This Week's Popcorn Movie

    I recently came across some pre-production Blu-rays from Arrow Films. Arrow Films is a boutique film distributor and restorer that specializes in world cinema, arthouse, horror, and classic films. Their Blu-rays look great, and they do a good job of adding new special features to their releases. 

    The Blu-ray "screeners" contain all the features of the official discs (as far as I know), and when you find them they are usually cheaper than the regular release. The trade-off is that you don't get any art work or booklets. The discs come in either paper sleeves or in a thin, clear case like this one.

    Before the school year starts, my school has a "freebie" table in the office where staff can put things they no longer want when they are cleaning out a classroom or an office. I spotted a pile of these popcorn bags on the table and figured I could somehow use them for one of our many door decorating contests. 

    I used a bag to make a cover for the case of this week's "popcorn movie screener". 

    To me, a popcorn movie is a film you can enjoy without thinking too much. Let's see what's inside.

    I have not seen 1977's Doberman Cop, and to be honest I hadn't even heard of this film before, but that's an awesome title. AND it stars Shinichi (Sonny) Chiba! You may know him from his role in Kill Bill, but around my basement he's also known as the Wolf Guy and the Street Fighter, among other things. 

So, it's a Chiba flick on an Arrow Blu-Ray? Sign me up!

    I stole all this brief info from the IMDB. I think the paper matches the disc's generic vibe. A 6.7 rating on IMDB is pretty promising.

    Eventually this disc will be incorporated into one of these cases (probably Wolf Guy), but Doberman Cop will stay as a popcorn movie until I get to watch it. Should be fun.

    FYI: I forgot I even had that dollar bin DVD of The Bodyguard. I popped it in my player to see how bad the full frame transfer was, but was pleasantly pleased to see that it was fairly clean. 

    I was also suprised to see this scroll at the beginning of the film. I had also forgot about it. 

    Hmmm... sounds vaguely familiar...

    Also, according to the DVD's opening FBI warning, it is illegal to screen this DVD of The Bodyguard on oil rigs.

Shark Week 2026: Group Photo #3

    For today's post I'm picking the soundtrack to 2021's The Suicide Squad due to the King Shark character voiced by Sylvester Stallone. You can see him there on the left.

    I think buying Blu-ray movies just because they have a slipcover is dumb. I thrifted 47 Meters Down because it came with a slip cover...

    One of my biggest thrift store pet peeves is getting stuck in the checkout lane behind someone who is is buying glassware. I found 47 Meters Down: Uncaged today at Goodwill, but the woman ahead of me ended up buying $93 in stemware. I was standing there for over 15 minutes while the clerk wrapped the glasses in brown paper. I hope the movie moves faster than that.

    1979's Up from the Depths was supposed to be a horror comedy, but Roger Corman had all the comedic elements removed in the editing room to make the film an outright horror piece. That didn't work. The VHS cover looks cool, though.

    I almost forgot to add this Flix Brewhouse picture from 2017 ----> link

    Today's outfit is courtesy of Snorkel Bob.

Shark Week 2026: Group Photo #1

     Sunday night markes the beginning of the Discovery Channel's 38th "Shark Week." I haven't paid to stream the Discovery App, but I don't need it to watch shark movies. Physical media rules! 

    Let's see what's on the Holiday Horror Shelf!

        Ah, Jaws, the OG. I was six when this movie opened, and I didn't see it until it finally aired on ABC when I was ten. I wasn't allowed to stay up to watch the whole film (I had school the next day), and that was okay. In the opening scene when Chrissie is attacked by the shark, she screams, "It hurts!" That was enough to scare the crap out of me.

    Now I count this as one of my favorite movies. Jaws has everything. It's a horror film, a monster movie, a sea adventure, a thriller, a drama, and I'd argue it's a buddy film, too. 

    Let's see, we've got the 1995 letterboxed VHS, 2005' 30th anniversary edition DVD with the Commemorative Photo Journal, the 2012 Blu-ray, and the NES game from 1987. The game's storyline, if you can call it that, has more in common with Jaws the Revenge, the 4th Jaws film, and that's not a compliment.

    Peter Benchley's novel, Jaws, came out about a year and a half before the movie. Director Steven Spielberg was rooting for the shark when he first read the novel because the characters were so unlikable (according to IMDB). I have read this book, and I agree with him. 

    As for the other three Jaws books... I haven't quite absorbed them, yet.    

    This one of my favorite skateboard deck designs. Jaws, Robert Shaw, Narragensett beer, and skateboarding? Yes, please!

    Yes, I even dressed up for the beginning of Shark Week. 

    I'm such a nerd...

    

    Stay safe in the water!