Episode 3 of Incognito Cinema Warriors XP is now available at Rifftrax.com on DVD or as a video-on-demand download. This episode is hilarious, and clocks in at over two hours. The movie and short are insane, the skits are funny, and if nothing else you can see my name in the closing credits. Check it out, won’t we?

‘Rent Me’ is an occasional feature wherein I briefly recommend a DVD for rental.

Billy Wilder’s Ace in the Hole is one of his best and most overlooked satires. Kirk Douglas plays a newspaper man named Chuck (hmm…) who slithers into Albuquerque and a job as a reporter. After months of patiently biding his time, he seizes the opportunity of a mining accident to exploit both the victim and the local residents.

Ace is satire but not comedy, and it’s about as dark as you can get. I went into it expecting fast-paced, cutesy dialog and a flawed-but-charming protagonist. I didn’t expect a portrait of malice and exploitation that says things about the media which are even more relevant today than they were in 1951. Between the disingenuous and lascivious wife of the man trapped in the mine (Jan Sterling), the corrupt local sheriff (Ray Teal) and Douglas’ shameless Chuck Tatum, Ace in the Hole makes its point with a pretty brutal honesty.

Oh, and it’s really good. Available in a nice special edition from the Criterion Collection.

In the best piece of news to come from the Mouse House since the renewal of the distribution deal with Pixar, Disney has announced that they will no longer produce direct-to-DVD sequels. The last such release will be this year’s The Little Mermaid III. It is widely believed that John Lasseter’s influence is to thank for this turn of events.

Frivolous busywork? Don’t mind if I do! I’m designing slim DVD inserts for every episode of MST, starting at the beginning. Some of the fans on the boards have expressed interest, so I’ll be setting up a download site. Score one for obsessive hobbies!

My covers can be downloaded at mst3k.joshway.com.

This is really cool. About a month ago I ordered my DVD copy of “Rex Steele: Nazi Smasher”, an award winning animated student film that has been wowing fans of traditional pencil animation. Well, the DVD orders got screwed up, and many people found themselves with an inexplicably cancelled order. Those of us who re-ordered just got our DVDs, with a nice little surprise inside:

An autographed postcard from the director, Alex Woo! Pictured below, the back of the card boasts a handwritten message and a pencil sketch of Rex!

Cool, huh? I haven’t watched the DVD yet, but I certainly will soon, and hope to post a review before I mysteriously disappear later this week.