an animal as his prey. Directed by James Wan (one of the creators behind the Saw series), Death Sentence is based on a novel by Brian Garfield, the man who really wrote the original source novel for Death Wish, so in a way this film can be viewed as a slightly more official sequel to the Charles Bronson hit.

Kidman, Foster, and Bacon all seem like hippy dippy anti-violence types unlikely to associate themselves with cheap-thrills genres, so why would they sign up for a movie that requires them to shoot off faces and bash in brains — unless in the final analysis they actually turn out to be anti-violence films? In any case, we will know soon enough. Death Sentence comes out August 31, and The Brave One September 14.

What is it with Paris in the movies all of a sudden? I know it’s this big deal place, the “city of lights” and all that, but really, isn’t it a tad overdone? And the movies that are coming out are terribly precious. First there was Luc Besson’s Angel A, a twee tale of a sexy angel on earth helping a rogue. Then there was Paris, je t’aime, which was essentially a promotional film about the city, featuring a series of shorts by the likes of Gus Van Sant and the Coen brothers. Now comes 2 Days in Paris, a vanity project by French actress Julie Delpy, which she produced, wrote, stars in, and in which she cast her parents and even wrote the music. There’s also Dans Paris, a New Wave-ish film about a man seeking to help his depressed brother. I thought we in America decided that we hated France? So why the sudden influx of Paris-centric films? Did the French embassy go into overdrive to counteract its bad image with Americans? If so, they can forget it. As an American, I shall continue to hate France until my government tells me otherwise. More Freedom Films for me!

If you’re like me, you probably believe that Mystery Science Theater 3000 was the funniest thing on television. The show was perfect for film geeks. It blended low humor (which geeks like) with high humor (which only geeks get) combined with movie-buffery. Once non-geek types got over the fact that Mike and the rest talk over the movie, they like the show, too. After the show’s long run on cable television on various channels, MST3K came to an end. In its wake, various amateur groups have endeavored to revived the idea though “fanvids.” Several of them are covered in the new issue of the ‘zine Cashiers du Cinemart, which isn’t online yet (though it will be eventually, like the previous 14 issues), but the article covers such groups as Mystery Fandom Theater 3000 and Mystery Spatula Theater.

What we really want, though, are the old guard back in the saddle, and that’s what the MST3K fans get with the new series, The Film Crew. Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett. The Film Crew’s premise is that three guys in corporate uniforms have been hired by a Mr. Bob Honcho (who calls in like Charlie to his Angels) to provide audio commentary tracks for all the films that don’t enjoy the service. This time, though, the MST3K vets are shorn of puppets and skits and other beloved facets of the show introduced by its original creator Joel Hodgson. Nor does the show have anything like MST3K’s beautiful closing “love theme.”

However, the series does have great wit, as seen in the two releases so far: The Film Crew: Hollywood After Dark (Shout Factory, $19.95, street date July 10, 2007) and The Film Crew: Killers From Space (Shout Factory, $19.95, street date August 7, 2007). The 1968 Hollywood After Dark (also known as Walk the Angry Beach) is a cheap crime thriller set in the world of strippers and starring Rue McClanahan, later of The Golden Girls, while Killers From Space is a conventional alien invasion story typical of the times, starring Peter Graves and released in 1954. The next Film Crew victim, Wild Women of Wongo, comes out September 11th.

Essentially what the gang do is provide audio commentary tracks to movies. And Nelson does that in another venture, Rifftrax, in which he provides audio commentary tracks that the consumer downloads and then plays back while watching the movie on computer or television. These downloads are not free, and Nelson tends to do more recent films, such as The Fifth Element, Top Gun (which he did with Bill Corbett), Point Break, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (which he did with Kevin Murphy), Battlefield Earth (done with Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett), and numerous others.

Though a little grayer, fatter, and balder, The Film Crew does maintain a level of wit we all loved from MST3K. If the cast is a little stiff in the discs’ opening scenes set in the Film Crew workspace (it’s possible that Murphy and Corbett are better “actors” when they are hiding behind puppets), they are all back in form once the films themselves start unreeling. Nelson, noting that Hollywood After Dark, which opens in a junk yard, isn’t so dark, scoffs at the film’s title, Murphy adds, “It’s more like Barstow after Breakfast.” When Graves is told that his astronaut’s body was revived in outer space by the aliens, Corbett asks in his place, “Why did they go in through my sphincter.” The jokes are just the common fare that made MST3K so beloved: references to or the noises of uncontrolled body excretions, accusations of homosexuality, physical comparisons between celebrities and the figures on the screen, withering comparisons to the stars’ later or earlier careers, vocalizing of hidden thoughts, over-reactions to sudden changes such as unexpected close ups, funny voices, undercutting banalities, and highbrow allusions (as Peter Graves attempts to flee a deep cavern, the gang notes, “Don’t let George Crumb write your chase music for you”). Though not as finely honed as the old MST3K efforts (the Film Crew are more likely to make you feel misty eyed for the old MST3Ks) they get the job done. Give the guys four or five more tries and they should be up to speed.

Each disc comes in a keep case, with four chapters per disc, and a minor extra. Hollywood After Dark comes with a sew-on patch of the Film Crew’s ticket logo.

There can never be one all-inclusive guide to DVDs outside the Internet. And even there, the discs tend to be subdivided by genre or market profile. There is no one-stop shop that will give the consumer in-depth accounts, full-bodied reviews for gosh sakes, of everything from exercise videos to the latest Criterion art house release. Given that, what one wants from a DVD guide, either online or in hard copy, is accuracy, reliability, and style (for a good and lively writing style makes opinions easier to remember). The DVD Delirium series from FAB Press has been reasonably reliable for fans of non-mainstream cinema (the set’s first volume had to undergo some revision and is now out in a revised edition). The third in the series, DVD Delirium Volume 3 (FAB Press, 640 pages, $24.95, ISBN 1 903254 40 X) , edited, as before, by Nathaniel Thompson (though the series was originated by Adrian Luther-Smith, who apparently did not survive long into the first edition), is consistent with the first two volumes, and taken all together the trio of books amounts to almost 2000 pages of reviews of almost 2000 movies.

There is no clear or easy definition of make that qualifies for review in a given volume of DVDD. The intro to the third book says simply that to merit inclusion in the book a film “must possess that certain magical something, a quality different from the standard Hollywood product.” This loose a definition gives the editor a lot of latitude to include material that he likes, yet at the same time the reader can feel that everything in the book qualifies. Like the material reviewed in the magazines Video Watchdog, or the late Psychotronic Video and its attendant volumes of gathered reviews, you sort of know it when you see it.

Like those in the above magazines, especially VW, the reviews here tend to be straightforward, informative, and humorless. They pack a lot of information into a small space, but occasionally assume that the reader knows more than she or he might. For example, take the lead off review, Abigail Leslie is Back in Town, a soft core porn film from 1975. The film stars numerous hardcore porn stars (such as Jamie Gillis) who apparently are grateful to have the chance to actually act, and the film is directed by Joe Sarno. If one reads between the lines it is clear that Sarno was a top pornographer of the era, but there is no clear indication of his status. Thus it is hard to fully contextualize the film in determining whether to view it. On the other hand, where else will the reader find a detailed full-page-plus review of a movie so obscure by a writer who has actually seen it?

Other entries have a feeling of essaysitic expansiveness, and prompt insights in the reader. For example, the review of Singapore Sling (a Greek film, despite its title, from 1990) reminds us that the so-called modern “torture porn” horror movies of the day, are really a part of a long-standing genre called “captivity films,” thus making so-called torture porn nothing new, even down to its torture scenes. This review is characteristic of the book as a whole. It gives a whole history of the movie, its unusual release pattern, a thumbnail background of the director, lists two or three films that may have influenced its look and some of the scenes, and gives a detailed account of the disc itself. The reviewer is so informed as to be able to offer the titles of other discs that adopt this disc’s unusual but necessary subtitling process. Other titles that serve as an example of DVDD’s range are Caravaggio, Nail Gun Massacre, the western Hannie Caulder, the faux documentary Faces of Death, the Joan Crawford vehicle The Damned Don’t Cry, the musical documentary Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus, and Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring. Most of the listings, however, are for horror films.

Volume 3 covers DVDs released from around 2003 to late 2006 (the first book came out in 2002, the second in 2003). Each review summarizes the film, gives some background, reviews the quality of the sound and transfer, assesses the supplements if there are any, and compares and contrasts different editions of the movie as well as against printings from different region codes. There is also a cumulative index covering all three books. I especially enjoyed the reviews of all the highly informed Rathbone-Bruce Sherlock Holmes films, the lengthy review of Sin City, and the review of Tobe Hooper’s remake of The Toolbox Murders, among many others. If the reviews one finds on websites were as good as the ones in this book (and there is no reason why they can’t be, which doubly damns them), the Internet would have a much higher reputation.

Charles Ferguson’s No End in Sight is only the latest in a long (and futile?) series of editorializing documentaries that take on the Bush Administration and the war in Iraq.

But if you think you’ve seen enough movies on the subject, you’re wrong. This film, which opened this weekend at the Cinema 21 in Portland, is slightly different. The director chooses to focus on three months in 2003 during which the Bush Administration made most of the bad decisions we are now living with. These decisions include allowing post-invasion looting of the cities, disbanding the Iraq army, and substituting career diplomats and military men who knew the region and the language with “Brownie” level cronies. Ferguson is a computer millionaire who has taken his millions and invested it in a contribution to the public dialogue, like Andrew Jarecki, the Moviefone guy who took his millions and made Capturing the Friedmans. Ferguson has made a thoughtful, detailed movie that is a must see, especially now where there is even less hope for an end in sight.

If you were just a tad bit disappointed in The Simpsons Movie because you thought, like all the reviewers, that after 18 years they could have come up with a more intense cinematic experience, and because you wanted to see a real labor of love — here’s one that is even Simpsons related: a map to Springfield, Wherever, lovingly collated from years of careful viewing. Compiled by Jerry Lerma and Terry Hogan from 2001 to 2004, the map may not have the most up-to-date locations as found in the last three seasons and the movie, but it certainly makes for a better oriented viewing experience. But be forewarned that some of the locations are not exact; however, most businesses are grouped together accurately.

Chicago Reader movie critic Jonathan Rosenbaum has received a raft of blog-abuse for his op-ed piece on the inflated reputation of the late Ingmar Bergman, published in the New York Times, which I referred to the other day in a joint obit for Bergman and Antonioni. J. Ro has raised the ire of everyone from Harry Tuttle, who offers a point-by-point refutation at his site Screenville to Girish at his well-done blog, who also offers a demural on Bergman. Others who have gotten in on the act are Jonathan Lapper at Cinema Styles and Zach Campbell at Elusive Lucidity, and there has been a lively debate about the op-ed at the movie critic forum A Film By. The most vociferous defender of Bergman is Rosenbaum’s colleague in Chicago, Roger Ebert, who takes the column apart in an on line essay.

A horror movie insider provided me with an amusing quote today, but it has already made the rounds of all the blogs – so I might as well join in. The quote comes from an interview with rocker-turned-horror director Rob Zombie and appears in issue three (2002) of a magazine called Are You Going? Zombie is asked: How do you feel about big budget remakes of Dawn of the Dead and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre? Zombie’s reply is:

“I feel it’s the worst thing any filmmaker can do. I actually got a call from my agent and they asked me if I wanted to be involved with the remake of Chain Saw. I said no fucking way! Those movies are perfect- you’re only going to make yourself look like an asshole by remaking them. Go remake something that’s a piece of shit and make it good. Like with my movie (House of 1000 Corpses) I have elements of Chain Saw in it because I love that movie so much, but I wouldn’t dare want to “remake” it. It’s like a band trying to be another band. You can sound like The Beatles, but you can’t be The Beatles.”

Zombie is, of course, currently the director of the 2007 remake of John Carpenter’s Halloween. Stacie Ponder conducted an in-depth interview with Zombie about Halloween over at her excellent website, The Final Girl.

One un-noted aspect of the third Bourne movie (the best of the summer’s “threequels,” and maybe the best film of the summer) is how integrated it is with the previous film. In fact, Ultimatum begins about 30 seconds after the end of the second.

But viewers who do their homework and watch the earlier films before going off to the Cinetopia to catch the latest will catch a contradiction at the beginning. They will remember that Supremacy ends with Bourne (Matt Damon) calling CIA official Pam Landy (Joan Allen) on the phone with his usual flair for stealth - while he’s watching her from nearby. Since Ultimatum begins with Bourne getting off a subway in Moscow, the careful viewer might wonder, “What the hell, are they going to pretend that the phone call scene never happened?!”

No, they aren’t. Director Paul Greengrass and the myriad credited writers have fully (and cleverly!) integrated the scene into the third film. It unspools just as before, even down to the inclusion of a birth date, but now with some added facets that make it an important moment in the third film’s racing narrative. This means that the bulk of Ultimatum takes place between the next to last and the last scene in Supremacy. Or, put another way, the first three-fourths of Ultimatum is a prequel to itself.

There are so many aspects of The Bourne Ultimatum that are great cinematic moments. My current favorite is the the next to last shot, just before Bourne swims off into the inky darkness of the East River. We see Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) sitting in what looks like a university cafeteria. The television is on, and reporting how the latest CIA scandal Bourne has unearthed is playing out. The news announcer points out that Bourne was last seen falling into the water. Nicky (who, the film hints, had an affair with Bourne while they were both stationed in Paris) looks alarmed. Then the announcer adds, “after a three day search., Webb’s [Bourne’s] body has yet to be found,” and a glorious smile spreads across Nicky’s face – the first time she’s smiled in all three movies.