Phil attends the one-night-only screening of THE NEW BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR with stars Broklyn Lee, Dana DeArmond, and Steven St. Croix live in-person at the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theatre-October 19, 2013

On December 17, 1972, the adult film BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR was released to theaters nationwide and was herald as an instant classic. It was the first feature film by the Mitchell Brothers (Jim and his younger brother Artie) to be screened in theaters other than their own, the infamous O'Farrell Theatre in San Francisco. The film transformed its star Marylin Chambers into an icon and household name. Now, 41 years after its release, director Paul Thomas and Vivid Entertainment has just released their latest remake/sequel film entitled THE NEW BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR, starring Brooklyn Lee, Dana DeArmond, and Steven St. Croix. To promote this new film, the O'Farrell Theatre held an open screening to the public and had all three stars there in-person to sign autographs. Yours truly was there to witness this historic event!

Upon purchasing my ticket for tonight's event, I met the theatre's marketing honcho John Michels. We immediately went into the next room where I saw some amazing artifacts from the past. There were framed original posters of BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR and RESURRECTION OF EVE. There were pictures of the late Marilyn Chambers (she passed away on April 12, 2009), along with a picture of her on the Ivory Soap box. There was also a pictorial shrine to Artie Mitchell (who was shot by Jim on February 27, 1991). There John and I were discussing the films of the Mitchell Brothers and he was quite impressed with my film knowledge. Then, out of the blue, he gave me a quick behind the scenes tour of the theatre. We passed through the majestic wooden door and climbed up a flight of stairs and I witness all the of history the theatre stored. There were drawings on the wall by the legendary underground artist Robert Crumb, pictures of the visionary Hunter S. Thompson, dozens of pictures of Marilyn Chamber performing onstage back from the 1970s. I also got to see some of the lovely ladies that were performing tonight. It was really extraordinary to witness all this history that the average attendee doesn't get to see!

After the tour, I went back downstairs, enjoyed some awesome dancing onstage, and had an incredible lap dance by the breathtaking Gemma Hart! (My favorite dancer there!) Around 10pm, I made my way to the Cine Stage Theater to see the film.

The event was hosted by the man himself Johnnie Keyes, who co-starred with Chambers in the original 1972 classic. He entertained the audience with some fantastic stories from back in the day when it was illegal to make pornographic films, how he was sent to jail by the police, his friendship with Jim and Artie who also put a million dollars to keep him out of prison. He brought out the film's stars Lee, DeArmond and Croix, and each one gave a "quick thank you" speech. Keyes then introduced the O’Farrell’s strippers, who performed an all-new production made especially for the film. After the performance, Keyes came back out, thanked the ladies, and then introduced the film.

The film's official synopsis: Hope (Brooklyn Lee) is desperate to find her birth parents. Almost broke, homeless and alone, the seedy underbelly of the city offers up a solution that Hope never thought she'd take. Shot on the streets of San Francisco, the home of the original "Behind the Green Door," master director Paul Thomas' sequel explores the dark side of human nature through the iconic character that Marilyn Chambers etched indelibly into our collective erotic imaginations 40 years ago. With a special guest appearance by original cast member Johnnie Keyes, and bonus footage with Marilyn Chambers' daughter McKenna Taylor.

The film is a reminder of when adult films were more like films. The production value is top notch, the cinematography is excellent, the script is great, and the acting is amazing, and the sex is volcanic! This is how adult films should be made.

This is the fourth of the "classic" films that Paul Thomas has remade. He started off in 2005 with his THE NEW DEVIL IN MISS JONES, then followed that up with 2007's DEBBIE DOES DALLAS AGAIN. In 2009 he made THROAT: A CAUTIONARY TALE which was a remake of the 1972 landmark film DEEP THROAT.

Paul Thomas (or P.T. as he's called in the industry) has once again done an incredible job of paying homage to the original while simultaneously making it fresh and new. His directing is very smooth and fluent, spotlighting the raw human emotions of love, belonging, and sex. My favorite scenes are when we see Hope out and about in San Francisco. Here, Thomas demonstrates his ability to capture the beauty of the city and of his stars, who look and sound authentic and real. This is his strongest effort yet, and in my humble opinion, his best work since the remake of JONES. Plus it also helps to have an amazing script to work off of, and thanks to screenwriter Phil Noir, Thomas is able to accomplish another masterpiece of eroticism.

This is easily Brooklyn Lee's best performance. She has a very natural approach to acting, and she really nails it here in the film. Here character Hope is a flawed person; lost, spoiled, confused, and lonely. She's on a mission to discover who she is by finding who her mother is. This is classic text book psychology, and we witness it before our very eyes. In between Hope getting on with some studs, we see her shine on the beach in San Francisco with an old flame, degrade herself for money, and then the revelation of who her mother was, and who she now has become. Lee's acting is superb and really deserves to be acknowledge!

Also, her sex scenes are indescribably intense! Her threeway sex scene is so hot and smoldering, it fogged up my glasses. Her scene rivals Marilyn's from the original (in fact we see the original film playing during this paticular scene)!! Hope learns who she is through the discovery of her sexuality as well. We the fans get to have the best of both worlds: an performer who can act and have hot sex. Hopefully in January, when the AVN Awards Show comes, she will win Best Actress for this role!

The film also marks Lee's last appearance in an adult film. In May 1, 2013, at the height of her popularity, she announced her retirement from the adult industry, citing to "focus on her education and because she was in a relationship and no longer wished to have sex with anyone besides her boyfriend" according to the AVN news website. If this is the case, Brooklyn Lee should be very pleased that she is going out on a very high note! A truly riveting performance!!

Also turning in some great performances is Steven St. Croix, who's acting is once again awesome! He's acting abilities are legendary and so is his "tool." Croix is a legend in the adult film world, a world he's been in since 1992! Also the lovely Dana DeArmond charms her way into Croix's pants and their sex scene is hot and nasty! (And yes, my glasses fogged up during that scene as well) To make a long story short, DeArmond is fucking amazing in the film! James Deen is the guy you love to hate. He's a deadbeat, he's a cheater, and he has sex with not only Lee, but with Ash Hollywood and Penny Pax, and then becomes Kylie Ireland's (in a non-sex role) new boy toy. So yeah, I hate the lucky bastard!

Now, I do have one, small, little complaint about the film. It's called THE NEW BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR, however, there is no green door! Really! I have watched my DVD about 10 times now, and I keep looking and looking for that mysterious green door! But there isn't one!! Did somebody forget to make a green door? I mean, there was one in the original, so why not here? I need answers!! OK, I'm done with my venting. Let's continue with my review.

The Lady in Red: Brooklyn Lee.

After the screening, John Michaels gave me a DVD copy of the film and I made my way over to meet the stars. I gave Johnnie Keyes a big handshake and I thanked him for all the sacrifices he made for us to be able to watch these films. I meet Croix and told him how great he was in the movie. Dana was so much fun to talk to and she was full of energy and just a really cool person to chat with. With Brooklyn, I mentioned to her just how much I enjoyed the film, how amazing she was in it, and I wished her the best with her boyfriend and her education. She was such a sweetheart: kind, funny, and beautiful. She and Dana were playing off of one another and this was a fun for me to witness this. I had them all autograph my DVD, said my thank yous and goodbyes one last time, and then made my way back home. It was one of the best nights of my life.

THE NEW BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR is one of the best adult films of 2013! If you like your porn films with great acting, solid directing, good story, and hot sex, then this is for all you couples out there. This is not your average porno flick. This is a film that offers so much more that you can't help but be impress by it. 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

THE NEW BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR is available online at the Vivid Entertainment website as well as at Adult DVD Empire. To learn more about the Mitchell Brothers O"Farrell Theatre, their business hours, and upcoming special events, visit their website at www.ofarrell.com.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil attends the opening day of the STAR WARS EXHIBIT at the Tech Museum in Downtown San Jose-October 19, 2013

So I have been waiting patiently for the past 8 months for the day to come! And now it's here! Yes folks this past Saturday my friends and I attended the opening of the STAR WARS: THE EXHIBITION at The Tech Museum of Innovation in the heart of Downtown San Jose! The museum was jammed packed with STAR WARS fans young and old. There were original models, props, and costumes to see and yours truly was in heaven! I took an enormous amount of pictures of the exhibit, but here are some of my favorites.

Standing outside of the entrance to The Tech Museum.

The Empire came out in full force! Actually these are cosplayers.

Just hanging out with some old friends of mine. Have you met them yet?

And now, I'm home!!

An original X-Wing Fighter model from STAR WARS: EPISODE IV.

An original Tie Fighter model from STAR WARS: EPISODE IV.

The Millennium Falcon model from STAR WARS: EPISODE IV.

The Hoth Creature and the Imperial Snow Trooper costume from STAR WARS: EPISODE V.

Luke Skywalker's Land Speeder from STAR WARS: EPISODE IV.

A Jawa costume and the Jawa Sand Crawler model from STAR WARS: EPISODE IV.

Yes, this is the actual Darth Vader costume from STAR WARS: EPISODE V.

Stormtrooper costume from STAR WARS: EPISODE IV.

Yoda puppet from STAR WARS: EPISODE V and Mace Windu's costume from STAR WARS: EPISODE I.

Tarfful and Chewbacca costumes from STAR WARS: EPISODE III.

R2-D2 costume from STAR WARS: EPISODE IV.

AT-ST and AT-AT models from STAR WARS: EPISODE V.

These pictures I took were only a small part of the exhibit! For all you STAR WARS fans out there, this is a dream come true: to see film history before your very eyes! To be able to see these amazing artifacts that helped transform a film series into a pop culture phenomenon was amazing. There is so much to see that it does require multiple visits, so rest assure that I'll be back at the museum again very soon to see this extraordinary, out of this world exhibit!

STAR WARS: THE EXHIBITION is currently on display for the genral public from October 19, 2013 through February 23, 2014. To purchase tickets, business hours and such, visit the Tech Museum's official website at www.thetech.org.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil hosts the Camera Cinema's Cult Movie Screening of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE at the Camera 3 in Downtown San Jose-October 17, 2013

Hello again everybody and welcome to Month Ten of the 2013 Cult Movie series at the Camera 3 in Downtown San Jose! Now for those of you who are late to the game, let me explain this cool series. In 2011 the Camera Cinemas started up the Cult Movie series (which for years had been called the Midnight Movie series). They would show one cult film twice a month (Thursday nights at 9:30 and Saturday nights at midnight) from February through November. This past Thursday night just in time for the Halloween season, we screened director Tobe Hooper's 1974 horror classic THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Once again yours truly was back as the host for tonight's screening. Prizes were donated by Streetlight Records and by Time Tunnel Toys, both located here in San Jose. There were also yummy donuts to eat, courtesy of Psycho Donuts located in the lobby.

Theatrical Movie Poster (1974)

Despite what the voice over narrator (the great John Larroquette) states in opening credits, there was no chainsaw massacre in Texas to which the film is based on. However, Tobe Hooper has stated that the inspiration for the film came from several different sources. One story he has told several times is that one time years ago while waiting in a very long line in a department store, he saw that he was by the hardware section and they had a display of chainsaws. This made him wish that he could take one and cut thru the line he was stuck in. Hilarious story, don't you think?

The second source for the film came from a man named Ed Gein. If you don't know who he is, Gein was a grave robber who dugged up corpses in the cemetery in his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin. He also made cups, bowls, clothes, and such out of human bones and skins. He was also responsible for the kidnapping and killing of Bernice Worden, who the police found in his barn strung up upside down, gutted, and beheaded. His case would also inspire the characters Norman Bates from the PSYCHO series, Buffalo Bill from SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, and of course, Leatherface.

Hooper also cited the changes in the cultural and political landscape as influences on the film as well: including the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, the 1973 Oil Crisis, and the American public's distrust in their government were part of the movie's social commentary.

Filmed during the summer of 1973 during the sweltering Texas heat, the movie was shot on 16mm and the budget was less than $300,000. Hopper co-wrote the script with Kim Henkel and the cinematographer was Daniel Pearl, who later photograph the 2003 remake.

After trying to get a distribution deal, the movie was picked and distributed by Bryanston Pictures, which was owned and operated by the mob family the Perainos. Fun fact, they also funded and released the 1972 adult film DEEP THROAT.

The film was released to theaters on October 1, 1974 and would go on to gross over $30 million dollars, despite being banned in several states. It would forever change the horror genre and it also made Leatherface (portrayed by Gunnar Hansen) into a horror icon and a pop culture phenomenon, seeing him pop up in comic books, action figures, models, and so forth.

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE is one of the scariest horror films of all time, and it is considered a true classic in the genre. It has spawned three sequels, a remake, a prequel, and a 3D sequel just released to theaters earlier this year. As the old slogan goes, "The Saw is Family." 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE is now available on both Blu-ray and DVD. To purchase a copy, visit your local retailer, or visit the Amazon website.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the show!

Phil attends a HORROR TRIPLE FEATURE at the Castro Theatre-September 30, 2013

What a beautiful Saturday morning up in San Francisco. It's the perfect weather to......stay inside the historic Castro Theatre and see classic horror movies!! Yup, this is my definition of the "Perfect Saturday." So the theatre was showing two classics: HOUSE OF WAX and THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, both in eye popping 3D! And as an added bonus, they were going to show a local documentary about the legendary KTVU Channel 2 television show Creature Features! And hosting this night of horror was none other than the host of Creature Features John Stanley!

Around noon John came out and greeted the audience and told them they were for a real treat The theatre screened local filmmaker Tom Wynch's  2008 documentary WATCH HORROR FILMS, KEEP AMERICA STRONG: A JOURNEY INTO CREATURE FEATURES. The documentary chronicles the history one of the greatest local television shows of all time: Creature Features. The show ran from 1971 to 1984 and was Channel KTVU Channel 2's (located in Oakland, California) most popular programs. The show's original host was the late, great Bob Wilkins, who didn't look like your typical horror film host. While most were dressed up like vampires and ghouls and whatnot, Bob was dressed in a suit, wore thick black framed glasses, smoked cigars while sitting in a bright yellow rocking chair. Yup, he certainly looked different! All the while he was attracting fans every week. He hosted the show from 1971 till 1979 when he passed the torch to his good friend John Stanley, who had been appearing on the show since almost the beginning. John hosted the show from 1979 till 1984.

The film contains some really excellent interviews with both Bob and John, as well as with the show's producer Bob Shaw, Bob Wilkin's wife Sally and their son, and local filmmaker Ernie Fosselius, the creator of the hilarious STAR WARS spoof entitled HARDWARE WARS. Combining archival interview footage, new interviews, clips from the show, and behind the scenes footage, the film really captures the magic of the show. I grew up watching this and seeing this extraordinary film, it made feel like a was a kid again. 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended for all Creature Feature fans out there!! You can purchase a copy of the DVD at www.garfieldlaneproductions.com.

Now the other two films screened I had already seen. Now in case you missed it, I saw both HOUSE OF WAX 3D and CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON 3D at the World 3D Expo III at the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood earlier this month. So I why did I see these films again? Are you kidding me?!? Really?!? Seriously?!? Remember who you are talking to here! I am a serious horror fanatic! I love watching horror movies! And since I was given the opportunity to see these two legendary films again, but this time see them on the HUGE Castro screen, I was not going to pass this up!! And yes, the films looked AWESOME in 3D on the Castro screen!! Yup, this was the perfect way to spend my Saturday!! Both films are available on Blu-ray 3D and can be purchased at your local retailer or on the Amazon website.

And there you have it! A great day of watching two of the greatest horror films of all time! There's a ton of cool films being shown here at the Castro Theatre, so if one day you find yourself in the city by the bay and you're looking for something fun to do, definitely come here and see a movie! It will change your life forever! To view the Castro Theater's film schedule, visit their website at www.castrotheatre.com.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil attends the Comedy Shorts Night at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum-September 21, 2013

You know, it's been way too long since I visited my friends over at the Edison Theatre, home of the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum. So this past Saturday night, I ventured back out to Downtown Niles to attend their monthly Silent Comedy Night. Joining me on this fun-filled adventure was my good friend Amanda and out best friend's daughter Katie. After having dinner over at Broncho Billy's Pizza Palace, it was off to the movies!

THE IMMIGRANT (1917): Charlie Chaplin stars in this short as an immigrant on a very rocky ship that's sailing for America. He meets a beautiful girl on the boat ride, Edna Purviance. They part ways but meet up again at a eatery with Eddie Campbell as the waiter/bouncer who serves them. And poor Charlie is broke!

This was one of films Chaplin made for the Mutual Film Company, which he signed with in early 1916 after leaving the Essanay Film Manufacturing Film Company. Mutual offered Chaplin a $150,000 signing bonus and his own production company called Lone Star Corporation. This is one of my favorite shorts from the Chaplin/Mutual era. The film was released on June 17, 1917.

NEIGHBORS (1920): Buster Keaton and Virginia Fox play young lovers who live next door to each other, but their fathers despise each other with a passion. With only a wooden fence separating the families, Buster uses it as a prop to perform some hilarious slapstick comedy. But will true love triumph over adversity?

The film was directed by Keaton and his long-time collaborator Edward F. Cline, and was produced by Joseph M. Schenck. Schenck would go on to produce some of Keaton's most beloved classics such as STEAMBOAT BILL JR. and THE GENERAL. NEIGHBORS was released on December 22, 1920.

After a brief intermission, the show continued with...

GET OUT AND GET UNDER (1920): Harold Lloyd accidentally oversleeps and wakes up late for the big amateur play that is happening that afternoon. He takes his brand new car to get their but unfortunately there's a lot of obstacles in his path: his angry neighbor whose plants that Harold ran over, his car keeps stalling and chases it up and down hills, and there's a lot of cops chasing after him. His tardiness compels his girlfriend/leading lady (his future wife Mildred Davis) to replace him in his role with his rival (Fred McPherson), so Harold must get to the theater fast!

The film was directed by the King of Comedy Hal Roach. Roach is a legend who has launched many comedians such as Charley Chase, Our Gang series aka The Little Rascals, and Laurel and Hardy. The film was released to theaters on September 26, 1920.

LIBERTY (1929): Yup, the boys are in the house! Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy portray escaped convicts.While trying to get dressed in the regular clothes in the back of their escape car, they realized that they are wearing each others pants. So they spent the entire movie trying to get their pants off, which leads them to the top of a skyscraper that is under construction! Uh-oh!!

To achieve the amazing looks of the boys dangling from the top of a skyscraper, the crew went to the top of a building and built a fake skyscraper about 10-15ft off the ground. And shot in perspective, it created the illusion of height. Harold Lloyd used this same trick in his 1923 silent movie masterpiece SAFETY LAST. The film was released on January 26, 1929.

What a great night for silent comedies! Remember the museum is open for tours every weekend from 12pm-4pm and every Saturday night there's a silent film show starting at 7:30 (doors open at 7pm). So if you would like to learn more about the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, becoming a member, and to view their film schedule, visit their website at www.nilesfilmmuseum.org.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil hosts the Camera Cinema's Cult Movie Screening of RESEVOIR DOGS at the Camera 3 Downtown San Jose-September 19, 2013

Hello again everybody and welcome to Month Nine of the 2013 Cult Movie series at the Camera 3 in Downtown San Jose! Now for those of you who are late to the game, let me explain this cool series. In 2011 the Camera Cinemas started up the Cult Movie series (which for years had been called the Midnight Movie series). They would show one cult film twice a month (Thursday nights at 9:30 and Saturday nights at midnight) from February through November. This past Thursday night we screened Quentin Tarantino's 1992 cult film RESERVOIR DOGS. Once again yours truly was back as the host for tonight's screening. Prizes were donated by Streetlight Records and by Time Tunnel Toys, both located here in San Jose. There were also yummy donuts to eat, courtesy of Psycho Donuts located in the lobby.

Theatrical Movie Poster (1992)

This was the film that put Quentin Tarantino. It not only changed the landscape of the film world, it completely changed the independent film world. It also totally flipped the way we see independent films. Before they were art-house type films, but after the film was released, it changed our perspective and the idea. Here was a film that was cool, slick, filled with fowl language, violence, gore, something that we hadn't seen before.

The film also put both Miramax and the Sundance Film Festival on the map in the film world. Sundance became the festival to get your film into. Miramax (then owned by founding brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein) became the biggest of the independent film distributors and they really gave the Hollywood studios a run for their money. The Weinsteins became notorious at future Sundance festivals, spending outrageous amounts of money in order to outbid the majors for film that they thought would win them awards. Their plan worked and soon their films were winning Oscars left and right. 

Some of the now cliches we see in Hollywood films, like the slow motion walk, rapid fire delivery of dialogue, excess of violence, all that came from this film. Soon everybody was trying to duplicate the film's success, but they never could for this one simple reason: there is only one Quentin Tarantino. The film was released to theaters on October 23, 1992.

RESERVOIR DOGS is considered one of the greatest modern independent films ever made! It's funny how much the world of filmmaking has changed since the film has made What we see now can be traced back to this iconic piece of cinema! 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly Recommended!!

RESERVOIR DOGS is now available on both Blu-ray and DVD. To purchase a copy, visit your local retailer or go online and visit the Amazon website.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil sees DEAD BEFORE DAWN 3D at the Camera 12 Downtown San Jose-September 15, 2013

After seeing INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2 over at the Camera 12 in downtown San Jose, I saw they were also showing the indie horror comedy DEAD BEFORE DAWN 3D! And since I just saw some awesome 3D films down in LA last week, I was more than excited to keep my horror and 3D movies theme going!

The film's about a shy college student named Casper Galloway (Devon Bostick) who watches his grandfather's (Christopher Lloyd) occult shop while he's away. But when a group of Casper's friends accidentally break an ancient urne, they unleash a horrible zombie-demon ("zemon") curse and everyone who makes eye contact with them kills themselves. Then they come back as a zemon, hellbent on killing Casper and his friends by giving them hickeys. To add even more pressure and stress, they must break the curse before sunrise or else all the people in their small town will stay as zemons.

The movie was shot in 20 days in and around the Niagara Falls area of Canada in 3D. It was made by the dynamic duo of director/producer by April Mullen and writer/producer by Tim Doiron. The pair have gained a lot of notoriety due to the fact that 1) It was Canada's first live-action 3D feature film. 2) That it was also the first 3D film made outside of the studio system. 3) Mullen became the youngest and the very first female to direct a stereoscopic 3D film. So lookout Hollywood cause Canada is creeping up behind you!

Bostick is most famous for his role as Rodrick Heffley from the DIARY OF A WIMPY KID Trilogy. He's also appeared other films such as SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD, SAW IV & VI, and THE ART OF THE STEAL. Martha MacIsaac, who plays Bostick's love interest, as been in such films as SUPERBAD, THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT remake, and THE THAW. Of course, Mr. Christopher Lloyd needs no introduction. The man's a legend!

I found the film to be really funny and entertaining; never taking itself too seriously. It contains the perfect blend of big laughs and big scares. The entire cast does a great job of bringing their respected characters to life and the directing and production values are amazing given the film's low budget. But this proves that the independent world can produce some interesting films that can rival those coming out of Hollywood.

DEAD BEFORE DAWN 3D is a hilarious, gore-soaked fun-filled ride full of laughs and bloodshed! If you're a tweener and are sick and tired of all the TWILIGHT ripoff crap that's been plaguing your local theater, give this film a try. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised on how awesome the film is! 4 out of 5 stars! Recommended this Halloween season!

DEAD BEFORE DAWN 3D is still playing in select theaters, and it was just released on DVD. To purchase a copy, visit your local retailer or visit the Amazon website.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the joy!