Monday

Last week's New Releases:

Sleeper Cell (2005 Cable Series):

This is quite a good Showtime series about terrorists living in America and planning attacks upon American soil. There is lots of tension of the nail-biting variety, focusing on dilemmas, like "How can the undercover agent keep his cover while informing his superiors of the terrorists' sudden changes in plan?" and "Can the FBI figure out the plans before significant numbers of innocent people are killed?"

I watched about four of the ten hours, and was impressed by its the maintenance of dramatic tension, and its ability to paint its characters in shades of gray. I was less impressed by the usual contrivances of the genre. like the ability of the undercover agent's handler to work 24 hours per day, with no other cases, always vigilant and instantly able to mobilize a well-prepared fighting team. If only our government employees really worked this way. Unfortunately, in real life the handler would probably have been more likely to be some fuck-up like "Brownie."


Episode 1: Melissa Sagemiller



Episode 2: Axelle Grelet



Episode 4: Melissa Sagemiller



Episode 9, part 1: Monica Himmelheber



Episode 9, part 2: Strippers (including a brief full frontal)




 

Marebito (2004, Japan):

This is a typically creepy and grungy-lookin' Japanese horror film from the same director who has done all five Grudge movies (two in Japanese and one in English already released, with two more English films in the pipeline.) Summary: "A fear-obsessed freelance cameraman (Shinya Tsukamoto) investigates an urban legend involving mysterious spirits that haunt the subways of Tokyo." It has lots of spooky atmosphere, but I watched it in fast forward, so I have no more to say other than that the ambiance was pretty cool.


Tomomi Miyashita




 

How to Lose Your Lover (2005):

This is a likeable enough rom-com which was shopped unsuccessfully for theatrical release. One of the reasons why it was presumed to have no box office appeal is that the male star is Paul Schneider, a virtual unknown whose only real claim to fame is as a buddy of independent filmmaker David Gordon Green. Schneider had a part in Green's George Washington, then starred in and co-wrote Green's All the Real Girls. If I remember correctly from the panel at Sundance, Green and Schneider went to college together somewhere in North Carolina.

There is nothing original about the film, and it has a completely improbable ending, but it did provide some pleasant moments along the way. There's no real nudity, but the chick from Kissing Jessica Stein came very close. Maybe you can spot some areola or nipple if you stare long enough.


Jennifer Westfeldt





Not yet on Region 1 DVD:

 

Oh Marbella! (2003)

A comedy about the goings-on within resort communities. In a typical example of cosmopolitan Euro-productions, it is a flick made by Spaniards in English and is currently available only in Germany. I haven't seen it, but I have it on order. The nudity is sweet. Here are some cool film clips from Watty (two clips zipped into one package), and the captures follow:


Lara Belmont - she's the girl who played the abused daughter in The War Zone. Here she is, filled out a bit, and in a more pleasant situation.



Charlotte Lucas



Sara Stockbridge


Here is a video clip featuring Charlotte Lucas and Sara Stockbridge




 

Stoned (2006)

This is a new film about the life of Brian Jones, one of the original Rolling Stones. The film opens in America Friday, in limited distribution.


Tuva Novotny




 

 

The Shield, season 5 (2006 TV)

This clip of Gina Torres and Michael Chiklis is from the tenth episode of season ten, which aired last Tuesday.

 

 

Big Love, season 1 (2006 TV)

This capture of Chloe Sevigny is from the premiere episode, which aired last Sunday.


Chloë Sevigny




 

 

 


Other Crap:

RapidShare video: One more of Monet Mazur in Stoned

RapidShare video: Monet Mazur in Stoned

RapidShare video: Nicki Aycox and Cathryn DePrume in episode eight of Over There

Amazing MLB Catch by Ron Belliard (And a tremendous job by the shortstop in anticipating the throw and holding on to it bare-handed!)

Hamster 'Roid Rage Lasts Long After Drugs Wear Off, thus explaining much about Barry Bonds

RapidShare video: Edie Dearing in Episode 10 of Huff

RapidShare video: Nichole Robinson in Episode 2 of Huff

RapidShare Video: Paget Brewster in Episode 2 of Huff

RapidShare video: Paige Peterson in House of the Dead 2

Rapidshare Video: Allison Pill topless in Dear Wendy

The trailer from Oh Marbella

  • The trailer includes brief nudity. See below for several nude clips.

Go George Mason, you magnificent bastards, whoever you are

  • Mason is an 11th seed, and has one more good chance to win, since their next game is against a fellow underdog, 7th seeded Wichita State.
  • Since the inception of the modern bracket system, no team seeded worse than 8th has ever won the national championship. (Eighth-seeded Villanova won in 1985.)
  • Only one teem seeded worse than eighth, 11th seeded LSU in 1986, has ever made the final four.

The Top Upsets in NCAA history

RapidShare video: One last clip of Hayek and Cruz in Bandidas (non-nude, but sexy)

RapidShare Video: More of Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz in Bandidas (non-nude, but sexy)

RapidShare video: Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz in Bandidas (non-nude, but sexy)

RapidShare video: Lara Belmont naked in Oh Marbella

BitTorrent Video: The Tuva Novotny nudity in Stoned, the new Brian Jones biopic (opens Friday)

Rapidshare Video: Sara Stockbridge naked in Oh, Marbella

Rapidshare Video: More of Charlotte Lucas and Sara Stockbridge naked in Oh, Marbella

Rapidshare Video: Charlotte Lucas and Sara Stockbridge naked in Oh, Marbella

The trailer for Stoned, the biography of Brian Jones (original Rolling Stone).

Weekend Box Office Results, March 17-19, 2006

  • It was another disappointing weekend, producing the second straight week of 11% declines from last year, and the third straight week of double-digit declines. It was the fifth straight week below last year, and the seventh in the past eight weeks.
  • The two films with the most positive results (relative to the estimates) were the Dynamic Duo of Disney Doggies. Quality seems to be irrelevant to the winning equation. The poorly reviewed Shaggy Dog kicked ass, and the critically acclaimed Eight Below has proved enduring.
  • The original and daring but charmless V for Vendetta won the weekend, but with a total considerably lower than expected.

 

There is some Gillian Anderson nudity in Straightheads.

The toughest cowboys in the world - the cat herders

Porn star Mary Carey: "I actually get hit on more in Washington DC, by Republicans that are drunk than I do by porno fans in Vegas."

The South Park Scientology Episode that Tom Cruise doesn't want you to see.

The trailer and a clip from Brick. A spin-off from the typical noir detective story, it takes place in high school.

Weekly World News: "ALIENS REVEALED AS COW-NAPPERS! ... Cow Mystery Solved

  • "The Weekly World News reveals shocking proof that it was Aliens all along that have been responsible for the strange cow-nappings that have shocked the nation. If you need information about your missing cow, please visit www.planetinneed.com for more information"

"The first town ever auctioned on eBay soon will be back up for sale on the online auction site."

Phoenix, Witherspoon duet earns a nomination for best country video

"Jessica Simpson is starring in a new film entitled EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH. In it, she plays a Costco employee who declares she'll date the next titular employee."

Senators renew call for .xxx domains

"A federal judge on Friday ordered Google Inc. to give the Bush administration a peek inside its search engine, but rebuffed the government's demand for a list of people's search requests "

Daily Box Office - Friday, March 17, 2006

  • V for Vendetta did take the top spot, but its grosses were softer than anticipated

The trailer for La Mujer de Mi Hermano

  • "After almost ten years of marriage, the stunningly attractive Zo� realizes that her marriage to Ignacio no longer carries the passion and spark it once had. Emotionally adrift, she is left to search for those sensations once again, and soon finds herself seduced into the arms of Gonzalo, her husband's brother. At first, Zoe becomes reinvigorated by the romance. But her decision soon launches a series of events that drives these three people through a gauntlet of revenge, secret and despair that will unravel them all."

The High-Def trailers for Trust The Man

  • A smart, sophisticated comedy about the challenges of love and marriage among modern day New Yorkers, "Trust the Man" features the romantic escapades of two couples: a successful actress (Julianne Moore) and her stay at home husband (David Duchovny); and her slacker younger brother (Billy Crudup) and his aspiring novelist girlfriend Maggie Gyllenhaal). The film follows these four on their pointed, often surprising and frequently hilarious search for love in the midst of careers, family, infidelity and the ever-daunting search for Manhattan street parking.

The Religious Affiliation of Comic Book Characters

  • The Thing is Jewish?

Jennifer Connelly nude sex scenes compilation Video

62-Year-Old Grandmother Tackles Robbery Suspect

Aussie government orders spoof site shut

  • "A spoof John Howard website that featured a soul searching 'apology' speech for the Iraq war has been shut down under orders from the Australian Government."

Google wins a court battle

  • "In a legal win for Google, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by a writer who claimed the search giant infringed on his copyright by archiving a Usenet posting of his and providing excerpts from his Web site in search results."

"South Park Creators Respond To Episode-Disappearing Scientologists"

 


Movie Reviews:

Yellow asterisk: funny (maybe). White asterisk: expanded format. Blue asterisk: not mine. No asterisk: it probably sucks.

 

 

 

"Savage Weekend"

Savage Weekend (1979) is a slasher movie with a masked slasher, long before that had been done to death. A group of Manhattan sophisticates head upstate for vacation to work on boat construction, work on their tans, and diddle each other. The most politically incorrect item in the film was a flamingly gay man in the group, who picks a fight with two rednecks, then kicks the shit out of them. Next in line would be the local, useful only as a red herring, who didn't like the way his cousin was behaving, so he striped her to the waist, and branded her with the letter H right between the breasts. Why H?, you ask. H for whore, of course. Nobody said he could spell.

Each of the five main characters has a back story, and if you pay attention while they are being set up, you will know who the masked slasher is.

The highlight of this film is the nudity, which includes breasts from the unknown actress who was branded, breasts and buns from Caitlin O'Heaney, and breasts from Marilyn Hamlin. O'Heaney is better know for stage performances beginning at age 8, but also appeared in 16 TV shows and five other movies. This was her first feature film. Marilyn Hamlin you might remember from Shaft's Big Score.

IMDb readers say 3.5, clearly indicating that they have no appreciation for 70s trash cinema. I mean, come on ... a flaming fag that beats up on rednecks? The murders are not especially clever, with one notable exception. The women are attractive. As the boom mike, and even the boom in a few cases, make frequent visits, I am sure I was seeing a full negative version of what was meant to be a Widescreen film. IN fact, there are brief sections of the film that are Widescreen. This is a C-, as an early masked slasher effort with unintentional laughs and lots of breasts.


Caitlin O'Heaney



Marilyn Hamlin



Unknown




 



Today we wrap up the rest of the caps of Elizabeth Berkley in "Showgirls". More nudity from the former "Saved by the Bell" girl.


Elizabeth Berkley




'Caps and comments by Dann:

"Evilenko"
Based on the life of Andrei Chikatilo, "the Monster of Rostov", who assaulted, murdered, and ate more than 30 children and young people in the Soviet Republic in the 1980's, this 2004 dramatization, which changed some of the facts, is somewhat slow-moving, but features an outstanding performance by Malcolm McDowell as the serial killer and cannibal.

The killer, credited in the movie version with over 50 kills, leads an ordinary life while the police search for the person responsible for the horrific crimes. The movie focuses on the both the killer, and the lead detective who eventually tracked him down.

As you might expect, the movie is fairly unpleasant, and unfortunately somewhat draggy in parts, but McDowell's performance is very good, making it an interesting if not groundbreaking examination of a serial killer.


Natasha Vasko



'Caps and comments by Oz:

"A Fine Madness"
No visible nudity in A Fine Madness (1966), but we do see Jean Seberg and Sue Ane Langdon (with an expression that reminds me of Barbara Windsor!) in various stages of undress.

Jean Seberg Sue Ane Langdon


"They Shoot Horses Don't They"
They Shoot Horses Don't They (1969) is the story of an exhausting dance marathon. The brief nudity comes from some unnamed contestants taking a shower and some possible see-through nipple by Susannah York.

Susannah York Unknown


"Trois 3 : The Escort"
Plenty of naked ladies in Trois 3 : The Escort (2004), especially by a very sexy Patrice Fisher. Maya Tai Dorsey and an unidentified woman are also shown topless. Reagan Gomez Preston is just there as a tease.

Patrice Fisher Maya Tai Dorsey

Unknown Reagan Gomez Preston


"Palmetto"
No nudity in Palmetto (1998) but some lovely caps of Elisabeth Shue, Gina Gershon and Chloë Sevigny.

Elisabeth Shue Gina Gershon Chloë Sevigny


"The Third Wheel"
Denise Richards is shown getting dressed in The Third Wheel (2002).

Denise Richards


"Lies My Mother Told Me"
It's similar in Lies My Mother Told Me (2005) but this time Kailin See is getting dressed.

Kailin See


"Cellular"
Chantille Boudousque is described in the credits in Cellular (2004) as 'Chloe's Chilly Friend'. And that describes her brief appearance, some nice pokies that didn't come out the best in the collage.

Chantille Boudousque




A few odds n' ends from Penman...


First up, coming to DVD on Tuesday...here is Jennifer Aniston showing pokies, cleavage and a little leg in scenes from the "Derailed".




In Euro-theaters now! Here is young UK actress Tamsin Egerton briefly topless in scenes from "Keeping Mum".

Last but not least...here is Kate Beckinsale wearing plenty of skin-tight latex and also showing a bit of skin in scenes from "Underworld: Evolution".