Catnip Reviews: RELENTLESS, I WAS A TEENAGE SEX PISTOL and NCIS: TONY & ZIVA

Snack-sized opinions from the frisky felines at Free Kittens…

I WAS A TEENAGE SEX PISTOL (Blu-ray) - You’d be hard pressed to name another artist or band who became legendary with one album…and one album only. Such is the legacy of the Sex Pistols, four young British blokes of marginal musical ability who captured lightning in a bottle - as well as the pulse of disenfranchised youth - with a bit of help from opportunistic manager Malcom McLaren. Through interviews, archival footage and stills from the era, this revealing documentary tells the band’s story (and the enormous controversy that followed wherever they went) from the perspective of one of its founding members, bassist Glen Matlock. Additionally, former bandmates Steve Jones and Paul Cook are on-hand to discuss the band’s quick rise and fall (mostly corroborating Matlock’s recollections), while singer John Lydon is conspicuously absent. Other interviewees include Blondie, Billy Idol, Tracii Guns, The Faces’ Kenney Jones and The Damned’s Rat Scabies, all of whom convey their appreciation for the Pistols’ musical and cultural impact (well, maybe not Jones so much). The film is also about Matlock himself (based on his own book), and dedicates some time to his life & career after the Sex Pistols (which is a bit less interesting). For anyone who continues to love that one great album, or those simply curious over what the hubbub was about, this documentary is essential viewing…and really entertaining. (2025/102 min/Vantage Media).

KITTY CONSENSUS: 😼😼😼😼

NCIS: TONY & ZIVA, SEASON ONE (DVD) - Sometimes thinking outside the box doesn’t always pay off. Take Tony & Ziva, for instance. As the umpteenth spinoff in the never-ending NCIS franchise, this one takes two popular characters from the original series (played by Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo) and reunites them in Paris, along with a kid they had together. But it isn’t business as usual. This season eschews the tried & true episodic format for an ongoing narrative of a mysterious, high-tech thief who’s framed Tony for an Interpol theft. The main story is fairly engaging and its two stars slip comfortably back into their roles, but as someone who never religiously watched the original show, I was less interested in the flashbacks depicting how the couple fell apart. Perhaps many others felt the same, because Tony & Ziva has already been canceled. For those who did appreciate the franchise’s attempt to try something a little different, this 10 episode set comes with a few interesting bonus features.    (2025/437 min/Paramount)

KITTY CONSENSUS: 😺😺😺

RELENTLESS (Blu-ray) - Former Brat Packer Judd Nelson plays Buck Taylor, a sadistic serial killer in this silly concoction from director William Lustig, best known for the gory cult classics, Maniac and Maniac Cop (no relation). But Relentless is no horror film. Instead, it's a crime thriller that features an ambitious rookie detective (Leo Rossi) teaming up with a cynical, seasoned cop (Robert Loggia) to find and stop Buck, who selects his victims at random. There’s a decent story in there somewhere, but it’s largely undermined by a static pace, lapses in logic (such as Buck being able to crash through a skylight without so much as a scratch) and an overwrought performance by Rossi (despite the deceptive billing, he’s the actual star of the film). And maybe it’s because of all the Brat Pack baggage he brings with him, but I simply didn’t buy Nelson as a psychotic killer, though he gives it a good sporting try. Still, Relentless enjoyed a healthy afterlife on home video (spawning three sequels, all starring Rossi), making this a logical choice for inclusion in Alliance Entertainment's ongoing Retro VHS series. (1989/92 min/Alliance Entertainment)

KITTY CONSENSUS: 😼😼

ZODIAC KILLER PROJECT: When You Don't Get Your Way, Make A Movie Anyway

ZODIAC KILLER PROJECT (Blu-ray)

2025 / 92 min

Music Box Films

Review by Princess Pepper😾

Just a heads-up…this is not another documentary about the notorious serial killer. It’s about a director who didn’t get his chance to make one.

Charlie Shackleton’s biggest claim to fame is a film called Paint Drying. He made it in response to the British Board of Film Classification’s requirement that all films must be screened by the board before being released (which Shackleton believes is tantamount to censorship). This means he forced the board to sit through a 10-hour film that is literally a single shot of a white-painted brick wall.

As a joke, that’s pretty damned funny.

I learned all this from a few of the bonus features that are included with his latest effort, Zodiac Killer Project, which are far more interesting (and entertaining) than the movie itself. Essentially a documentary about a documentary he never got to make, I get the impression this one is also intended as a joke. If so, it’s a really long-winded one with no punchline, though some viewers might appreciate the meta aspects of the film.

Well...at least there's no CGI.

 At one time, Shackleton was close to securing the rights to adapt The Silenced Badge, a book about a cop’s independent investigation to reveal the Zodiac Killer’s identity, into a documentary film. The director was well into the planning stages when the rights were unexpectedly ranked away from him. Undeterred, Shackleton decided to make a documentary about what his film would have been.

The bulk of the movie consists of the places he would have shot, the spots where he’d have inserted dramatic reenactments and, of course, his initial dismay over losing the rights to the book in the first place. Shackleton himself narrates, mostly off-screen, and he goes into a lot of detail over how each scene would’ve looked. He also displays a little smugness, especially when discussing overused tropes in other true crime documentaries (which is admittedly spot-on).

Ultimately though, Zodiac Killer Project comes across as sort of a f**k you to those who kept a guy from doing the film he wanted to make. While there’s nothing wrong with that, I don’t think he needed 90 minutes for a joke that could’ve been succinctly told in 20. Shackleton at-least deserves an attaboy for salvaging what he could from the debacle, but his efforts are marginally more interesting than watching paint dry.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - Charlie Shackleton Q&A Session from Chicago Premiere; Rejected Sundance Meet the Artist Video; Camera Test Short Film; Charlie Shackleton on Paint Drying. 

FULL EVOCATIVE B-ROLL REEL

DIRECTOR UNCOMMENTARY TRACK - Same film, without any narration. Essentially a gag feature.

TRAILER

Revisiting FRIDAY THE 13TH, PART 2 in 4K...with a Couple of Nagging Questions

FRIDAY THE 13TH, PART 2 45th Anniversary Edition (4K UHD)

1981 / 86 min

Paramount

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

Being totally transparent here, this guy’s never been a huge fan of the Friday the 13th franchise, though a couple of the early ones certainly impacted my teenage years. Simply plotted and loaded with jump scares, gore and pre-marital sex, catching one of these with a gaggle of friends was a great social activity. They also made great date movies, especially first date movies. Nothing prompted a gal to grip your hand like a relentless killer stalking camp counselors. 

Even back then, I had no illusions over the actual quality of these movies. Good? Hardly. None other than the original’s director, Sean Cunningham, acknowledged he was just ripping off Halloween. Fun? On the big screen in a packed theater, surrounded by the right people…absolutely. And it didn’t really matter which one you were watching because the plots were interchangeable. Roger Ebert once said his negative review of Friday the 13th Part 2 could apply to any other film in the franchise, and he wasn’t entirely wrong. Of course, he wrote that before anyone made the creative decision to launch Jason into space.

Big fans of ‘80s slasher horror might argue differently...that each film is a distinct and important chapter in the continuing adventures of Jason Voorhees (or his mom, or whoever assumed the stabbing duties for Part V). And actually, Part 2 is generally held in really high regard among a lot of Friday the 13th fans, mainly because it’s the first one where Jason does the killing. Other than that, it’s business as usual, with even fewer plot twists than the original (though admittedly, it's a bit more skillfully directed). 

"Fine...I won't stay where I'm not wanted."

This 4K UHD release is for the die hards who can differentiate Amy Steel from Adrienne King. But despite being touted as the 45th Anniversary edition, this is the exact same disc that was part of the Paramount Scares Volume 2 boxed set from 2024, right down to the bonus features and cover art. So while it’s technically not a “new” release, at least it’s now available separately and fans should be more than pleased with upgraded image quality. The 5.1 Dolby TrueHD audio track, while still really good, is the same as the original Blu-ray.

Revisiting this film 45 years after getting a bruised forearm from my date squeezing it too hard, I do have a couple of nagging questions that perhaps only superfans could answer. Friday the 13th Part 2 opens with Jason killing Alice (Adrienne King), the only survivor from the first film, in her own home. How exactly does he figure out where she lives? And if he’s been dwelling in the woods around Crystal Lake since he was a child, how the hell does he get to that house years later, do his dirty work, then head back to Crystal Lake in time to kill more counselors? Did he drive?

Since Michael Myers managed a similar feat in Halloween, I’d like to know who thought teaching these psychos how to drive was a good idea.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - Inside “Crystal Lake Memories” (the book's author discusses putting it together); Friday's Legacy: Horror Conventions; Lost Tales from Camp Blood Part II is a horror short inspired by the franchise (others are available on other F13 titles); Jason Forever is a Q&A featuring four guys who’ve previously played Jason Voorhees.

10 RILLINGTON PLACE: No, Grandpa, No!

10 RILLINGTON PLACE (Blu-ray)

1971 / 108 min

Alliance Entertainment

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Butcher🙀

I should probably preface this review by admitting I haven’t seen a lot of the films in Richard Attenborough’s lengthy career. I’m mostly familiar with the more iconic ones, including The Great Escape, The Sand Pebbles and The Flight of the Phoenix. But hey, at least I know his legacy extends beyond sharing the screen with dinosaurs. 

Still, Attenborough’s unnerving performance in 10 Rillington Place threw me for a loop. He plays outwardly congenial landlord John Christie, and in the opening scene, offers to cure a neighbor’s bronchitis with a gaseous medicine he’s concocted. Instead, she’s rendered unconscious. Afterwards, Christie rapes and strangles her (and maybe not in that order!), then buries the corpse in the building’s community garden. 

Jesus Christ!

Christie is immediately revealed to be a serial killer and 10 Rillington Place is based on a true story. His next victims are the financially struggling Evans family, who move into one of the flats in his building. Timothy (John Hurt) and Beryl (Judy Geeson) have a baby daughter and are continuously fighting, compounded when she announces she’s pregnant again. That’s when Christie, feigning expertise, offers his surfaces to abort the pregnancy. Instead, he murders her, but tells Timothy that she died during the procedure.

"What happened to the Twinkies I stashed here?"

Timothy wants to go to the police, but Christie argues that both of them are complicit and would go to jail. Not being too bright to begin with (and unable to read or write), Timothy agrees to remain silent and go away for awhile to avoid questions over Beryl’s whereabouts. And while he’s away, Christie kills their baby. Making matters worse, Timothy is suspected of both murders, which Christie exacerbates when testifying as a witness in the subsequent trial.

Though tastefully handled, this is a grim, disturbing film, largely due to Attenborough. Not only are Christie’s methods horrifying, the actor depicts him as perverted, quietly psychotic, remorseless and indifferent to the suffering he inflicts. Like Henry Fonda playing a sadistic hired gun in Once Upon a Time in the West and Denzel Washington’s turn as murderously corrupt cop Alonzo Harris in Training Day, Attenborough’s performance is a revelation. Who knew he had it in him?

It’s amusing to imagine viewers who only know him as kindly grandpa John Hammond in Jurassic Park or Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street getting an eyeful of this one. Narratively and aesthetically, 10 Rillington Place is bleak enough as it is, but Attenborough makes the film a memorably horrifying experience you won’t be able to unsee.

THE GANGSTER, THE COP, THE DEVIL: Starring Korea's Biggest Badass

THE GANGSTER, THE COP, THE DEVIL (Blu-ray)

2019 / 110 min

From Well Go USA

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Ballcrusher😺

In a perfect world, Don Lee (aka, Ma Dong-seok) would be a bigger star on this side of the pond. Though beloved in Korea, over here he’s best known for Train to Busan and that Marvel snoozefest, Eternals. The latter was his Hollywood debut, and he stole the entire movie from his bigger co-stars. 

But elsewhere, he’s been the kickass star of some really great action films, such as The Roundup franchise, where he plays a big, burly cop who fights crime through sheer blunt force. With his ample frame and laconic delivery, he seems like an unlikely action hero, but that’s what makes those movies so entertaining (and often very funny). If you haven’t seen any of them, get over your aversion to subtitles and seek them out.

Another one to check out is 2019’s The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil, where Lee plays Jang Dong-soo, a powerful mob boss who’s attacked one night by a mysterious serial killer. Jang survives and vows revenge, ordering his henchmen to find the man. At the same time, renegade cop Jung Tae-suk (Kim Mu-yeol) is equally obsessed with catching the killer (responsible for several murders), but is regularly thwarted by his corrupt captain. 

The Don Lee Workout.

Though professing mutual hatred for each other, Jang and Jung become uneasy allies in the manhunt. One wants the killer dead, the other wants him brought to justice, so while they’re indeed working together, each is also trying the get the upper hand on the other. Powered by strong performances from both stars, the story is built around their characters’ antagonistic relationship, which is highly entertaining and frequently funny. The film also delivers plenty of stylish, brutal and bloody action sequences…car chases, close-quarters brawling and gunplay, all executed with a lot of panache.

Apparently, there’s been an American remake in development for a few years with Don Lee set to reprise his role. But why wait? The best version of The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil is already here. Exciting, violent and fast-paced, this is an outstanding Korean action film featuring another muscular performance by a guy more people should be aware of.

This is a re-issue of a Blu-ray edition first released in 2019.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - Making of; The Characters (actually just a montage of clips featuring each main character).

TRAILER

Revisiting SE7EN in 4K

SE7EN (4K UHD)

1995 / 127 min

From Warner Bros.

#InPartnershipwithWB

Review by Mr. Paws😺

I guess we can add David Fincher to the list of directors compelled to go back and tweak with his movies (even if they don’t need tweaking). But unlike George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola and Ridley Scott, he doesn’t mess with the content or narrative of Se7en…just a few CGI enhancements here and there that I doubt most viewers will even notice. 

Still, those changes are there, which I’m sure will raise the hackles of the few purists who’ve committed every single frame to memory. For cinephiles who still venture outdoors on occasion, this 4K UHD version - overseen by Fincher - looks and sounds tremendous…a fitting restoration for the film’s 30th Anniversary.

Wow, has it really been that long? It seems like just yesterday everyone at work was talking about this one. Still, I was a tad skeptical at the time because, not only did I assume Se7en was just another serial killer movie in the wake of Silence of the Lambs, it was directed by the same guy who just took a massive dump on Alien’s legacy. But curiosity eventually got the best of me and I dragged the wife along with me to check it out…

Brad in time-out.

…and I was floored. With its relentlessly grim take on your standard police procedural, Se7en was nothing like Silence of the Lambs. The beautifully grimy aesthetic enhances its bleak tone, creating an immersive experience in which our most recurring emotional response is dread. And since there was not much of an internet for dumbass doorknobs to drop spoilers, the twist ending was a jaw dropper that I didn’t see coming. My wife was horrified. So was I, but in a good way because, even today, it isn’t often that a major studio film has the cajones to end on such a dour note.

With this one film, David Fincher was suddenly a director to watch, Brad Pitt escaped his pretty boy image and “What’s in the box?” became part of our vernacular (eventually an overused meme). It also features one of Morgan Freeman’s best performances, which should have at-least gotten an Oscar nomination (with the exception of an editing nod, the film was shamefully snubbed that year).

Three decades later, Se7en has aged remarkably well and remains a wonderfully unnerving film, even if that climax no longer has the power to shock as it once did. But like Planet of the Apes, that’s due more to its cultural impact than the cruelty of time. While the 4K edition nicely presents the film in all its grimy glory, there aren’t any new bonus features and the outer packaging is pretty similar to a DVD set released by New Line 25 years ago. This one is for those interested in a technical upgrade…or David Fincher’s CGI enhancements.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - Production Design; Mastering for Home Theater; Exploring the Opening Title Sequence.

EPK

4 AUDIO COMMENTARIES - 1) By director David Fincher, actors Morgan Freeman & Brad Pitt; 2) By writer Andrew Kevin Walker, director David Fincher, editor Richard-Francis Bruce, New Line president of production Michael De Luca; 3) By writer Andrew Kevin Walker, director David Fincher, cinematographer Darius Khondji, production designer Arthur Max. 4) By composer Howard Shore, sound designer Ren Klyce, director David Fincher.

ALTERNATE ENDING - With optional commentary and storyboards.

6 DELETED SCENES - With optional commentary.

6 STILL GALLERIES

DIGITAL COPY