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Originally published at Better Living Through Science Fiction. Please leave any comments there.

I was watching “Evil Dead” tonight and it occured to me that I have never seen Sam Raimi’s follow-up feature, “Crimewave.”  I first became aware of Raimi’s first studio picture when reading Bruce Campbell’s autobiography, “If Chins Could Kill,” and it sounded like a relatively intersting movie.  Raimi directed and co-wrote with (get this) Joel and Ethan Coen, whom he befriended during post-production on “Evil Dead.”  He wanted to have Campbell star, but the studio didn’t want the unknown actor with top billing in Raimi’s dark crime comedy, however Campbell did get a bit role.  Unfortunately, Raimi was so frustrated with the studio brass that he has since disavowed “Crimewave,” which was a box office flop.  He has, however, reused dialogue and gags from the film in later pictures, not to mention that “Crimewave” is the first use in a Raimi or Coen picture of the name “Hudsucker,” which would pop up again in “Raising Arizona” and, of course, “The Hudsucker Proxy.”  That said,  I’d really like to see this flick.  If it’s as terrible as it’s made out to be, it will only take 83 minutes of my life.  Unfortunately, “Crimewave” has only been officially released on region 3 DVD.  What’s wrong with these people?  If they can sell four different versions of “Evil Dead,” surely there’s enough morbid curiosity to sell these things at a profit.  I guess I’ll just have to satisfy myself with an ebay bootleg…

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Originally published at Better Living Through Science Fiction. Please leave any comments there.

Like everyone else, I can’t wait for the “Blade Runner: Final Cut” to come out, so Warner Bros. has generously bestowed upon us a website to tease us.  I knew there was always a reason I kept putting off buying “Blade Runner.”  Turns out that reason was a beautiful case containing 5 DVDs, so I can sit down and watch every single cut of the film.  Something tells me a seemingly random patter of people will be calling in sick to work on December 18th.  Anyway, once you’re done figuring out how to navigate the site, December will be here, so get clickin’!

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Originally published at Better Living Through Science Fiction. Please leave any comments there.

In light of Simon Pegg’s recent casting in “Star Trek,” I felt compelled to shed some light on Pegg’s earlier work.  Most of us became aware of Pegg and writing partner, Edgar Wright, with 2004’s “Shaun of the Dead” and this year’s ”Hot Fuzz,” however Pegg and Wright were rocking British telly as early as 1999.  The show was called “Spaced.” 

“Spaced” is a single-camera sitcom where Tim Bisley (Pegg) and Daisy Steiner (Jessica Stevenson) are two pot-smoking Londoners in their twenties who meet by chance while flat hunting and pretend to be a professional young couple to get a cheap apartment in an exclusive building.  Tim is a comic book artist who has written a graphic novel which he doesn’t submit for fear of rejection while Daisy is a writer who never actually does any writing.  The running gags of the show include frequent “Star Wars” and other pop culture references and extended fantasy sequences, including one that acts as a precursor to “Shaun of the Dead.”  Stevenson, who co-created the series, at one point pitched it as a cross between “‘The Simpsons,’ ‘Northern Exposure,’ and ‘The X-Files.’”

“How do I go about watching this show,” you ask?  Well, you need to find yourself a British friend, because the two 7-episode series are only available in Region 2 DVD.  I’m sure there are other ways of obtaining the series, but I have to feign ignorance on that one.

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Originally published at Better Living Through Science Fiction. Please leave any comments there.

Check out the trailer for Bender’s big score. If you’re a Futurama fan, or just a Bender fan, it’s well worth it.

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Originally published at Better Living Through Science Fiction. Please leave any comments there.

My DVR-sense (the one that tells me which commercials to watch) must have been malfunctioning last week because somehow I missed the two-disc release of “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” on DVD and Blu-Ray last week.  I know, Coppola made film history with the “Godfather” films (the first two) and “Apocalypse Now”, but “Dracula,” if nothing else, is a visual masterpiece.  It also features a number of actors that would at least double the film’s overblown (by 1992 standards) budget if it were made today: Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, and Winona Ryder.  “Dracula” went through an estimated 38 re-cuts before the final theatrical release, so there’s over 30 minutes of deleted scenes on this DVD, not to mention a director’s introduction as well as a commentary.  This is definitely a great release to coincide with Halloween this year.

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