ffolkes (North Sea Hijack) (Blu-ray) <small>by Stuart Galbraith IV</small><hr /> While he was busy playing James Bond, actor Roger Moore found time in between the long productions of those movies to appear in about a dozen others, some quite good, especially Gold (1974), Shout at the Devil (1976), The Wild Geese (1978) - and North Sea Hijack (1979), confusingly retitled ffolkes for its U.S. release, with an altered, highly deceptive advertising campaign. When it premiered on American network television it was retitled yet again, this time to Assault Force. Whatever you want to call it, the movie adapted by Jack Davies from his novel Esther, Ruth and Jennifer gave Moore one of the best roles of his career, a character far removed from 007, though its U.S. posters falsely hinted at something very much like James Bond with a beard (see below right). Ably directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, the movie is a crackling, highly satisfying, int...Read the entire review »

Toys Are Not For Children (Blu-ray) <small>by Ian Jane</small><hr /> The Movie: Jamie Godard (Maria Forbes) is, in the eyes of those around her, an odd young woman. Some might say she's immature or stunted in her growth. She works in a toy store and really, really enjoys her work but so too does she have an odd obsession with her absentee father. Given that he left her a bunch of toys before he left, maybe there's a connection. Her mother Edna (Fran Warren) doesn't help matters, constantly reminding her daughter what a louse her father was and knocking him down every chance she gets. Or maybe Jamie is just broken. Either way, eventually Jamie and co-worker Charlie Belmond (Harlan Cary Poe) and, around the same time, she strikes up a friendship with a hooker named Pearl Valdi (Evelyn Kingsley). Interestingly enough, Jamie's wayward father had a thing for prostitutes and Pearl just might know where he is. Soon enough, however, Jamie and Charlie tie t...Read the entire review »

The Dead Don't Die (Blu-ray) <small>by William Harrison</small><hr /> THE FILM: The Sturgill Simpson theme song from The Dead Don't Die manages to become the star, despite much Jim Jarmusch quirkiness. The Stranger than Paradise director reteams with frequent collaborators Billy Murray and Tilda Swinton to craft a zombie movie that both pokes fun at and celebrates genre efforts like Night of the Living Dead and Zombie. Jarmusch, an independent filmmaker known for his leisurely, eccentric films, is not for everyone. Those films usually lack traditional narrative structure and instead seek to provide real-world forward progression for viewers. Such is the case for The Dead Don...Read the entire review »