Beasts Of Bourbon : Low Life In Spain (Live In Madrid 2006)
The suave Spanish label Munster Records has expanded their impressive catalogue with a line of live dvds. Picking Aussie swamp rock giants Beasts Of Bourbon as the 1st release shows their immaculate taste in r'n'r. "Low Life In Spain" is a raw and sweaty affair with EXCELLENT sound quality which crysalizes that Tex Perkins & Co. are still able to bring the house down with their slow crunchin' and savage blooze punk anthems. Maybe there could've been more songs from the immortal "Axman's Jazz" album but that's a minor complaint. The dvd also claims to include video clips of BOB's whole career but I still haven't been able to find'em on the disc. Still a stone cold MUST HAVE for fans. 120 glorious minutes long!

The Boxer's Omen (1983. Kuei Chih-Hun)
The Shaw Brothers company has sure made their share of outrageous martial art films, but this one takes the cake! A Chinese boxer gets beaten and blinded in a match in Thailand, his brother returns to get revenge and ends up in a Buddhist Temple. It turns out there's a curse on his family, and together with a dead monk (!) he fights an evil wizard. So far so good. The last ¾ of "The Boxer's Omen" is like an completely different film, like a lsd trip gone horrible wrong, basically it's like if "Rocky 2" suddenly turned into "Holy Mountain"! The surreal almost psychedelic images surpasses everything I've ever seen in an 'action/horror' movie from Hong Kong. Fans of psychotropic cinema from the East like "Mystics In Bali" MUST see this mindfuck experience. Highly fuckin' recommended!

Demolition Doll Rods : Let Yourself Go (Live In Madrid 2006)
Munster's 2nd live dvd features Motor City's sexiest trio, the incomparable Demolition Doll Rods. From the ashes of The Gories, Danny & Margaret Doll Rod created a raunchy monster possessed by trash, r&b, punk, and gospel. And "Let Yourself Go" really captures a hotblooded DDR live experience (I've seen'em at least twice); buck naked (well, almost) full frontal soulful trash'n'roll assault on the senses. Part Cramps, part burlesque, all balls/tits-out r'n'r entertainment! Too bad the crowd doesn't seem to be more into the music. As a tasy dvd bonus there's a small tribute show in the backyard/ruins of former Detroit soul label Fortune Records. 117 mins.

Monks - The Transatlantic Feedback (2007. Dietmar Post & Lucia Palacios)
One of the most original 'garagerock' band of the bands of finally got their own documentary. As most know The Monks was five GIs in Germany in the 60s who shaved their heads, monk style, created a highly unique sound and released just one album, "Black Monk Time", in 1965. The film tells the whole story of the cultband. They started out as as r&b cover band like many others called The Torquays, but when they met two German mad visionaries and musical activists (Walter & Karl) they became The Monks, and were pushed/forced beyond the boundaries of generic r'n'r to create their repitious sound which then and now haven't been equaled. It took 8 years to make this touching and personal film, and getting all the original members interviewed. The ultra low budget gives the film a non-flashy vibe, and although it's maybe a tad too long, it's still a major accomplishment from the filmmakers. Due to the lack of money, there's no dvd release in the near future, so you just have to see this highly fascinating documentary at film festivals.

Myra Breckinridge (1970. Michael Sarne)
Based on the famous Gore Vidal novel, this deranged satire tells the tale of Myron (Rex Reed) who has a sex change and comes to Hollywood as Myra (the stunningly beautiful Raquel Welch) to collect an inheritance. "Myra Breckinridge" was one of the two 20th Century Fox movies who was rated X in 1970, the other one was Russ Meyer's "Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls". The film is a mess of unseen proportions, embarrassing overacting by the likes of John Houston and John Carradine, footage of Laurel And Hardy is cut into the film frequently (implying that they are gay!), and in the movie's most outrageous moment Raquel Welch rapes a naïve young cowboy with a strap-on dildo for 10 minutes! "Myra Breckinridge" was a huge flop, Raquel Welch's career was almost destroyed, and the film is considered one of the worst of all time. I love every minute of it, and have seen it many times. The dvd offers the original cut and the director's cut, and audio commentaries by Michael Sarne and Raquel Welch.

Taxidermia (2006. György Pálfi)
This truly bizarre arthouse movie follows three generations of Hungarian men. First part takes place in WWII where a neurotic masturbating solider shoots fire out of his penis within the first few minutes of the film! In the second part we see his son succeeding in become one of the best speed eaters (!) in Communist Eastern Europe in the 50/60s, much to the delight of the party and their propaganda schemes. The speed eating contests are pretty disgusting with a lot of puking. The last part sees his son working as taxidermist, and taking care of his now grossly obese dad. I've never seen anything like "Taxidermia", the highlight of the recent Copenhagen Night Film Festival. Absurd, vile, surreal, fascinating, hilarious, and basically a vicious and brutal satire of former Communist Hungary. It's pretty gory, and there's some hardcore sex scenes, but it's also beautifully and creative filmed. Bunuel and Jodorowsky fans should see this loopy masterpiece. I don't expect to see a better film this year!!