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DVD Playhouse June 2011

By

Allen Gardner

Kiss Me Deadly (Criterion) Robert Aldrich’s 1955 reinvention of the film noir detective story is one of cinema’s great genre mash-ups: part hardboiled noir; part cold war paranoid thriller; and part science- fiction. Ralph Meeker plays Mickey Spillane’s fascist detective Mike Hammer as a narcissistic simian thug, a sadist who would rather smash a suspect’s fingers than make love to the bevvy of beautiful dames that cross his path. In fact, the only time you see a smile cross Meeker’s sneering mug is when he’s doling out pain, with a vengeance. When a terrified young woman (Cloris Leachman, film debut) literally crossed Hammer’s path one night, and later turns up dead, he vows to get to the bottom of her brutal demise. One of the most influential films ever made, and perhaps the most-cited film by the architects...

By Christopher Stipp

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Check out my other column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp

The Kids In The Hall: The Complete Series - DVD Review

Over the course of a couple of weeks I made it my mission to go through the entire Kids In The Hall series in this slimmer version of the series that was recently released a few years ago. It’s been a while since I sat down with the modern progenitors of sketch comedy. Yeah, Monty Python blah blah blah I’ve heard it before and I am in complete agreement.

However, if Monty Python was the pater noster of this religion of sharp and incisive comedy then it was the Kids In The Hall who were born of that great legacy and thrust it into a modern sensibility. Through...

Welcome to our weekly round-up of featured giveaways here at Fred. Every week, we’ll present a new clutch of DVDs, books, and other cool stuff you can take a shot at winning. All you have to do is click on the graphics below to be taken to their respective contest pages. And good luck!

In conjunction with A&E Home Video, we’re giving away two (2) copies of The Kids In The Hall: The Complete Series on DVD.

In conjunction with A&E Home Video, we’re giving away two (2) copies of The Kids In The Hall: Death Comes To Town on DVD.

In conjunction with A&E Home Video, we’re giving away two (2) copies of Reagan on DVD.

In conjunction with History Channel Home Video, we’re giving away two (2) copies of Brad Metzler’S Decoded: Season 1 on DVD.

In conjunction with History Channel Home Video,...

Solaris - Criterion have released a brand new high def Blu-ray of Andrei Tarkovsky's If you've never seen it, this is the time to. Panos Cosmatos (Beyond the Black Rainbow) described viewing the new print "a revelation" in his "One Scene" mini-essay. Personally, I'm happy I didn't already pick up the two disc DVD release otherwise I'd feel guilty for the double-dip.

The Big Bang - From Anchor Bay comes the Tarantino-esque neo-noir starring Antonia Banderas. I have to admit the trailer for this one caught my attention, but I have a feeling it could either be a unique off-the-wall blend of neo-noir and scifi... or a tedious exercise. We'll see I guess.

Fertile Ground - We've also got two horror releases from After Dark Originals this week. The first is this gory ghost story that comes from Ado mainstay Adam Gierasch (Autopsy, Night of the Demons). Just got a screener of this,...

Chicago – I’ve long, long said that any conversation about the best sketch comedy series of all time that doesn’t include “The Kids in the Hall” is totally worthless. Sure, “Saturday Night Live” has longevity and “Mr. Show” was an amazing program, but the recently-released box set of the entire output of “The Kids in the Hall” certainly makes a strong case that they should be not just on the list but arguably at the top. There’s So much greatness in this box set that it’s nearly overwhelming (and the 2010 comeback series “The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town” has also been included).

DVD Rating: 5.0/5.0

With over 45 hours of incredible entertainment accompanied by hours of special features, “The Kids in the Hall: The Complete Series” is easily the best TV on DVD release of the year to date. It’s a beauty, the kind...

After being broadcasted on IFC, an American cable network, the Canadian miniseries Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town will come out on DVD tomorrow in the USA.

Before getting an idea about what this Canadian show is all about, have in mind that the Kids in the Hall - a Canadian comedy group made of Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson - described it as a cross-over between Corner Gas and Twin Peaks.

In Death Comes to Town, Death gets off a Greyhound bus in the small Canadian town of Shuckton (the show was shot in North Bay, Ontario). The whole town is drawn in when one of its most distinguished is discovered murdered. As a suspect is arrested and the trial begins - the town's dark secrets begin to tumble out.

The DVD is already out in Canada.

Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town...

Heidi Klum is kicking off a new show February 1st on Lifetime, but it's really rather an old show. There isn't too much to go on at this point, but it's pretty clear that we're solidly in Kids Say the Darndest Things territory here. Check out a quick teaser promo and some images below, and keep this one in mind.

The show is also running a "challenge" in which they are looking for you to upload funny videos. Check out the contest here.

The half-hour unscripted series “Seriously Funny Kids,” hosted by supermodel and supermom Heidi Klum (“Project Runway”) will debut on Tuesday, February 1, at 9 pm et/pt with back-to-back episodes. Lifetime has ordered 20 episodes of the program. “Seriously Funny Kids” will feature Klum interacting with children and bringing out the hilarious and often insightful things they say.

Lifetime has ordered 20 half-hour episodes of the program, which will be produced by Lmno Productions,...

Neil Patrick Harris holding his Emmys

Given all of the outrageous and inaccurate things Newsweek "journalist" Ramin Setoodeh has said in the past, it's no surprise that his latest attempt to play the victim ("the gay media elite is mean to me!") over on The Daily Beast is as poorly written and reasoned as his usual work. But this time it also includes a mention of us that completely misrepresents the article it references. (We also write about the rest of Setoodeh's bait-and-switch/I'm a victim! argument.)

In an attempt to obfuscate and distract his past observations about gay actors being unable to play straight roles, Setoodeh changes the subject to the fact that according to him the Hollywood powers that be don't seem willing to cast gay actors in gay parts. To support his claim, he references our article 2010: The Year Gay TV Grew Up and writes "The blog AfterElton.

Pixar’s classic A Bug’s Life brought together an amazingly talented group of people. As the film makes its Blu-ray debut, we find out what happened to its cast…

The classic Pixar production, A Bug's Life, brought together an amazingly talented group of people, including Kevin Spacey, David Hyde Pierce and Denis Leary. So, twelve years on from the film's original release, and to tie in with its UK debut on Blu-ray, we ask, where are the voices behind A Bug's Life now, and what have they done since?

Dave Foley - Flik

One of the former members of The Kids In The Hall and a stand-up comedian, Dave Foley has been well occupied since providing the voice for Flik. He's either providing voice talent for animated TV shows, or appearing in person as in a stint on Will And Grace, and the mini-series Kids In The Hall: Death Comes To Town.

Yesterday, the winners at the 25th Gemini Awards, the Canadian equivalent of the Emmy Awards, were revealed as Corey Monteith (Glee) was hosting that night. Moreover, Degrassi Junior High/Degrassi: The Next Generation was crowned by the public as the best Canadian TV series of the last 25 years.

Without further ado, here's the list of winners.

Best Animated Program or Series:

Glen Martin, Dds

Best Children or Youth Fiction Program or Series:

Overruled!

Best Children's or Youth Non-Fiction Program or Series:

Canada's Super Speller

Best Comedy Program or Series:

Less Than Kind

Best Cross-Platform Project - Children’s and Youth:

Taste Buds

Best Cross-Platform Project - Fiction:

Being Erica Webisodes

Best Cross-Platform Project - Non-Fiction:

Kraft Hockeyville 2010

Best Documentary Series:

Licence To Drill

Best Dramatic Mini-Series:

The Summit

Best Dramatic Series:

The Tudors

Best General/Human Interest Series:

Tosca: Flexing at 49

Best History Documentary Program:

Paris 1919

Best Original Program or...

When "The Kids in the Hall" came to Summer Press Tour, between Dave Foley kicking chairs, Scott Thompson crumbling potato chip bags while shouting, "The fires are getting closer," and Kevin McDonald regaling us with songs by The Guess Who, we managed to get in a few questions on "Death Comes to Town," the new eight-part mini-series that reunites all five "Kids" members.

"We had an impulse to write new material," says head writer and executive producer Bruce McCulloch. "We'd always talked about doing something and we could never decide what it was. Then I had this idea and it was Death gets off a Greyhound bus and it's a murder mystery."

Each "Kids" member plays 4-6 characters, much like the original sketch series. But unfortunately, not all of them get to be in drag.

"I'm the only one who didn't get a dress this time," says McCullough. "Last time on tour,...

Everyone’s favorite Canadian cross-dressing comedy troupe is back with tonight’s premiere of their eight-part murder-mystery miniseries The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town (IFC, 10 p.m. Et). It’s got everything fans of Mark McKinney, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Dave Foley, and Scott Thompson want, as evidenced by the photo above. They each play multiple characters, but that’s McKinney as Death, who arrives in Shuckton, Ontario on a Greyhound bus and rides around on a bone-covered Mustang bike; McCulloch as Ricky, a 600 lb. shamed ex-hockey star who has been in his house since he lost...

The last time The Kids in the Hall performed for the cameras was their 1996 feature, Brain Candy.

Before that, this supremely funny Canadian-born quintet starred in their sketch-comedy series on HBO and CBS.

Though the members have dispersed to pursue individual projects, they returned for more Kid stuff in the form of live comedy tours, most recently in 2008.

Now they're back on TV screens in "The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town," a four-hour miniseries on IFC, previously on the CBC in Canada.

All five "Kids" - Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson - star in this twisted murder mystery, tackling all the major roles (male and, in masterful drag, female, too). The tale, set in bucolic but bizarre Shuckton, Ontario, begins with the arrival of the Grim Reaper on a Greyhound bus, followed by a murder that leaves nearly everyone in the community a possible suspect.

The Kids in the Hall reunite on American television with tomorrow night's debut of "Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town," an eight-part murder mystery spoof set in a small Canadian town called Shuckton. While I didn't love the miniseries, I was such a big fan of the troupe that I interviewed both Scott Thompson and Bruce McCulloch when they were at press tour earlier this month. The Thompson interview ran yesterday, and after the jump I talk to McCulloch (who came up with the idea for "Death Comes to Town" and was head writer and producer) about his own...

Before there was Will and Jack on Will & Grace or David and Keith on Six Feet Under or pretty much everyone on Queer as Folk, there was Buddy on Kids in the Hall. And before Neil Patrick Harris or T.R. Knight or Lance Bass came out, there was actor/comedian Scott Thompson who not only played Buddy on Kids in the Hall, but also played gay assistant Brian on The Larry Sanders Show, and who was out personally and professionally long before it was easy to do so.

Scott Thompson

But then Thompson has never done much that was easy. He came out in the 80s during the height of the AIDS epidemic. He did stand-up comedy in an era where homophobia wasn’t just rampant, it was expected and particularly vicious. Then there is the matter of his latest project, Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town, a...

Friday night at 10 on IFC, The Kids in the Hall reunite on American TV for the first time since the mid-'90s with "Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town," an eight-episode miniseries about a murder in a small Canadian town called Shuckton. As always, the Kids play most of the parts (including the women), including the smug mayor (Bruce McCulloch), his alcoholic wife (Dave Foley), an absent-minded pizza delivery woman (Kevin McDonald), the desperate, aging weather girl (Scott Thompson) and Death himself (Mark McKinney). I wasn't a huge fan of "Death Comes to Town," but as a long-time fan...

I remember watching The Kids in the Hall on HBO long ago. So long actually, that out of respect for the boys I won’t tell you when. It was far enough back that I probably wasn’t supposed to be watching it. Ahhh… the crushing of the heads.

Well, after long and celebrated careers following the success of their sketch group, the Kids are back with Death Comes To Town. Assuming you aren’t somewhere receiving CBC (like I am), you will have to make sure to tune in to IFC starting August 20th.

Believe me, you don’t want to miss this.

Famous for their distinctive and surreal sketch comedy, all five original members of The Kids in the Hall — Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson — are back to star in IFC’s new series Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town.

Aug. 5

7:30 p.m.

Winnipeg Cinematheque

100 Arthur Street

Winnipeg, Mb R3B 1H3

Hosted by: Winnipeg Film Group

Filmmaker Michelle Latimer has curated a lineup of short films celebrating the work of Indigenous female filmmakers, which also includes her own film, Tomorrow, that was commissioned for the Lift 2007 ImagineNATIVE Film Festival.

While the numbers of Indigenous women using film to communicate their life stories to the world at large, they’re still a tiny minority within the larger film community and getting their work exhibited is challenging. Latimer hopes that through screening events such as this one, the profile of these filmmakers will grow. According to Latimer,

Within this work you will find reflected a playful exploration of feminine sexuality, the nuanced complexities of motherhood, and an intuitive acknowledgement of life and loss. In their own unique way, each of these films bridge the divide of gender and politics to...

Today, the nominations for Canada's 2010 Directors Guild Awards have been announced. These awards are meant to give awards for some people who work behind the camera to give outstanding films and TV series. Besides, the gala will be hosted by Canadian comedian Dave Foley. So, without further ado, here are the nominations.

Best feature film:

* Cairo Time.

* Chloe.

* The Trotsky.

* Love & Savagery.

Best television movie/miniseries

* Darwin Darkest Hour.

* Keep Your Head Up, Kid: The Don Cherry Story.

* Sea Wolf.

* The White Archer.

Best dramatic TV series:

* Being Erica.

* Flashpoint.

* Sanctuary.

* The Bridge.

Best comedy TV series:

* The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town.

* G-Spot.

* Less than Kind.

* Little Mosque on the Prairie.

Best family TV series:

* Degrassi: The Next Generation.

* Heartland.

* How to Be Indie.

* Overruled!

Allan King Award for Excellence in Documentary:

* Ballet High - Elise Swerhone (Director), Robert Lower (Picture Editor).

* The Experimental Eskimos -...

Fans of the Kids in the Hall - a Canadian comedy troupe made of Mark McKinney, Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch and Scott Thompson - no longer needs to wait. In fact, CBC, a public Canadian TV network, announced that the miniseries The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town will be out on DVD on August 3, 2010.

This show, which was aired on CBC this winter, takes place in the fictive Canadian town of Shuckton, Ontario. After the town's demand for hosting the Olympics had been rejected, the mayor is found murdered. As a trial is held in the town, many people's secrets start to come out.

Finally, the DVD will be available in Canada on August 3. No American release date has been confirmed. However, Americans can see Death Comes to Town, because it will be aired on IFC, an American cable network, in August.

Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town...

Although lately it's seemed like most of their horror offerings are of the theatrical or On Demand variety, IFC hasn't forgotten that it's also a television network with a lot of genre viewers, as evidenced by their airing of the eight-part "Gothic comic murder mystery" "Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town" this summer.

Per EW.com the show will begin airing on IFC August 20th. The Kids — Mark McKinney, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Dave Foley, and Scott Thompson — play nearly all of the 20 characters in the series, including a Grim Reaper called, of course, "Death" (McKinney), who steps off a Greyhound bus in Shuckton, Canada. When the mayor of Shuckton is found murdered, everyone in the town is a suspect. When an arrest is made and the trial plays out, the entire town is affected and its dark secrets are unraveled and exposed.

McCulloch, who served as executive producer,...

Death has arrived in Shuckton and, lo, he wears a leather codpiece whilst straddling his motorized bicycle.  Yes, after a far-too-long time away The Kids In The Hall return to our television screens to night with the launch of their new miniseries Death Comes To Town on the CBC.  And because I asked the correct person very politely I've already had the chance to see the first two episodes.  Here's what you need to know.

In early conversations about the new series the Kids' Dave Foley openly acknowledged an influence from the UK's League of Gentlemen and that influence is very pronounced indeed.  This is not to say that the Kids are cribbing from the League's playbook but the format here will be immediately familiar.  The sketch comedy that drove the original Kids TV series is gone entirely, replaced with a continuous narrative following the titular Death's run through the small town of Shuckton.

A few months ago, we first reported that the Kids in The Hall, Lorne Michael’s bastard Canadian comedy troop, would be making it’s return to (Canadian) TV with an all new series entitled Death Comes To Town. It looks like we’re even closer to getting a return of the outrageous comedy team, as the first trailer has just been released.

The premise feels a little bit like the plot to Hot Fuzz. A local, everyday, suburban town gets it’s world rocked when a series of vicious murders take place, around the same time that Death shows up via Greyhound bus. The entire gang steps in to portray the locals (in typical Kidh fashion), including Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Scott Thompson, Mark McKinney, and Bruce McCulloch.

The story will be doled out in an 8 part mini-series, which will only be available on Canadian Broadcast TV at first...

What can I say ... we've got a major weak spot for Canadian cult comedy icons The Kids In The Hall here and like to keep an eye out on whatever they may be up to.  These days that's mostly Death Comes To Town but they've got a quality work ethic, those Kids, so that certainly aint all.

Take Dave Foley, for instance.  Foley is currently starring in indie comedy The Strip, an ensemble piece following the employees of a low grade electronics shop in a suburban strip mall.  Going in to limited release tomorrow, we've got an exclusive clip of The Strip along with the trailer below.

It's a typical day in the work life of five employees of the low-end electronics chain, Electri-City. Bound by the constraints of suburban life, the ¼ mile of the strip mall and tedium - they, like everybody else, dream of something more.

Meet Glenn,...

Death may be coming to town but before it arrives there, death is making a wee stop on the internet.  Death Comes To Town is the new miniseries from The Kids In The Hall, an overtly League Of Gentlemen inspired affair in which the kids will populate an entire town themselves and tell one continuous story through the use of interlocking sketches and characters.  And the first - very funny, indeed - promo has just arrived online.  And, in a total reversal of the way these things normally work, it exists in a geo-blocked player so that only us Canucks can see it.  Suck that, America.

Actually, no.  Not really.  If you're anywhere outside of Canada I recommend that you simply do a google search to find a Canada-based IP Proxy - there are loads out there - and get around the geo-blocking that way.  If not, there is also...

While we all eagerly await the coming 8 part mini-series of Kith, we've dug up what few details there are, I just ran across a behind the scenes clip where Bruce McCulloch talks about the genesis for the script, and our favorite homo Scott Thompson interrupts him. Yipee!

The story revolves around a murder mystery where Death (Mark McKinney) gets off a greyhound bus in a small town named Shuckton and starts wreaking havoc. The whole town is shocked when one of its most distinguished citizens is discovered murdered. As a suspect is arrested and the trial begins, dark secrets begin to tumble out.

Clip after the break.

Embedded video stripped, see full HTML version.

Remember the Chicken Lady? I know you haven't forgotten, especially that one episode where she.. er it...whatever. It was hilarious, and apparently, in the new 8-part miniseries Kifds In The Hall: Death Comes to Town currently shooting in Canada, Mark McKinney will be reprising his famous role.

The story revolves around a murder mystery where Death (Mark McKinney) gets off a greyhound bus in a small town named Shuckton and starts wreaking havoc. The whole town is shocked when one of its most distinguished citizens is discovered murdered. As a suspect is arrested and the trial begins, dark secrets begin to tumble out.

Hungry for some more news? Check here for another brief article.

And as we know you can't wait for more Chicken Lady.. there's a clip embedded for you after the break. I hope they're also going to bring back face crushing dude.. Oh, and we have...

[Updated with the official press release announcing the start of photography]

They’re local legends for a reason and they’re back ...

Kids in the Hall reunite for Accent Entertainment¹s Death Comes To Town

Principal Photography underway in North Bay, Ontario

August 20th, 2009, Toronto ­ Accent Entertainment in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation are thrilled to announce that principal photography began today in North Bay, Ontario on Death Comes to Town created by and starring the Kids in the Hall.

A departure from sketch comedy, Death Comes to Town is an eight-part comic murder mystery. When Death gets off the Greyhound bus in small town Shuckton, Ontario, the entire town is drawn in when one of its most distinguished citizens is found murdered. As a suspect is arrested and the trial plays out, the entire town is affected and its dark secrets are unraveled and exposed.

Though not the sketch comedy that made the Kids famous around the world, Death Comes to Town...

To add on to our post 10 days ago about a new, 8 part miniseries coming from the famous Canuck comic troupe Kids in The Hall, we've managed to find details on the story courtesy of The Globe and Mail.

The story revolves around a murdery mystery where Death (Mark McKinney) gets off a greyhound bus in a small town named Shuckton and starts wreaking havoc. The whole town is shocked when one of its most distinguished citizens is discovered murdered. As a suspect is arrested and the trial begins, dark secrets begin to tumble out.

Once again, each member of the troupe will play multiple roles including a pizza delivery woman with Alzheimer's (McDonald), a 600-pound ex-hockey player who won't leave his house (McCulloch), and a child named Rampop (still to be cast) who sees all people as butterflies. And yes, they'll also be cross-dressing.

The show will air on January 12th.

We don't normally report on TV comedy, but as I'm a Huge fan of Kids In the Hall, we had to report on this. That's right folks, Kids in the Hall is coming back with a 8 episode mini-series done by the CBC which is supposed to start shooting either August 10th or August 17th (I've seen two conflicting reports) and end shooting around September 4th. And yes, the entire cast is returning!

Dave Foley had this to say:

"It'll be an eight-episode arc with a narrative running through it. We will play all the characters but it won't be sketch, it'll be a single narrative mini-series. Probably the closest thing to it would be something like The League of Gentlemen, which I think was brilliant. So I hope it will be close to that."

Inspired by The League of Gentlemen? I've never seen any of their stuff, can anyone provide further details?...