Easterbrook, Leslie

Halloween - Unrated Director's Cut (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition)

The original slasher film about Michael Myers the psychotic killer who dons a mask and terrorizes his hometown is re-imagined by edgy director Rob Zombie. System Requirements:Run Time: 121 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR/SLASHER MOVIES UPC: 796019805575 Manufacturer No: 80557

More of a supercharged revamp than a remake, Rob Zombie's take on John Carpenter's Halloween expands the back story of masked killer Michael Myers in an attempt to examine the motivation for his first deadly attack, as well as some reasons for his longevity as a horror icon. Zombie's Myers is a blank-eyed teen (played by Daeg Faerch) whose burgeoning mental problems are left unchecked in a horrific home environment; harassed by schoolmates, a randy sister, and his mother's deadbeat boyfriend (William Forsythe, terrific as usual), Myers' homicidal explosion seems inevitable, and intervention by Dr. Sam Loomis (Malcolm McDowell, who offers a fast-talking, hippiefied version of the Donald Pleasance character) does little to impede his development into a mute, unstoppable killing machine (Tyler Mane) bent on finishing off the only survivor of his family's massacre--his sister, now grown into teenaged Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton). Opening up the psychological motivation of a cipher like Michael Myers is an interesting approach, but Zombie's script possesses neither a depth of character nor dialogue to offer more than a clichéd thumbnail character sketch, and devoting over a hour of the unrated cut's 120-minute-plus running time to this history feels bloated and self-indulgent (especially when compared to the lean efficiency of the Carpenter original). Zombie's Halloween isn't terribly suspenseful, either; he has a keen eye for visuals and the details of chaotic environments, but his scares are nothing more than brutal showcases for his special effects team. The end result barely surpasses the original film's numerous sequels, though the Who's Who of cult and character actors in the cast (including Zombie regulars Sid Haig, Bill Moseley and Ken Foree, as well as Brad Dourif, Udo Kier, Clint Howard, Richard Lynch, Danny Trejo, Dee Wallace, and Danielle Harris) adds a touch of late-night monster movie charm. However, the film's best performance belongs to the director's spouse, Sheri Moon Zombie, who brings unexpected pathos to the role of Myers' downtrodden mother.

The two-disc Unrated Director's Cut offers a full disc's worth of extras that should please Zombie fans; chief among the supplemental features is his commentary, which details the film's shooting history and the numerous edits required to deliver the theatrical version. A making-of featurette offers further details of Zombie's vision for the film, and there are featurettes on his cast choices and the many masks that Myers makes while incarcerated. Seventeen deleted scenes (two of which feature Adrienne Barbeau and Tom Towles) and an alternate ending (all with Zombie's commentary) are also provided, as well as footage from the casting sessions. A blooper reel, which is highlighted by unchecked mischief by McDowell and Dourif, offers the set's sole moment of levity. -- Paul Gaita

Laverne & Shirley - The Complete First Season

As a spin-off from Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley was an instant hit and one of the most popular sitcoms of the '70s. It's a bit quaint by contemporary standards, and its light-hearted sentiment is strictly old-school, due to the crowd-pleasing influence of producer and cocreator Garry Marshall, a veteran of The Dick Van Dyke Show whose subsequent film career peaked early with Pretty Woman. As working-class roommates in mid-1950s Milwaukee, Laverne De Fazio (Penny Marshall, future director and Garry's sister) and Shirley Feeney (Cindy Williams) were a classic case of opposites: Laverne was relatively saucy and cynical, while Shirley was cheerfully naive and eternally optimistic. As bottle-cappers at the Shotz brewery, they regularly associated with colleagues (and eventual neighbors) Lenny (Michael McKean) and Squiggy (David L. Lander), and as an inaugural ratings-booster, Happy Days superstar Henry Winkler (as "Fonzie") appears in the first three episodes including "Bowling for Razzberries," later named by TV Guide as a classic episode. As Shirley's crooning would-be beau, Carmine "The Big Ragoo" Rugusa (Eddie Mekka) provided a touch of romance to Shirley's otherwise lackluster love life.

Despite personal rancor that later erupted between its energetic costars, Laverne & Shirley was always a showcase for polished, professional comedy and effortless chemistry between characters, giving it the same widespread appeal later enjoyed by Friends. A mid-season replacement with a prime time-slot (following Happy Days at 8:30 Tuesdays on ABC) the show placed its good-natured characters in a variety of standard sitcom predicaments, typically set in L&S's apartment, the "Pizza Bowl" diner run by Laverne's father Frank (Phil Foster), or the Shotz brewery, where some of the show's funniest slapstick humor emerged. These 15 episodes are guaranteed to please longtime fans on a stroll down memory lane, but bonus features are nonexistent, and newcomers may not relate to the clean-cut humor of a bygone era. Still, Laverne & Shirley started strong and continued to improve, at least for another season or two, with a variety of popular guest stars. This three-disc set represents the best of times for everyone involved. --Jeff Shannon

Getting its start as a spin-off from "Happy Days," LAVERNE & SHIRLEY takes place in Milwaukee in the 1950's and features Laverne, an outspoken, hot-headed woman who would love more than anything to be rescued from her job by a nice man, and Shirley, a naïve young woman who worries about her reputation and often finds herself assuming the role of Laverne's conscience in an effort to keep her best friend out of trouble. The two quirky friends have many fun times with Lenny and Squiggy, two greasers who share an apartment above Laverne and Shirley and always seem to have some kind of scheme up their sleeves.

Laverne & Shirley - The Second Season

Set in the 1950s this half-hour situation comedy revolved around the friendship between bright-eyed naive and demure Shirley Feeney and brassy tough-talking street smart Laverne De Fazio. Two bottle cappers for Shotz Brewery the duo dated an array of questionable men tolerated their dippy loony neighbors Lenny and Squiggy and forever pursued to "make all their dreams come true."System Requirements:Run Time: 568 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097360698749 Manufacturer No: 069874

After its first half-season as a 1976 mid-season replacement, Laverne & Shirley entered its first complete season with a well-deserved place at the top of the ratings. The show's connection to Happy Days remained essential to its success, and after its first two episodes, the second season boosted its profile with back-to-back episodes ("Bachelor Mothers" and "Excuse Me, May I Cut In?") featuring appearances by Happy Days stars Henry Winkler ("Fonzie"), Ron Howard ("Richie Cunningham") and Anson Williams ("Potsie"). After that, Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams) were on their own, and the best friends and Shotz Brewery bottle-cappers settled into a popular season of sitcom highlights. As these 23 episodes make abundantly clear, L&S was steeped in the primarily Jewish traditions of Vaudeville humor, by way of I Love Lucy and other vintage sitcoms, and much of the show's charm comes from the unspoken fact that Laverne and Shirley are virginally pure, eager for fun but clearly saving themselves for the elusive men of their dreams. Sex--which is to say, dating--is a common theme in these episodes, but most of them deal with the girls protecting their virtue, as in the hilarious "Good Time Girls" (from November 30, 1976), in which L&S cope with would-be suitors who found the girls' phone number etched on the wall of a men's public restroom. Like several other episodes this season, it's a prime showcase for slapstick humor, with Marshall and Williams clearly taking their cue from the legacy of Lucille Ball, and matching Lucy's lunacy with truly inspired bits of their own.

Season 2 is also highlighted by the regular appearances of Laverne and Shirley's underachieving neighbors Lenny (Michael McKean) and Squiggy (David L. Lander) who continue to make priceless, well-timed entrances, with Squiggy's trademark "Hello!" as one of the series' most crowd-pleasing running gags. The show's supporting cast members are all given moments to shine, and this season is further enriched by the hilarious rivalry between Laverne and her social-climbing nemesis Rosie Greenbaum (Carol Ita White) who appears in four episodes to taunt the girls with belittling insults. Fun-loving music is also a common factor here, and the season finale "Citizen Krane" takes its cue from Orson Welles' classic Citizen Kane, with the girls making their dubious show-biz debut as a singing duo, promoted by a Milwaukee impresario named "Charles Pfister Krane" (played with ham 'n' relish by character actor Severn Darden) who dubs them "The Rosebuds." It's a good example of the season's consistently high quality, owing mostly to the charms of its stars. And for those looking for a bit of pop-cultural perspective, consider this: Six weeks after Laverne & Shirley's second-season finale, Star Wars made its theatrical debut, and the world of entertainment would never be the same. (Note: There are no bonus features in this 4-disc set, and for legal and licensing reasons, some song performances and/or background music have been edited out or changed from the original TV broadcasts.) --Jeff Shannon

Private Resort

Johnny Depp and Rob Morrow star as two sex-starved teens out for the adventure of their lives in this outrageous Spring Break comedy filled with sand surf and skin!Jack (Depp) and his buddy Ben (Morrow) check in at a posh Florida resort planning to spend every hour in hot pursuit of gorgeous babes. But their plans hit a major detour when they try to bed the wife of a conniving jewel thief (Hector Elizondo). They ll have to outsmart him a nasty security guard and an obnoxious jock if they re ever going to get a moment alone with the girls of their dreams!System Requirements:Running Time 82 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 043396149663 Manufacturer No: 14966

Bikinis, breasts, and Johnny Depp's bare bottom are the selling points of archetypal teen sex comedy Private Resort. The plot has the purity of haiku: Two horny young men (Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean, Edward Scissorhands, and Rob Morrow, Northern Exposure, in his film debut) doggedly pursue scantily-clad women at a tropical vacation spot. Standing in their way are a bitter hotel detective and a jewel thief known as the Maestro (Hector Elizondo, Pretty Woman)--though his claim of mastery seems an overstatement; anyone expecting To Catch a Thief or The Thomas Crown Affair-style suavity will be sadly disappointed. Babes are ogled; breasts are exposed; bald middle-aged men are mocked as buffoons; and both Depp and Morrow strip naked, revealing pale posteriors--and, in Depp's case, a scrawny physique that would mortify any contemporary teen star. While this can't be called one of Depp's more nuanced performances, his trademark bemused nonchalance is already present in larval form. Ironically, given Depp's later reputation for soulfulness, Morrow is the sincere one who yearns for a sweet young waitress, while Depp is the cad who runs after anything with breasts (he refers to quaaludes as "the love drug" and "falls in love" with a girl who bends over in front of him in an aerobics class). Also featuring Andrew "Dice" Clay (The Adventures of Ford Fairlane) and Leslie Easterbrook (beloved from the Police Academy series). Discriminating cineastes will be happy to hear that Private Resort has been letterboxed, so the full frame of every shot can be fully appreciated. --Bret Fetzer

Police Academy (20th Anniversary Special Edition)

Astoundingly silly but incredibly popular, Police Academy is the first film in a seemingly endless franchise that takes aim at the men in blue. After a police academy drops all of its entrance requirements, all manner of misfits flood in, hoping to make it onto the force. One of these misfits, a lazy, aimless cadet played by Steve Guttenberg (Cocoon, Three Men and a Baby), was forced to enlist and tries whatever he can to get kicked out. But once he decides to stay, he tries anything and everything to finish his training, even as his drill instructor tries to shove him out. Featuring a wild bunch of strange supporting characters, from a female trainee who speaks below a whisper to a dominatrix instructor to a human sound-effects machine, Police Academy is mindless but fun. --Robert Lane

When the mayor decides that the doors of the police academy be open to any and all, the applicants swarm forth like hordes of losers in a colorful assortment of nonregulation sizes, shapes and eccentricities.

The Devil's Rejects (Unrated Widescreen Edition)

Homicidal maniacs have a field day in Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects, an ultraviolent spin-off from Zombie's critically reviled 2003 debut, House of 1,000 Corpses. As Zombie continues to cultivate his name-brand variety of extreme horror and splatter-film homage, he definitely takes his place among connoisseurs of carnage. In the case of The Devil's Rejects, several characters from 1,000 Corpses return for another marathon of mayhem, as the murderous Firefly family (led by Sid Haig as the maniacal "Captain Spaulding") turn their bloody wrath against hostages in a fleabag motel, while the local sheriff (William Forsythe) plots revenge against them for the killing of his brother. Before their inevitable showdown, Zombie has plenty of fun--perhaps a little too much fun--indulging his penchant for sick, sadistic humor and gruesome atrocity. Clearly, Zombie fancies himself as horror's answer to Quentin Tarantino, but he lacks Tarantino's gift for riveting plots and escalating tension. Instead, The Devil's Rejects is just raw, rampant excess from start to finish, paying visual tribute to gruesome classics from the '70s and guaranteed to earn the cult status that Zombie is all too obviously aiming for. He's an unabashed horror buff who's carving a niche in the genre he loves, shamelessly satisfying a small but loyal audience of sicko-phants. --Jeff Shannon

From the visionary mind of acclaimed musician Rob Zombie comes Lions Gate Films' THE DEVIL'S REJECTS, the gritty, violent follow-up to Zombie's smash horror hit, HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES. Written and directed by Zombie, THE DEVIL'S REJECTS reunites the homicidal members of the Firefly family, tracing their bloody flight from an outlaw sheriff hell-bent on revenge... Ambushed at their isolated home by Sheriff Wydell (William Forsythe) and a squad of armed men, the Firefly family wakes up one morning with guns blazing - yet only Otis (Bill Moseley) and his sister, Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie), manage to escape the barrage of bullets unharmed. Hiding out in a backwater motel, the wanted siblings wait to rendezvous with their errant father, Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig), killing whoever happens to stand in their way. But as the body count mounts higher, Sheriff Wydell decides to take the law into his own hands, paving the way for one of the most depraved and terrifying showdowns in cinematic history.

Halloween (Two-Disc Special Edition)

The original slasher film about Michael Myers the psychotic killer who dons a mask and terrorizes his hometown is re-imagined by edgy director Rob Zombie.System Requirements:Run Time: 110 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR/SLASHER MOVIES Rating: R UPC: 796019805582 Manufacturer No: 80558

More of a supercharged revamp than a remake, Rob Zombie's take on John Carpenter's Halloween expands the back story of masked killer Michael Myers in an attempt to examine the motivation for his first deadly attack, as well as some reasons for his longevity as a horror icon. Zombie's Myers is a blank-eyed teen (played by Daeg Faerch) whose burgeoning mental problems are left unchecked in a horrific home environment; harassed by schoolmates, a randy sister, and his mother's deadbeat boyfriend (William Forsythe, terrific as usual), Myers' homicidal explosion seems inevitable, and intervention by Dr. Sam Loomis (Malcolm McDowell, who offers a fast-talking, hippiefied version of the Donald Pleasance character) does little to impede his development into a mute, unstoppable killing machine (Tyler Mane) bent on finishing off the only survivor of his family's massacre--his sister, now grown into teenaged Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton). Opening up the psychological motivation of a cipher like Michael Myers is an interesting approach, but Zombie's script possesses neither a depth of character nor dialogue to offer more than a clichéd thumbnail character sketch, and devoting over a hour of the unrated cut's 120-minute-plus running time to this history feels bloated and self-indulgent (especially when compared to the lean efficiency of the Carpenter original). Zombie's Halloween isn't terribly suspenseful, either; he has a keen eye for visuals and the details of chaotic environments, but his scares are nothing more than brutal showcases for his special effects team. The end result barely surpasses the original film's numerous sequels, though the Who's Who of cult and character actors in the cast (including Zombie regulars Sid Haig, Bill Moseley and Ken Foree, as well as Brad Dourif, Udo Kier, Clint Howard, Richard Lynch, Danny Trejo, Dee Wallace, and Danielle Harris) adds a touch of late-night monster movie charm. However, the film's best performance belongs to the director's spouse, Sheri Moon Zombie, who brings unexpected pathos to the role of Myers' downtrodden mother.

The two-disc Unrated Director's Cut offers a full disc's worth of extras that should please Zombie fans; chief among the supplemental features is his commentary, which details the film's shooting history and the numerous edits required to deliver the theatrical version. A making-of featurette offers further details of Zombie's vision for the film, and there are featurettes on his cast choices and the many masks that Myers makes while incarcerated. Seventeen deleted scenes (two of which feature Adrienne Barbeau and Tom Towles) and an alternate ending (all with Zombie's commentary) are also provided, as well as footage from the casting sessions. A blooper reel, which is highlighted by unchecked mischief by McDowell and Dourif, offers the set's sole moment of levity. -- Paul Gaita

Police Academy 4 - Citizens on Patrol

A new batch of civilian volunteers joins the new Citizens on Patrol program but Captain Harris is determined to see it fail. The "boys in blue" are back for the fourth installment in the immensely popular "Police Academy" series which has collectively earned over $238000000. This time our favorite crimebusters face yet another major challenge when they attempt to train a group of oddball civilians to help control community crime which leads to both disastrous and hilarious results.Running Time: 87 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 085393184520

The Devil's Rejects

Homicidal maniacs have a field day in Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects, an ultraviolent spin-off from Zombie's critically reviled 2003 debut, House of 1,000 Corpses. As Zombie continues to cultivate his name-brand variety of extreme horror and splatter-film homage, he definitely takes his place among connoisseurs of carnage. In the case of The Devil's Rejects, several characters from 1,000 Corpses return for another marathon of mayhem, as the murderous Firefly family (led by Sid Haig as the maniacal "Captain Spaulding") turn their bloody wrath against hostages in a fleabag motel, while the local sheriff (William Forsythe) plots revenge against them for the killing of his brother. Before their inevitable showdown, Zombie has plenty of fun--perhaps a little too much fun--indulging his penchant for sick, sadistic humor and gruesome atrocity. Clearly, Zombie fancies himself as horror's answer to Quentin Tarantino, but he lacks Tarantino's gift for riveting plots and escalating tension. Instead, The Devil's Rejects is just raw, rampant excess from start to finish, paying visual tribute to gruesome classics from the '70s and guaranteed to earn the cult status that Zombie is all too obviously aiming for. He's an unabashed horror buff who's carving a niche in the genre he loves, shamelessly satisfying a small but loyal audience of sicko-phants. --Jeff Shannon

From the visionary mind of acclaimed musician Rob Zombie comes Lions Gate Films' THE DEVIL'S REJECTS, the gritty, violent follow-up to Zombie's smash horror hit, HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES. Written and directed by Zombie, THE DEVIL'S REJECTS reunites the homicidal members of the Firefly family, tracing their bloody flight from an outlaw sheriff hell-bent on revenge... Ambushed at their isolated home by Sheriff Wydell (William Forsythe) and a squad of armed men, the Firefly family wakes up one morning with guns blazing - yet only Otis (Bill Moseley) and his sister, Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie), manage to escape the barrage of bullets unharmed. Hiding out in a backwater motel, the wanted siblings wait to rendezvous with their errant father, Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig), killing whoever happens to stand in their way. But as the body count mounts higher, Sheriff Wydell decides to take the law into his own hands, paving the way for one of the most depraved and terrifying showdowns in cinematic history.

The Biggest Fan

One Dream - One Love - 1 Chance! Teen heartthrob Chris Trousdale, lead singer of popular boy band Dream Street finds himself hiding out in the house of his biggest fan. It's off the hook as he turns the life of his No. 1 fan upside-down. Hit songs from Dream Street, Ruby Blue and Play featuring Chris Trousdale. Includes performances by Dream Street. When the biggest fan meets her biggest fantasy... Bonus Features: Cast Bios, Behind the Scenes, Photo Gallery Starring: Kaila Amariah, Cindy Williams, Richard Moll, Chris Trousdale, Don Gibb, Pat Morita as Mr. Lim in THE BIGGEST FAN Starring Michael Winslow, Leslie Easterbrook, Shanelle Workman, and Co-Starring Morgan Brittany, Erin Cahill, Marissa Tait, Adam Wylie, Claudia Swan, Courtnee Draper, James Hong, Ronnie Schell.