Bad Santa
US/Canada Gross: $60.1 million
TrailerThe Hot Button: It is a raunchy, foul-mouthed, bad-attitude movie. Everything they say in the TV spots is true. It’s not the best film of the year. But it is a lot of horrible fun. Billy Bob offers letter perfect deadpan. Tony Cox has got to be the frontrunner for Elf 2: Freddy Meets Elf.
Pride, Unprejudiced: Is this the first mainstream movie that contains the mantric dialogue, "F--k me, Santa, f--k me, Santa, f--k me, Santa, f-k, me Santa!"?
Badder Santa
With only a few dips into the chapters Of "Badder Santa," with a touted seven minutes of extra, unrated footage, I haven't detected any extra belly-laughs from the other in skipping, it's still a marvel. Outtakes include John Ritter's failed attempts not to crack up during mouthfuls of obscenity, and "Badder" has a smut-scat reel not on the rated version. The unrated edition also has the nastiest DVD menu I can remember on a studio movie, opening with B-Bob's boast that "I'm a real-life, eating, shitting, fucking Santy Claus."The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra
US/Canada Gross: $0.11 million
Pride, Unprejudiced: “Can you tell us the way to the old Taylor place?” “Sure thing, Mister. Stay on this road here. Past Dead Man’s Curve, you’ll come to an old fence called the Devil’s Fence. From there, go on foot until you come to a valley called The Cathedral of Lost Souls. Smack in the center is what they call Forgetful Milkman’s Quadrangle. Stay right on the Path of Staring Skulls and you come to a place called Death’s Clearing. It’s right there. You can’t miss it.”
TrailerSecret Window
US/Canada Gross: $47.8 million
An author finds his life spiraling out of control. In the midst of his anguish, a deranged man, John Shooter, appears at Mort's New York cabin, claiming that Mort has plagiarized one of his stories. As his wife pushes Mort to finalize their divorce and Shooter systematically destroys his life, he struggles to restore order to an increasingly insane situation.
The Holy Land
Culture clash in extremis: Mendy, a virginal rabbinical student becomes obsessed with a Russian stripper he meets in Russian-run club in Jerusalem. Location shooting and an oppressive sense of history as well as in-the-moment crisis make writer-direcgtor Eitan Gorlin's untidy debut a compelling latter-day variation on Philip Roth's "Portnoy's Complaint," yet with its own telling complexities.
Elvis - Aloha from Hawaii (1973)
He may have looked trim, but posthumous accounts (especially Peter Guralnick's Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley, the second volume in his definitive biography) confirm what a second look suggests--on this evening, Elvis was alternately overwhelmed and distracted, bravura renditions of signature songs (most triumphantly, the "American Trilogy" medley originated by Mickey Newbury) offset by less-focused readings.
Bloody Territories (1969)
A stylishly colorful yakuza tale set against the backdrop of Tokyo’s gangster underworld. A once-powerful yakuza clan disbands as a result of a police crackdown, but one small group refuses to bow to police pressure, and launches a campaign to take over Tokyo’s drug, prostitution, and gambling rackets. Someone wants to stop them. Is it the police? Rival gang members? Or is it an entirely new group of hired killers who will stop at nothing to gain complete control of Tokyo’s "bloody territories"?
The Line King (1996)
An acclaimed, fascinating documentary on the decades-long career of master entertainment industry caricaturist Al Hirschfeld, featuring a who's-who of industry stalwarts including Lauren Bacall, Robert Goulet, Carol Channing and many more. Academy Award Nomination: Best Documentary Feature.
Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter
Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter, the third in a series of five Stray Cat Rock films, stars hard-as-nails Meiko Kaji (Yakuza Burial, Female Convict Scorpion) as the leader of a gang of vicious teenage schoolgirls who get their kicks with gang fights, street muggings, and rock and roll.
