While some of the movies this time around are leftovers from Vol. 1, I've also tracked down a few more hidden gems (or possibly duds), in order to keep the selection relatively diverse. At the very least, Vol. 2 should include its fair share of underwater adventure, alien invasion, rabid gorillas, mumbling cave men and washed-up (or still undiscovered) movie stars. There really is no good reason to watch most of these movies, but all it takes is one Invasion of the Bee Girls to make it all worthwhile. -- JD
by Jonathan Doyle and Neil Karassik (with special guest Kiva Reardon)
As some of you may recall, we combatted the harsh winter conditions last February by devoting two memorable weekends to Blaxploitation Marathon, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. Rather than marathon another specific genre, we've decided to try a slightly more diverse topic this time around: the Midnite Movies DVD series. For the most part, this was simply the branding MGM -- and later Fox -- used to release films from the raucous American International Pictures catalogue on DVD (and VHS). However, the films of many other B-movie entities, both big (Amicus) and small (Centaur), were also included.
To keep things interesting (for us anyway), most of the films we cover will be new to both of us, but we may throw in a few classics just to mix it up. When we tried to get this marathon underway back in July, it fell apart due to scheduling conflicts. One review from that false start survived, so I'm flying solo with that review to get things started. -- JD
by Jonathan Doyle and Neil Karassik
(with special guests Sarah Duda and Ken Stuebing)
At the conclusion of our recent Blaxploitation Marathon, we jokingly hinted at Vol. 2. Well, it looks like it's happening. The first marathon was a spontaneous reaction to a) Black Dynamite and b) a cold winter weekend in Toronto with not much going on. This time, a lot more thought went into the game plan.
I managed to round-up blaxploitation classics and obscurities alike and, as a result of this hefty blaxploitation windfall, we're tacking-on an extra day. We're also shooting for a surprisingly lofty goal: twenty consecutive blaxploitation movies! I don't know if we're gonna make it, but we're all fuelled up with forties and ready to go. -- JD
by Jonathan Doyle and Neil Karassik
(with special guest Sarah Duda)
It's been almost three years since our last DVD Marathon, but this weekend we're bringing the tradition back! In honor of recent blaxploitation gem Black Dynamite and its impending DVD/Blu-ray release (expect a review from Neil Karassik in a few days), we're watching/re-watching some blaxploitation classics this weekend. It's Black Film History Month, suckas!
So keep checking this space. We just opened some forties (seriously) and we're kicking-things-off with Melvin Van Peebles' Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song -- on Criterion laserdisc!
Welcome to DVD MARATHON, a new feature here at DiscLand. Every now and then you need to spend an entire Saturday catching up on your DVD viewing and this is one of those Saturdays. We (DiscLand contributors Jonathan Doyle, Sarah Duda, and Neil Karassik) plan to spend the entire day watching DVDs and commenting as we go. While most of these discs are fairly obscure, we encourage you to play along at home -- if you have any of these discs or can track them down -- and add your comments below.
