What happens when you send someone to kill a notorious mob boss? Well if you aren’t careful you end up getting “double crossed”. That is what happened when Nato “Hitman” Collins (Miguel A. Nunez Jr.) sends three of his assistants to kill the Las Vegas Mexican mafia Carlos Enriquez (Emilio Roso) because of a huge gambling debt.

Dixie (Noel Perris), Angel (Avnit Gordon) and Jazzy (Tamara Mitchell) all have something in common. They work for Nato as his hired assistants or should I say he gets them to kill people that Nato’s clients want dead. They are like the opposite version of the famous TV show, “Charlie’s Angels”.

Nato tells the girls that he wants Carlos dead because of a three million dollar debt that Carlos owes him. They head out to Mexico to find Carlos but once they find him they get caught and they are taken hostage. Carlos is amused that Nato would send Charlie’s Angel’s there to kill him.

He tells them he doesn’t owe Nato money, but it is in fact Nato that owes him the money. He tells them he wants to cut a deal with them. He gives Dixie and Angel back to Nato to get his money but only gives them 24 hours to get it or he will kill Jazzy, the one he holds there as a hostage.

From here on it is a game for Carlos and Nato to see who wins.

I won’t spoil the plot of the movie. You can click on the Amazon link above to get your own copy of this DVD, Double Crossed to find out who wins in this cat and mouse game.

Jan Barrett

Everyone that knows anything about music, specifically Soul music will know just who the Godfather of Soul would be, none other than James Brown himself.

In 1969 James Brown made an announcement during a concert he had in Monterey that he had planned on retiring from the touring he had been doing but he actually didn’t give it up until 1975.

In the year 1979 three television producers managed to get him to come out of retirement in order to make a comeback performance. The concert was held but for some unfortunate circumstances the material in the videotapes that were made were locked up inside a vault for twelve years before anyone could see them.

James Brown has a way with his music. He has the ability to transform his gospel passion into the compelling intensity of rhythm and blues, combined with meticulous choreography and energetic showmanship which is demonstrated completely in this legendary concert footage.

You can listen to some of his hits like, Papas Got a Brand New Bag, Try Me, Sex Machine and Get Up Off That Thing.

The track listing goes as follows:

1.    Get Up Off That Thing
2.    Body Heat
3.    Try Me
4.    Sex Machine
5.    Georgia On My Mind
6.    Please, Please Please
7.    Hindsight
8.    Can’t Stand It
9.    Papas Got A Brand New Bag
10.    Jam

The DVD runs for about 60 minutes and it went on sale on March 22, 20111. You can get your own copy by clicking on the Amazon link above.

Jan Barrett

Final 24 A Dramatization

It is by luck not judgment that I chose today of all days to review this DVD. It was on this day 47 years ago that his father, president John F. Kennedy lost his life. There are few people of my generation that do not remember December 22/1963. What happened in Daley Plaza, Dallas resulted in the death of just one person President Kennedy. This is thousands less than the number that perished in 2001 and the dreaded 9/11, yet, it was equally devastating for the US.

A picture that is almost as famous as the stills taken from the home movie by Abraham Zapruder in Daley Plaza has to be the stark black and white picture of the then three year old John F. Kennedy Jr. saluting his father at the funeral. The day incidentally was his third birthday.

There are some that view the Kennedy family as a form of royalty, certainly the press have covered the family so closely that I am surprised that we do not have YouTube segments of the Kennedy family deciding what color socks they are going to wear.

The DVD John F. Kennedy Jr. His final Hours takes a very serious look at the life of that small child captured forever in the B&W photo from the funeral.

John Kennedy Jr. did not share his families passion for public office, instead, he decided to view politics from the written word. George magazine was launched.

The hoopla with the launch was amazing. But George was hardly the biting political rag that it might have been

But what happened in July of 1999?

How did John F. Kennedy Jr. lose his life on what seems a routine flight in a small plane?

I will leave that question to be answered by others. But, this DVD gives you some pause for thought.

You can order your copy from Amazon by using the link above.

I also recommend that you look at some of the other DVD’s in this series.

Simon Barrett

I grew up listening to great music in the late 60′s and early 70′s they are the best of my memories today. Some I can’t always remember but there are certain songs and bands that were unforgettable. When the name Jim Morrison comes up the first thing I think of is “Light My Fire” by The Doors. The moment I hear it, my memories go back to my younger years, and to me that is always a good thing.

Jim Morrison was a great rock star, considered one of the most famous rock singers in the world. On July 2, 1971 was the beginning of Morrison’s last 24 hours to live but no one at the time knew that. He was living in Paris. He was losing a lot of weight due to his years of drug and alcohol abuse. He moved to Paris because he was tired of the rock star image that he had become. He really wanted to be taken more seriously as a poet so he thought being in Paris he would have anonymity and be able to work on his poetry in peace.

Within those last 24 hours Jim spent time with his close friend, Alain Ronay. Morrison appeared to be suffering tremors, and he seemed to be really weak. It was fairly clear that the man should have been in a hospital, not out walking around. That evening he went out partying with his girlfriend, Pamela Courson. It was the next morning at about 5:00 am on July 3, 1971 the 27 year old rock star was found dead in his bathtub where he lived in Paris. There are reports that apparently he had snorted heroin just before he died, claiming this was his first time.

Jim Morrison – His Final Hours follows details of how his last 24 hours of his life were like. It also gives highlights of his life before anyone knew who he was and how he managed to rise to fame. Jim was at war with his own demons. You will see archive footage, dramatic reenactment and interviews with some of his closest friends as they take you through the last hours of his life and of the details of the events that led him to his tragic death.

Jim Morrison – His Final Hours is part of the series called Final 24 Hours that unlocks the hidden secrets, psychological flaws and events that result in tragic deaths of famed notorious and the iconic. Every episode maps out the final 24 hours of a different famous person’s life. They weave through the star’s back-story with events from their last day, which lays bare the threads of fate that led inextricably from childhood to the moment of death.

To get your own copy of Jim Morrison – His Final Hours just click on the icon above.

We have reviewed quite a few of the DVD’s in this series. In the event that you would like to read more, I have listed them below for your convenience to find them.

Sid Vicious – His Final Hours

Gianni Versace – Final 24: His Final Hours

Nicole Brown Simpson – Her Final Hours

Janis Joplin – Final 24: Her Final Hours

Keith Moon – Final 24: His Final Hours

Marvin Gaye – Final 24: His Final Hours

River Phoenix – His Final Hours – Final 24

Hunter S. Thompson – His Final Hours – Final 24

Anna Nicole Smith Her Final Hours

John Belushi – His Final Hours

Jan Barrett

Sid Vicious – His Final Hours is a part of the Final 24 series covering famous stars last 24 hours before their death. It explains what led to the final moments of their life.

John Simon Ritchie at 19 was drawn to the punk scene and started hanging around other punks. He was seen at all of the Sex Pistols shows in all the pubs and eventually had become a member of the band. He became one of the iconic figures of the early punk rock movement with his bloody on stage shenanigans.

We are told about his drug fueled relationship he had with Nancy Spunger mainly on his final few weeks that were full of craziness, from suicide to psychiatric wards.

Nancy was found dead on the bathroom floor on October 12, 1978 after the pair had spent a night on drugs. Sid claimed he found her but didn’t remember what happened that night. She died from a single stab womb to her abdomen causing her to bleed to death. Sid said that they had a fight that night but he gave several versions of what happened after that. He told the police, “I stabbed her, but I didn’t mean to. I loved her but she treated me like shit.”

10 days after her death he was charged with assault after an altercation with Todd Smith. He was arrested on December 9, 1978 and was sent to Riker’s Island prison for 55 days. He was released on February 1, 1970.

His mom held a party for him that night. She even cooked his favorite meal for him that night. At the party around midnight Peter Kodick arrived at the party with a delivery arranged by Sid’s mother so Sid could get the high he had been craving all day. An hour after being free again she was injecting the heroine into his recently drug free body.

Later on that night Sid and his new girlfriend, Michele Robinson, fell asleep together and he was found dead the next morning. Autopsy reports say he died from a accumulation of fluid in his lungs that was consistent with heroin overdose.

This DVD Sid Vicious His – Final Hours digs into his past and uncovers the series of events that eventually led to his death. It reveals for the first time the shocking revelation that sheds new light on his final hours left on earth.

If you remember Sid Vicious then you would find this documentary interesting. If you had never heard of him before you would still find this interesting. It gives yet another insight of what drugs can do to a public image on the stage or on film.

To get your own copy of Sid Vicious – His Final Hours just click on the Amazon link above.

Jan Barrett

This is the latest in a series from the same producers, an examination of the final 24 hours leading up to the death of a well known person. In some ways they could be billed as CSI before it happened!

John Belushi was always a larger than life man. He found a home with the SNL Saturday Night Live crew. I might be wrong, but to me it was not so much what John said on the program, rather the way he said it, and the fabulous use of facial expressions that created the humor. This was a man who could create laughter just by his eye movement!

This may seem disrespectful to John Belushi, but I can only name one person on TV today that has that ‘Belushi Look’, Adam Richman who, in the true sense of discovery is reliving The Blues Brothers via his discovery of food (in large quantities). Just look at the pictures on the main page, this is Belushi reinvented! Just look at his eyes!

John Belushi found fun and fame in SNL, but also in the gut bustlingly funny movies, Animal House and The Blues Brothers. This sent John Belushi to the pinnacle of comedy.

His years with SNL had created a bit of a drug habit. It seemed harmless fun, but the recording schedule was brutal, coffee is great as a stimulant, but how many cups can you drink?

Cocaine offered a better solution.

But what happened on that final night?

It might surprise you.

This is a great DVD that has interviews with the people that loved and knew John Belushi. Dan Ackroyd pours his heart out, he was working on Ghostbusters, but he had room for John on the movie.

It is Dan Ackroyd that draws me into this DVD, he reached out to his friend as few would do. It does not take a PhD to see the pain in Dan Ackroyd as he talks about 1982, and the loss of his friend.

John Belushi spent his final hours on a drug binge. Cocaine and Heroin make poor bedfellows, but this did not stop John Belushi.

From star to dust, John Belushi did it.

John Belushi – His Final Hours is one of the most absorbing DVD’s I have watched in quite some time.

You can order your copy from the amazon link above.

Simon Barrett

Life in Hollywood always looks so glamorous to every day people. We see movie stars buying huge expensive homes. They wear expensive jewelry and clothes. They make everyone think how great it would be to be a star.

The problem is the price they have to pay to be where they are. What kind of pressures does a screen star have once the public eye is on them? They have to fight to keep up their image so the public doesn’t start looking the other way. The pressure usually gets so strong that most of them turn to drugs just so they can keep going.

Anna Nicole Smith was one like that. She loved the attention she got once her name became known. She thrived on others looking at her. She loved the camera. She was beautiful on the outside but the woman inside her was not so pretty. She was a woman trapped inside her own body by her dependency of the drugs.

Anna Nicole Smith – Her Final Hours is yet another of the Final 24 series that tells what the life of the star was like 24 hours before their death. Anna was in Miami Florida expecting to purchase a brand new yacht which they were going to bring back to the Bahama’s when she died.

Anna got sick with the flu which was going to delay the purchase of the boat. She was so sick she couldn’t even leave her motel room. She was running a fever of 105 but refused to go to the hospital because every time she went to a hospital the media flooded her privacy and she just wasn’t up to that now.

Anna was born on November 28, 1967 as Vikki Lynn Hogan. Her mother is Vergie Hogan, who helps in this film with some of the background of Anna’s life as a child. When she was 16 she started sneaking out of her house to meet with boys and soon her mother could no longer control her wild ways so she sent Anna to live with Anna’s Aunt. At one time Anna changed her name to Nikki Hart and appeared in a high school book only to soon quit school in the 9th grade. She started dancing on stage in provocative ways until her mother, who was with the police force, put a stop to that by threatening to give the owner of the club hell if he didn’t get rid of Anna as an employee.

Anna wanted to make a name for herself but she had it in her mind that she couldn’t get the attention she needed as long as she was flat chested so she spent about $14,000 on implants which helped make her feel better about herself. She went to a size 42 DD which was three times more than her normal size. Unfortunately the size of her breasts started causing her back problems so she started taking pain pills.

Five months before she died Anna was taking a potent mixture of valium, antidepressants and sleep medication. They would have to hide her medication from her because she was in so much pain and depressed that she would take too much. They said it didn’t matter if they did or didn’t give the medication to her, if she wanted it she would find a way to get it anyway.

Two days after the birth of her baby daughter, her son, Daniel, 20 years old, visited and the very next morning Daniel died of a drug overdose which devastated Anna. She was destroyed at the funeral where she went hysterical which caused her to have to be sedated.

While in her motel room on the night before her death, Anna’s psychiatrist had to leave her alone to attend to another patient which made Anna very uncomfortable. They said she couldn’t sleep and was up late watching TV. When she finally needed to sleep she somehow got hold of a potent drug that would help knock her out.

Anna not only had the flu but she was suffering from an intestinal infection and blood poisoning. She had a cyst like formed on her left buttock that was oozing yellow fluids apparently caused from injections she got with human growth hormone and Vitamin B12 to help her stop the aging process and to lose weight.

On February 8, 2007 even though as much time as possible was spent on trying to revive her Anna was pronounced at 2:49 pm. Later an autopsy report showed there was a presence of nine prescription drugs at therapeutic levels that were apparently taken all together. It was declared that she died from an accidental overdose but a lot of people wondered if it wasn’t suicide. Anna’s mother, Vergie says her daughter would never have taken her own life not on purpose and not accidentally.

Anna Nicole Smith – Her Final Hours tells a bit of the life she led along with all the tragedies she went through, the sad life that ended up costing her, her own life. The pressure of being a star is really not that glamorous after all. It tells what happened hours before her death in that motel room.

To get your copy of this DVD which runs about 60 minutes just click on the Amazon link above.

Jan Barrett

Who was Hunter S. Thompson? To be honest when I got this DVD I knew very little about the man. After watching Hunter S. Thompson – His Final Hours – Final 24 I learned a lot more than I did before.

Parts of it allowed me to look at some of his life behind closed doors, the part where no one else sees. This DVD covers his early childhood days. He was popular as a teenager. Father died when Hunter was 14 and he took it hard. He started drinking a lot and destroyed a lot of property.

He wrote and published the book “Hell’s Angels” and later on they demanded a portion of the profits and when Hunter refused it they to beat him to a pulp. He also wrote articles for Rolling Stone.

Although Hunter was an author and his use of drugs during his adventures were legendary. He became one of the classics of the 20th Century literature. His lifetime of his abuse of drugs and alcohol took a large toll on Hunter. He had a broken leg, two hip surgeries, and lived with chronic pain. He just couldn’t keep going like this so he chose to end his life by his own doings with one of his favorite possessions, a Smith and Wesson 45. This DVD set explains how Hunter planned the last day of his life.

He invited his family for a get together at his home in Colorado but little did they know this was his way of telling them all good bye. He called his son in and gave him some of his favorite and precious possessions even though his son was surprised to get them. He even told his father he didn’t have to give him these things.

You will learn about the events as they led to the final minutes before his death. At the age of 67 on February 20th, 2005, while on the phone with his wife, Hunter S. Thompson sat at his desk and took his 45 and shot himself in the head leaving her to hear the gun shot and not knowing what had just happened to her husband.

The DVD Hunter S. Thompson – His Final Hours – Final 24 does a spectacular job of explaining what this man went through in his lifetime with the running time on the DVD being 60 minutes.. It shows how the drugs and alcohol controlled this man most of this life. If you would like to buy your own copy of this DVD you can click on the Amazon link above.

Jan Barrett

River Phoenix under the name of River Jude Bottom was born on August 23, 1970 in Metolius, Oregon, who later in his short years became someone considered to be Hollywood’s Golden Boy.

His career started out in 1980 when along with his sister, Rain, he made his first appearance on a TV show called “Fantasy”. He was cast in a short lived TV series called “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” in 1982. Once he landed a part in Rob Reiner’s film “Stand by Me” in 1986 he became a teen idol.

By the age 17 River was making $1,000,000 after only a few of the movies he was in which he used to support his mother and father along with his 4 sisters and brothers. His movies basically dominated his while life but was determined to take care of his family although it added a tremendous amount of stress on him.

In 1987 his family moved to Gainesville, Ga. and it was then when he developed the love for music. River would turn to his music as a way to help relieve some of the pressure he was under and unfortunately he also turned to drugs as well. He formed himself a band and his wish was to be known for his music. He took it very seriously and didn’t want it to be labeled as the music of a Hollywood star.

River Phoenix was in the middle of filming his last movie, “Dark Blood” which was being filmed in the deserts of Utah. He looked forward to working with his co-star Judy Davis who he admired a great deal but only to find that she was making his life miserable since she was very hard to work with. He returned to LA to complete the final three weeks of shooting.

On the evening of October 30th, 1993 River was to perform with his friend, Michael “Flea” Balzary onstage at the club Viper Room, owned by Johnny Depp. His younger sister, Rain and brother Joaquin flew into town to join River at his hotel. His girlfriend, Samantha Mathis had come also to watch him perform. Unfortunately though River got very disappointed when he learned he was not going to be performing on the stage that night. None of his friends had any clue of the stress he was under, they had no idea of any problems he had either. They were all there to get wild and party.

River was partying along with the others at the Viper Room. He was drinking and he was also snorting drugs. He somehow took a massive speed ball of heroine and cocaine mixed together in a powder form which caused him to get ill very quickly. He was running to the bathroom, vomiting but no one knew how badly the drugs had affected him. His body had gone into shock with seizures. An ambulance was called and with his friend insisting on riding with him to the hospital. River’s body quit on him on his way to the hospital and he was pronounced dead 1:51 am on October 31, 1993.

Dan Anderson, a toxicologist said that River’s body had a significant amount of heroine and cocaine that was astronomical. He said the amount was 8 times more than what they would consider to be lethal.

This DVD set, River Phoenix – His Final Hours takes you back to some of his childhood to help us understand what his life was as a child was like that could have been some of the reasons he led his life as an adult as he did. It is an interesting follow up of his life and then of the Final 24.

It is so sad. He was only 23 years old with his whole life ahead of him. Drugs are a part of so many people’s lives these days, young and old. If only something could be done to save those that get addicted to it so they won’t end up like River Phoenix. River’s Father did his best to try and talk River into taking some time off and rest before starting to film the movie, “Dark Blood” but failed. As a parent I can only imagine how he feels now. My heart goes out to them.

To get your copy of this DVD, River Phoenix – His Final Hours – Final 24 click on the Amazon link above.

Jan Barrett

In my earlier years I was a huge fan of Motown Music. There weren’t too many that were part of the Motown group that I didn’t like. Marvin Gaye was a part of Motown. He was considered the Prince of Motown and yes I was a fan of his music. Some of his biggest hits includes “You’re a Wonderful One”, “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”, and “What’s Going On?”

Although he was a huge success in his music career Marvin found himself in the drug world and became addicted to cocaine, which caused a lot of problems in his life and career.

Marvin and his mother were really close and apparently his father was very jealous of their relationship. As a child his father was very strict on the kids. Marvin suffered from routine whippings since he was the age of 7. He had a hard time accepting the fact that his father, who was a preacher, was a cross dresser. This tormented Marvin throughout his childhood. He didn’t understand it. He started turning to his love for his music as a salvation and eventually his voice was his ticket to get out of his father’s home. His father wasn’t so happy with that but his mother always supported his choice.

In 1967 Marvin and Tammy Terrell became a singing duo when they recorded “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and they quickly rose to the top five hit ballad with “Your Precious Love” Although there were rumors that Gaye and Terrell were romantically involved this simply was not true. They did indeed love each other but what they had together was more of a brother-sister relationship. They grew very close to one another.

When Terrell became ill and it caused her to have to cease her recordings it put Marvin into a depression. He even attempted to commit suicide but fortunately was stopped by Berry Gordy’s father. On March 16, 1970, Terrell died of a brain tumor which had Marvin so emotional that at her funeral he talked to he as though he expected her to respond back. After her death Marvin swore he would no longer record duets with any other female performer nor was he ever going to perform on stage again because Terrell’s collapse had spooked him.

Five years before his death Marvin Gaye went into hiding in Hawaii where he lived inside a Van. He was running from the tax man. During this time he was at war with his wife, Janis Hunter, and the tax man.

Gaye was a no-show for a concert in Great Britain which left Princess Margaret waiting for hours at the Royal Gala Charity Show. He did eventually show up though but unfortunately not until the audience was leaving. After this he went to Belgium and was hiding out there once again. While in Belgium he started using the drugs less and was beginning to get back in shape both physically and emotionally.

After a U.S tour in March 1984 he was worried that someone was going to kill him. He went into isolation once again but this time he went to his parent’s home. Gaye had threatened to commit suicide several time after some bitter arguments with his father.

On April 1, 1984, his father had been drinking and got angry when he couldn’t find some document papers and after Marvin had a lot of unpaid taxes and two divorces he lost all of his properties and since Marvin had purchased his parent’s home for them, his father was worried that they would lose their home as well. As he raised his voice to Marvin’s mother, Marvin stepped in to defend her. Apparently Marvin stood up to his father and ended up physically fighting with him which was the first time Marvin ever struck his father. His father walked out the room humiliated but only to return with a gun in his hand. He stood there and aimed at Marvin shooting him twice, once in the shoulder and the other in his chest Leaving Marvin’s mother screaming, the man turned around and went into his bedroom. They called 911 but the paramedics refused to come into the house until they confiscated the gun used. Marvin’s sister in law found the gun under his father’s pillow. Marvin’s brother was holding him in his arms when the paramedics came in.

He died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital which was at 1:01 pm on April 1, 1984. Marvin’s 45th birthday would have been the very next day. Marvin Gaye Sr. plead guilty to volunteer manslaughter and was given a 5 year suspended sentence. He was originally charged with first degree murder which was dropped once it was revealed that Marvin Sr had been beaten by his son before he killed him. Even though the doctors had found that Marvin Sr had a brain tumor they still declared him fit to stand trial. . He spent time in a retirement home where he died of pneumonia in 1998.

This video was very interesting to me. As I said before I was a fan of Marvin Gaye’s but I honestly didn’t know most of this part of his life. I think everyone that watches it would find it as interesting as I did. This DVD will hit the streets on August 24, 2010 but to get your copy of Marvin Gaye – Final 24: His Final Hours to pre-order it. Just click on the Amazon icon above.

Jan Barrett