Category: Movie DVDs (Page 64 of 100)

Diva

June 29, 2008 /

This very Parisian suspense comedy-drama was a sensation on the American art house scene during the early 1980s and helped launch a wave of more stylish, genre-oriented, French directors, action-meister Luc Besson included. (It also earned its own palindrome: “Avid was I, ere I saw Diva.”) It’s still fun, and very sexy in a demure, PG-13 way, if also kind of silly and lackadaisical.

Based on a novel by the pseudonymous Delacorta, writer-director Jean-Jacque Beiniex’s feature debut tells the story of a twentyish, scooter-driving postman (Frédéric Andréi) obsessed with a beautiful African-American opera singer (real opera star Wilhelmina Wiggins Fernandez) who, for artistic and philosophical reasons, refuses to allow herself to be recorded. The young man sneaks a high-end recorder into a performance and, after meeting his idol, steals her dress. He soon finds himself pursued by Asian audio pirates, but also by local assassins seeking an incriminating cassette. At the same time, he pursues a light flirtation/friendship with a larcenous Vietnamese teen orphan (Thuy An Luu) – and, shyly, but a lot more earnestly, romances the diva. He’s definitely one lucky celebrity stalker. Among other bits of good fortune, his less famous, underage gal-pal is under the possibly fatherly, possibly not-so fatherly, protection of a mysterious former Special Forces type (Richard Bohringer), who proves to be helpful in his tight spot.

“Diva” is really not about story but primarily about style, music (lots of opera, so be warned), and only then about its characters. While it doesn’t impress me today the way it did when I was the same age as its young postman, it’s still a nifty bauble with one really great foot/scooter chase through the Paris metro and lots of beauty — though buyers should be aware that the Lionsgate/Meridian Collection DVD has taken some hits for its technical quality. The print could probably be better.

Click to buy “Diva”

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Finishing the Game

June 26, 2008 /

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”

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Holy Blu-Ray, Batman!

June 25, 2008 /

There are some movies that beg to be viewed in glorious high definition, but “Batman: The Movie” isn’t one of them. It isn’t for lack of trying, however. The special edition Blu-ray release of the 1966 cult classic looks amazing when compared to its DVD counterpart, and it even includes an exclusive extra that tracks the film’s location shooting via an onscreen map. As some people may have noticed with Paramount’s recent release of “Face/Off,” however, HD video transfer isn’t always a good thing. Fishing line can be spotted during Batman’s early run-in with the shark, and Cesar Romero’s under-the-makeup mustache is more evident than ever.

Of course, that only makes watching “Batman: The Movie” even more fun, and so in honor of its grand debut on Blu-ray, here’s a look back at some of the film’s more ridiculous moments. And when you’re done, head on over to Bullz-Eye.com for your chance to win your own copy!

Commissioner Gordon: It could be any one of them. But which one? Which ones?
Batman: Pretty fishy what happened to me on that ladder…
Commissioner Gordon: You mean where there’s a fish there could be a Penguin?
Robin: But wait! It happened at sea… Sea. C for Catwoman!
Batman: That exploding shark was pulling my leg…
Commissioner Gordon: The Joker!
Chief O’Hara: All adds up to a sinister riddle… Riddle-r. Riddler!
Commissioner Gordon: A thought strikes me… So dreadful I scarcely dare give it utterance…
Batman: The four of them… Their forces combined…
Robin: Holy nightmare!

Robin: That crazy missile! It wrote two more riddles before it blew up!
Batman: What goes up white and comes down yellow and white?
Robin: An egg!
Batman: How do you divide seventeen apples among sixteen people?”
Robin: Make apple sauce!
Batman: Apples into applesauce… A unification into one smooth mixture. An egg… Nature’s perfect container. The container of all our hopes for the future.
Robin: A unification and a container of hope? United World Organization!
Batman: Precisely, Robin! And there’s a special meeting of the Security Council today. If what I fear is true…
Robin: Wow! Let’s commandeer a taxi!
Batman: No, Robin. Not at this time of day. Luckily, we’re in tip-top condition. It’ll be faster if we run. Let’s go!

Batman: Listen to these riddles. Tell me if you interrupt them as I do. One: What has yellow skin and writes?
Robin: A ballpoint banana!
Batman: Right. Two: What people are always in a hurry?
Robin: Rushing people… Russians!
Batman: Right again. Now what would you say that means?
Robin: Banana… Russian? I’ve got it. Someone Russian is going to slip on a banana and break their neck!
Batman: Precisely, Robin! The only possible meaning.

Batman: Look at this pair of joking riddles.
Chief O’Hara: What does a turkey do when he flies upside down?
Robin: He gobbles up!
Chief O’Hara: Of course.
Batman: And number two…
Commissioner Gordon: What weighs six ounces, sits in a tree, and is very dangerous?
Robin: A sparrow with a machine gun!
Commissioner Gordon: Yes, of course.

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The Red Violin

June 22, 2008 /



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”

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Come Drink With Me

June 20, 2008 /

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

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