Category: Movie DVD Quicktakes (Page 37 of 41)

Finishing the Game

June 26, 2008 / Jason Zingale

Fans of Bruce Lee might find a movie like “Finishing the Game” a little insulting, but considering the circumstances, it’s hard to imagine the real-life events occurred that much differently. After the shocking death of the martial arts star left his final project (“Game of Death”) unfinished, Hollywood producers set out on a worldwide search to find his replacement. Shot in the style of a mockumentary, “Finishing the Game” tells the behind-the-scenes story of five such candidates: Breeze Loo (Roger Fan), a successful B-movie action star; Cole Kim (Sung Kang), an aspiring actor managed by his girlfriend; Troy Poon (Dustin Nguyen), former star of the hit show “Golden Gate Guns”; Tarrick Tyler (McCaleb Burnett), a half-Caucasian, half-Asian equal rights activist; and Raja (Mousa Kraish), a doctor-turned-stunt double.

Though the laughs don’t come quite as frequent as you’d imagine a concept like this would serve up, “Finishing the Game” is an entertaining addition to director Justin Lin’s eclectic résumé. The reason it works as well as it does is because Lin has compiled a talented cast of Asian-American actors (most of which he’s worked with before) that are all on the same page. Sung Kang, specifically, delivers some of the film’s best moments (despite being given one of the weaker roles), while Dustin Nguyen’s parody of himself is worthy of a few giggles. Cameos by Leonard Nam (as the director’s dream replacement for Lee) and James Franco (as Nguyen’s suicidal co-star) are welcome surprises, while Roger Fan’s performance as the flashy and overconfident Breeze Loo (a melting pot of all those Bruce Lee knockoffs from the late 70s) steals the show.

Click to buy “Finishing the Game”

External Movie DVDs, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs, Reviews

The Delirious Fictions of William Klein

June 24, 2008 / Jason Thompson

The best reason to pick up this “Eclipse Series 9” from Criterion is the inclusion of the great “Who Are You Polly Magoo?” Made in 1966, the film is a wonderful satire of the silliness of the fashion and modeling industry – well before it was fashionable itself to make fun of such things. In the other two films included here, “Mr. Freedom” and “The Model Couple,” director Klein continues to point his satirical lens on such things as American imperialist ideals and the humdrum drudgery of middle-class life and its societal trappings. The two films aren’t always as bracingly hilarious as “Polly Magoo,” but no one can deny that it’s a treat to have all three of these works finally available on DVD. For those who aren’t familiar with Klein’s work, this is definitely a great – and affordable – place to start. And not to worry about these being uppity arthouse flicks; Klein’s work can be enjoyed easily by all who care to experience them.

Click to buy “The Delirious Fictions of William Klein”

Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movie DVD Quicktakes

The Red Violin

June 22, 2008 / Bob Westal

Samuel L. Jackson might be the top-billed actor in this award-winning, Oscar-nominated arthouse flick from 1998, but you’ll be sorely disappointed if you’re expecting him to point an AK at some poor schmo’s head and bellow words to the effect of “All I want from you, motherf**ker, is to give me the motherf**king red violin!” This isn’t that kind of a movie. Crafted with care by the team responsible for the musically inspired 1994 indie hit, “32 Short Films About Glenn Gould,” this Canadian production is filmed in five languages and follows the career of a very special instrument, starting with its creation in 17th century Italy, to Vienna at the height of the classical period, and then to England and the hands of a sex-crazed rock star of a romantic era composer (Jason Flemyng) and his entranced lover (Greta Scacchi). It then moves on to mid-20th century China during the Cultural Revolution, and finally to contemporary Montreal, where a high-end auction house retains an American expert (Jackson, uttering nary a curse word), who finds himself in possession of the perfectly crafted and now legendary instrument.

Each of the tales is visually sumptuous, engagingly melodramatic, extremely well-acted, and not too much more, though a story about a sickly Viennese child prodigy and his conflicted mentor threatens to become poignant. By the time the final tale of possible musical skulduggery is complete, the point is either ridiculously self-evident (“beautiful music and fine workmanship are very powerful and make people do things they otherwise might not”) or something so high-flown I couldn’t quite grasp it. Writer-director Francois Girard and cowriter Don McKeller, who also plays Jackson’s geeky cohort, are a highly talented team, but in this case their work says less about music or the joy and power of craft, than it does about a certain kind of safely entertaining style of tony film-making.

Click to buy “The Red Violin”

Actors, Actresses, External Movie DVDs, Movie Dramas, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs, Movies, Reviews

Come Drink With Me

June 20, 2008 / Bob Westal

The most popular and influential film from the most revered figure in early Hong Kong martial arts cinema, King Hu, there’s no doubting the influence of “Come Drink With Me.” In particular, fans of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” are in for some major déjà vu. This fanciful, occasionally brutal, 1966 Shaw Brothers film stars Chang Pei-Pei (34 years later, the villainous Jade Fox from “Crouching Tiger”) as Golden Swallow, a virtuous super-warrior sent to rescue her brother, who is being held hostage by a vicious gang. Along the way, she meets up with a good-natured drunk (Yueh Hua) who turns out to have several hidden talents.

There is no doubting Hu’s way with imagery and the acting is first rate, but his film nevertheless requires an open mind to appreciate. The relatively crude and choppy fight scenes might disappoint viewers used to the fluid wire-work of later wu xia extravaganzas. Also, some might not appreciate a three-song musical comedy interlude in the middle of the film, though it’s as well pulled off as any scene from a classic Hollywood musical. Finally, the otherwise solid, extras-laden Dragon Dynasty DVD is hobbled by a miserable translation. Unintentional humor caused by poorly written subtitles can be part of the fun of watching old Hong Kong films, but here they make the simple story unnecessarily hard to follow. (An English language soundtrack is less confusing, but, as usual, horribly acted.) “Come Drink with Me” really might be as great a film as its most enthusiastic boosters claim, but until a better translation comes along, it’s kind of hard for a non-Mandarin-speaker to be sure.

Click to buy “Come Drink With Me”

Action Movies, Actors, Actresses, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs, Movies, Reviews

Witless Protection

June 16, 2008 / Jason Zingale

Larry the Cable Guy may have his legion of fans, but even they must’ve realized by now that the blue-collar comic just isn’t cut out to be a movie star. In his latest film, Larry plays a small-town sheriff who rescues a damsel in distress (Ivana Milicevic) from a group of supposed kidnappers. As it turns out, they’re actually FBI agents escorting the woman to Chicago as the lead witness of a corporate scandal, but when it’s uncovered that they’re also in cahoots with the company’s criminal boss (Peter Stormare), Larry takes it upon himself to protect his hostage from further danger. As you can probably imagine, “Witless Protection” is one of the worst movies you’ll see all year. The film isn’t just plain bad, either – it’s the most overacted, under-directed film in cinematic history. Larry acts like a class-A dumbass every chance he gets, while B-list co-stars like Stormare, Joe Mantegna and Eric Roberts should be shot dead for stooping so low. It’s one thing to appear in a movie like this when you don’t know any better, but veteran actors like them should show a little more integrity when earning their next paycheck.

Click to buy “Witless Protection”