DVD Pickups Fall/Winter 2022

The 80's hits just keep on coming! Was stoked to find this at a local thrift store, I had been eyeing the Blu-ray for quite some time so I'll take the DVD for 2 bucks. Another entry in the old and young switcheroo craze that was big in the 80s (Vice Versa, Big, 18 Again).

I'm a sucker for Christmas movies, and the ones in my collection I've pretty much seen ad nauseam. So I'm always on the lookout for ones that I haven't seen or even heard of. Well I found 2 at the Goodwill yesterday, this one from 1985 on Anchor Bay starring the always delightful Harry Dean Stanton and Mary Steenburgen. Can't wait to check it out this holiday season!

This one sounds familiar and I probably saw parts of it on tv as a kid, but looks like a fun holiday romp. This is also peak Ethan Embry (most notably Dutch, but I'm also very fond of the forgotten A Far Off Place), so looking forward to seeing him in this.

Found a nice little stack of 80s movies at the GW (could have probably taken a lot more but had to be selective), first up a double dose of the Coreys! Been wanting to revisit this for quite some time now, and I rarely see it in the wild so was glad to finally add it to the collection. Anchor Bay always coming through with the nice widescreen transfers (not yet on Blu-ray as of writing).

I was holding out for the Vestron series Blu-ray release, but when I saw the DVD I couldn't resist. I've only seen this movie in bits and pieces when I was younger, so we'll see if it's worth the upgrade to the BR. Also just want to add that I had a huge crush on Meredith Salenger back then, what a babe!

Rutger Hauer was on a tear in the 80s with these Action/Thriller B-movies. Never seen this one so looking forward to checking it out. On Anchor Bay DVD.

One of the few movies Ralph Macchio did outside of the Karate Kid franchise, here he's playing a Blues musician which is a nice change up. Eager to see this since it was also directed by the mighty Walter Hill.

I didn't realize there were multiple Flying Guillotine movies, as I already own the previous film from 1975 simply titled "The Flying Guillotine." Not sure if these are totally different storylines or if there's any connection but I had to pick it up and add it to the collection.

It's the sequel no one asked for, but we got it anyways! I vaguely recall seeing this as a kid, the only thing that stands out is Fisher Stevens in brown face which obviously hasn't aged well. I found this at a thrift store for ten cents, so we'll see how well it holds up.

This was released in the glorious year of 1983-D, when 3-D movies were all of a sudden the rage again (Amityville 3 and Treasure of the Four Crowns also released in 3-D that year). The switch to having Jaws go nuts at Seaworld was a nice change up, with a young Dennis Quaid as the hero (as one of the grown up Brody boys). This scared the crap out of me as a kid so looking forward to revisiting it.

With the holidays right around the corner, I'm continuing to be on the lookout for Christmas movies I've never seen or maybe only partially seen. The problem I've always had is the holidays hit and now you're scrambling to find these movies, and the damn streaming services don't have them. Prancer is a movie I've always heard good things about but never saw, so I was glad to pick it up for 2 bucks and add it to the collection.

I think I saw this around the time it came out but don't remember much about it. Affleck and Gandolfini in a fun holiday romp sounds good to me. Thinking this will be more of a guilty pleasure, and will probably only break it out when I've seen everything else in my Christmas collection.

Encino Man is one of those teen movies from the early 90's that's just endlessly rewatchable. Brendan Fraser just killing it this year with this and School Ties. I also think this might be the first real break out movie for Pauly Shore doing his signature character. Either way it's currently not available on Blu-ray, so it needs to be in the collection.

This was an interesting find, a 90's Jackie Chan movie I've never heard of. Apparently it was made right in between Rumble In The Bronx and First Strike, but was not picked up by New Line for a US theatrical release. Eventually they released it on DVD, which I never came across until now. Excited to check this out! (side note - there was a sticker on the back from one of the now long out of business video stores in my area, pretty cool to see that!)

I hit up one of the last library sales of the season in my area and luckily it did not disappoint! I picked up some great blu-rays and dvds (#15-21 below). This was a cool find, one of the few movies Adam Horowitz (aka Adrock of the Beastie Boys) starred in. On MGM "Limited Edition Collection," which is sort of like their version of Warner Archive.

Never heard of this one, not sure if I want to keep it or sell it but it's a sealed Warner Archive DVD so I had to buy it for a dollar.

I'm eager to see this since it's an early Gary Busey performance but unfortunately I realized after I bought it that it's a lousy fullscreen version. I must be slipping because I'm always watching out for these. I'll still watch it but man, what a bummer (note - a widescreen version DVD does exist, so I will keep an eye out for it!).

Another childhood favorite right here and the peak of the 80's space exploration craze. I'll just sum it up from a write up I did in another blog "it's got a baby-faced Joaquin Phoenix, a robot sidekick, and that gay Black dude from Revenge of the Nerds. Nuff said."

Super stoked to find the Anchor Bay 20th anniversary edition DVD, and just in time for the holidays! I must have seen at least parts of this as a kid, but I really don't recall. Either way it will be fun to check this out again.

This is a movie that I always wanted to check out but never came across it in the wild. Altman was a huge influence on Paul Thomas Anderson, especially his earlier ensemble films. Nice to find the newer Criterion 2-disc DVD.

Great film that has sadly been somewhat forgotten (where's the Blu-ray release?). I mean Alfonso Cuaron and a very underrated DeNiro performance? Definitely needs to be in the collection.

Shifting gears I hit up a Salvation Army thrift store in my area and scored some wantlist 90s-era Wuxia! Here we have Donnie Yen in a Yuen Woo Ping film. Say no more.

This was another one that was on my list for some time, but never managed to find a copy of it. Based on the clips I've seen online, it looks like a wacky and violent good time. Great cast too.

This is the absolute peak of batshit crazy wuxia, almost to the point where it could be considered science fiction. I owned a crappy bootleg copy with atrocious picture quality so glad to find a proper DVD release in English dub and widescreen.

I had to contain my excitement finding an Ozploitation DVD out in the wild, it's definitely a rare occurrence. Never heard of this one but apparently it was the first film by Aussie director Stephen Hopkins, who would go on to direct such 90's classics as Predator 2, Judgment Night, and Blown Away.

I really dig these high concept indie foreign films, I feel like the less I know about it going in the better so I'll refrain from reading any reviews or watching the trailer and just dive right in.

I returned to the Salvation Army thrift store to see if they had anymore kung fu/wu xia films and I picked this up along with Come Drink With Me. This one has a great story and some really nice scenery so really looking forward to it.

Never really heard of this one but apparently it's a milestone based on the reviews, an early Shaw Bros flick with a female lead. I picked it up more for the historical relevance but hopefully it's entertaining as well.

I ventured out to some of the second hand shops that are outside of my area, which I like to do every once in a while and thankfully the trip did not disappoint (pickups #29-33 below). For some reason it's been a good time for kung fu/wu xia films as I found this classic Shaw Bros flick from 1982. Never seen it so eager to check it out.

Do I consider myself a Jackie Chan completist? Probably for his late 80's/early 90's run, this one seems to be more on the silly comedy side of things but hopefully it's at least entertaining.

This one was on my wantlist as anything 90's Donnie Yen I have to pick up. This is one of the few films he also directed, I watched a clip online and it looks absolutely bonkers. Can't wait to see it.

Wouldn't be a trip out digging for movies without some 80's gold, and now I own the two pillars of the father-son switcheroo craze (see #1 on the list). I think a double feature is in order.

Why is Real Genius a childhood favorite of mine? Is it the ridiculous popcorn ending? Is it the charming, twinkle eyed Val Kilmer? I have no idea but I'm eager to revisit it and find out.

This is a movie I've wanted to revisit for some time now and the Blu-ray is a limited run Twilight Time that I'm not dishing out big bucks for. This was Brandon Lee's biggest box office hit prior to The Crow, and a nice alternative to the many Van Damme and Seagal movies that flooded this era.

I've always wanted to check this movie out, even as far back as seeing the VHS in a video store and thinking it was Jennifer Lopez on the cover (it's actually Rena Owen!). Kiwi films have a special charm because they kind of combine what we love best from Ozploitation but with more of a prestige, European feel. Glad to add this one to the collection.

This is one of those movies I've come across many times in the wild, but just could never pull the trigger due to the price. Well today it was on 50% off at the Goodwill which made it 50 cents, okay you twisted my arm I'll buy it. It's just a fun 80's movie and a childhood favorite, a post-Karate Kid Elisabeth Shue, the inner city setting, the little girl obsessed with Thor, the teen boys thinking the babysitter is a playmate centerfold. All great stuff.

I was considering buying the Blu-ray 2 pack of CD 1 & 2 but when I found it on DVD at the Goodwill I had to buy it. Mick Dundee is a big part of my childhood and I feel like both these films hold up well today, the first being a fish out of water, gritty NYC film and the second a sort of big budget Ozploitation movie (but with more of an 80's American film sensibility).

Scored some more 80's heat right here, a very underrated Friedkin flick that features yet another heart stopping car chase sequence. I haven't seen this in a long time so looking forward to the rewatch.

When it comes to Italian horror I've always been more of an Argento fan, Fulci just seemed too schlocky for my taste. But that being said I've been meaning to give his stuff another try and finding this on Blue Underground is just the push I need.

After seeing O' Lucky Man during my college years I was a big fan of director Lindsay Anderson, but I never got around to seeing his other films like this and Brittania Hospital. I spotted this on Criterion at the Goodwill and had to add it to the collection.

It's funny how the Goodwill almost now serves as my defacto video store, only instead of renting movies for 3 bucks I'm buying them for 1 or 2. This was definitely the case with SWF, I was looking for something that my wife and I could watch that evening and an erotic thriller about psycho roomates featuring 2 powerhouse 90's actresses certainly fit the bill.

I saw this in the theater when it came out and remember having mixed feelings about it, as the follow up to the electrifying Drive I felt this was on the same level visually and with the score/music but just felt very empty. That being said this movie has grown on me over the years and I've never seen it in the wild in any format so I had to get it.

I feel like this movie was overlooked and now somewhat forgotten, but stands out to me as being a nice throwback to the hood movies of the 90s. Like Fresh and Crooklyn, despite being a coming of age story this movie has an edge to it and the kid actors are great.

This is one of those 80s classics that I've never seen in its entirety, and have been meaning to watch it but was never able to pull the trigger on the Blu-ray. I spotted the Anchor Bay DVD at the GW and figured it was time to add it to the collection.

I pop in to my local Dollar Tree every now and then looking for cheap Blu-rays and I hardly ever give the DVDs a second look. This movie was on my list but is not currently on any of my streaming services. I mean seeing Matthias Schoenaerts and Joel Kinnaman looking all gangster on the cover was enough for me to complete the purchase.