Casa Negra Gone
Rumors of the demise of CasaNegra (a DVD label specializing in Mexican Horror) are apparently false. On page 2 a link will fill you in on the good news. Granted, you have to go through nearly 2 pages of "nearly" bad news.
http://www.flkcinema.com/Forum.asp
The Place to Chat about Rare Kung Fu and More!
HK FLIX Latest Additions
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
EXILED - New Johnnie To Film
“One of the most accomplished, elegant, and exciting films of the year”
- The New York Times
From famed Hong Kong action director Johnnie To, Magnolia Pictures is excited to present EXILED in theaters starting August 31st.
The time is 1998. Every living soul jumps at every chance to make quick money before the Portuguese colony ushers in a new era under the Chinese rule. For the jaded hit men, they wonder where this journey will end. Against this background of fin-de-siècle malaise come two hit men from Hong Kong sent to take out a renegade member trying to turn over a new leaf with his wife and newborn baby. They soon find themselves in the throes of a dilemma when two of their former associates also show up, intent on thwarting them at every cost.
For the first time since The Mission in 1999, Anthony Wong (Infernal Affairs) and Francis Ng (Infernal Affairs 2) once again team up with Johnnie To and his regulars Roy Cheung (Infernal Affairs 2), Lam Suet (PTU), and Simon Yam (Election) in another action-packed ensemble piece, Exiled. Joining this virile cast are Richie Jen and Nick Cheung, both of whom worked previously with Johnnie To in Breaking News, as well as new collaborator Josie Ho (Butterfly).
Trailer
"My name is Jian Bauer, and today is the longest day of my life."
- The New York Times
From famed Hong Kong action director Johnnie To, Magnolia Pictures is excited to present EXILED in theaters starting August 31st.
The time is 1998. Every living soul jumps at every chance to make quick money before the Portuguese colony ushers in a new era under the Chinese rule. For the jaded hit men, they wonder where this journey will end. Against this background of fin-de-siècle malaise come two hit men from Hong Kong sent to take out a renegade member trying to turn over a new leaf with his wife and newborn baby. They soon find themselves in the throes of a dilemma when two of their former associates also show up, intent on thwarting them at every cost.
For the first time since The Mission in 1999, Anthony Wong (Infernal Affairs) and Francis Ng (Infernal Affairs 2) once again team up with Johnnie To and his regulars Roy Cheung (Infernal Affairs 2), Lam Suet (PTU), and Simon Yam (Election) in another action-packed ensemble piece, Exiled. Joining this virile cast are Richie Jen and Nick Cheung, both of whom worked previously with Johnnie To in Breaking News, as well as new collaborator Josie Ho (Butterfly).
Trailer
"My name is Jian Bauer, and today is the longest day of my life."
Bruce Lee
I just found out that there are not one, but two Bruce Lees working at my company. Both are white guys. Wa-waaaaah....
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Things to Come: Appearing Soon on DVD!
A fun little preview of some upcoming DVDs. More to follow. Let this help make you purchasing decisions even easier!
The Giant Claw as part Sony's upcoming Icons of Horror Sam Katzman boxset that is coming out on October 16th.
The Deadly Mantis and The Land Unknown are part of The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection Volume 2 arriving on September 11th exclusively at Best Buy.
The Giant Claw as part Sony's upcoming Icons of Horror Sam Katzman boxset that is coming out on October 16th.
The Deadly Mantis and The Land Unknown are part of The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection Volume 2 arriving on September 11th exclusively at Best Buy.
Monday, August 27, 2007
CONTEST FOR FREE DVD OF THE FILM CREW: HOLLYWOOD AFTER DARK
We've got an extra copy of THE FILM CREW: HOLLYWOOD AFTER DARK to give away, so we thought we'd whip together a little contest. Just send any one of your favorite MST3K riffs and the episode it's from to this address, and we'll pick the winner (i.e. the one that makes us laugh most). You can hold off on sending your mailing address until it's necessary. The deadline to enter the contest is September 5th 11:59 PM PDT.
Specs for THE FILM CREW: "Killers from Space" and "Wild Women of Wongo"
Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett—three of the brilliantly insane minds behind Mystery Science Theater 3000—finally reunite to unleash their warped sense of humor on the cinema of yesteryear as The Film Crew. Charged with the task of giving all movies their own commentary, the Film Crew valiantly steps forward to tackle the best of the worst, continuing with Killers From Space and Wild Women Of Wongo.
Killers from Space (available now) stars Peter Graves (Airplane, Mission Impossible) as a nuclear scientist abducted by aliens to facilitate their invasion of earth. This cult classic features such ’50s-era sci-fi favorites as A-bombs, genetically mutated super-sized creepers, and aliens with bugged-out eyes (suspiciously resembling halved ping pong balls). Includes “Did You Know…?” featurette and outtakes.
Watch the trailer
Click here to buy Film Crew: Killers from Space
Wild Women of Wongo (available Sept. 11) tells the story of a cruel experiment by Mother Nature and Father Time. The beautiful women of the lush, tropical island of Wongo are led to believe the only men who exist are the horribly ugly, ape-like creatures that live on the other side of the island. That is, until they set eyes on the handsome prince from a neighboring island, where all of the men are equally gorgeous! Meanwhile, the beastly men of Wongo, on their way to select their mates, are unhappy about the island’s recent arrival. Includes limited edition bumper sticker and two extras, “Make the Film Crew Dance!” and “The Film Crew says ‘Goodbye’ Wongo-Style.”
Watch the trailer
Click here to buy Film Crew: Wild Women of Wongo
Killers from Space (available now) stars Peter Graves (Airplane, Mission Impossible) as a nuclear scientist abducted by aliens to facilitate their invasion of earth. This cult classic features such ’50s-era sci-fi favorites as A-bombs, genetically mutated super-sized creepers, and aliens with bugged-out eyes (suspiciously resembling halved ping pong balls). Includes “Did You Know…?” featurette and outtakes.
Watch the trailer
Click here to buy Film Crew: Killers from Space
Wild Women of Wongo (available Sept. 11) tells the story of a cruel experiment by Mother Nature and Father Time. The beautiful women of the lush, tropical island of Wongo are led to believe the only men who exist are the horribly ugly, ape-like creatures that live on the other side of the island. That is, until they set eyes on the handsome prince from a neighboring island, where all of the men are equally gorgeous! Meanwhile, the beastly men of Wongo, on their way to select their mates, are unhappy about the island’s recent arrival. Includes limited edition bumper sticker and two extras, “Make the Film Crew Dance!” and “The Film Crew says ‘Goodbye’ Wongo-Style.”
Watch the trailer
Click here to buy Film Crew: Wild Women of Wongo
Alien vs Predator Requim actually looks good!
Hey, I'm surprised as anyone else. It has enough violence to put it up therw with Commando!
Puroresu News Digest 8-27-07
Puroresu News Digest~
New Japan…
…bid farewell to CTU, one of their most popular factions of recent years, on the 26th at Korakuen Hall. Important happenings – Hirooki Goto made his official return to New Japan, in the battle of the Italy Brothers Minoru beat Milano Collection AT by ref stop in what was said to be an excellent match, and finally Gedo & Jado beat Jushin Thunder Lyger and AKIRA in the main after GBH interfered.
Coming out of the show CTU members have found new homes, Gedo & Jado join Togi Makabe and co. in GBH; Lyger has aligned himself with the rest of the old guard - Masahiro Chono, Riki Choshu, Shiro Koshinaka and Super Strong Machine; and Minoru, Milano, Prince Devitt and Hirooki Goto have joined forces with Shinsuke Nakamura to form a new, as yet unnamed group.
After beating him in last weeks G1 Climax final, Hiroshi Tanahashi was announced as Yuji Nagata’s next challenger. Tanahashi will challenge for the IWGP heavyweight title on October 8th at the Ryogoku Kokugikan (Sumo Hall). On the subject of the G1, attendances for the tour were way up from 2006, particularly in Osaka and Tokyo.
…held their biggest show of the year last Sunday, PRO-WRESTLING LOVE in RYOGOKU vol.3 at -yes- the 11,500 seat Ryogoku Kokugikan. Main saw Kensuke Sasaki pin Minoru Suzuki after 8 successive lariats to become new Triple Crown champ. Match went 42 minutes, which sounds a little scary. Other big results – wunderkind Katsuhiko Nakajima beat Chris Sabin to retain his AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title in what was said to be the match of the night; and super-heels Satoshi Kojima and TARU became AJPW World Tag Team champions after defeating Toshiaki Kawada and Taiyo Kea. The reported attendance is 8,200, so the actual number is probably around 6,000 – either All Japans biggest attendance this year if you’re a glass-half-full kinda person, or a half-house if you’re a bit more pessimistic.
NOAH…
…announced that Takeshi Rikio will be out until (at least) mid-September, due to a cervical vertebrae injury. This obviously scuppers his chances at winning NOAHs rather ho-hum #1 Contenders tourney for Mitsuharu Misawa’s GHC Heavyweight title. It may also mean that Rikio and Jun Akiyama have to forfeit their GHC Heavyweight Tag titles.
In other news…
‘Black Angel’ Jaki Numazawa became Big Japan’s new Death Match Heavyweight Champion last Sunday, beating Takashi Sasaki in 19 minutes with a low altitude lariat in front of a sell-out crowd at Differ Ariake.
Reawakening memories of his truly diabolical Super Famicom game, former FMW star turned disgraced politician Atsushi Onita unveiled his new game for the Nintendo DS – Atsushi Onita’s Political Quiz.
Yinling became a proud mother during HUSTLE’s show on the 18th of this, when her giant egg hatched, revealing this monstrosity. Monster Bono is, of course, the result of Great MUTA spraying Yinling’s nether-regions with his ‘special’ mist.
Less than two weeks away, an 11,000 capacity Nagoya Rainbow Hall to fill, and no matches announced – it could only be Antonio Inoki’s latest bright idea. The Chin did announce some more names for his September 8th IGF show, basically most of the undercard from his first show, including Naoya Ogawa. Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar’s names were conspicuous by their absence.
The Wonderful Random Things I Record Off TV!
A new feature with notes on interesting versions or films themself that appear on various channels (such as MonstersHD, Kung Fu HD, TCM).
Gappa
I started recording it this morning on MonstersHD before I left for class. At the beginning (before the movie starts). A text appears claiming the film was sourced from a 35mm print and mastered in 1080i! Its the Japanese print (credits and all), but with the English dubbing applied on top of it (no Gappa song). Really nice looking print (clean audio and great vivid colors). Must have come straight from Nikkatsu (or whoever controls their catalog).
Gappa
I started recording it this morning on MonstersHD before I left for class. At the beginning (before the movie starts). A text appears claiming the film was sourced from a 35mm print and mastered in 1080i! Its the Japanese print (credits and all), but with the English dubbing applied on top of it (no Gappa song). Really nice looking print (clean audio and great vivid colors). Must have come straight from Nikkatsu (or whoever controls their catalog).
Chicago Massacre: Richard Speck DVD Review
(Editors Note: Written a Couple of Weeks Ago)
Earlier today after blowing about $362.27 on Toho’s GODZILLA: DEATH BATTLE CHRONICLES 8 LaserDisc boxset, I figured I could spend even more money and drove down to Best Buy to pick up LionsGate’s release of THE MONSTER SQUAD, a film I hadn’t seen in over 15 years. After spending some time looking for the film due to the misleading photoshopped boxart, I quickly paid the $14 and headed out to my car. As I was going around the corner of the store where I usually park by the Geeksquad’s headquarters, a suspicious man came up to me rambling about how he needed my help.
According to his story, his wife was giving birth in the Target parking lot, he was bitten by numerous brown-recluse spiders (and even pulled up his shirt to show me the puss filled sores), wasn’t on any anti-biodics, and assured me at least four times he wasn’t on any drugs. He continued to rant about how nobody helps others in today’s world, had only $2 on him, bla bla bla. Being the kind-hearted person I am, I led the piece of trailer park trash into an unsuspecting Best Buy and let others deal with his problem.
Driving home I realized I had watched a film a few weeks earlier with a crazy fuck just like that in the film. It was another Lionsgate release called CHICAGO MASSACRE: RICHARD SPECK, a disc Ian has been telling me for over a month to get off my ass and review. I’ll be quick, because the movie is a total waste of time, unless you are into those torture-gore films that are popular today.
The film itself is nothing original, mostly a cross between a CSI episode and a slasher film. Corin Nemec as serial killer Richard Speck and Tony Todd as the Angry Black Man bring this direct to video affair up a notch, but Debbie Rochon as the prostitute (what a shock) ruins the rest of the film the minute she opens her mouth halfway through the picture. The production values are nice and the film’s muted colors that have been popular in recent horror films since THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE remake are visually pleasing.
Unfortunately, the film’s biggest letdown is one of the reasons people really pay to watch these types of films for: the rapes. Sure, there is plenty of red syrup sprayed across the screen, but nary a single nipple! After raping nine women, you would think they could have added some nudity to the whole affair. In fact, there isn’t a single bare boob in the entire film unless you count Corin Nemec’s breast implants at the end! Fans of this genre are going to wish the filmmakers could have had some balls and made every rape count instead of this G-rated nonsense. Each nurse should have gotten a DEATH WISH 2 style rape and beating. Instead, they gave us a forgettable 90 minute true crime drama which shouldn’t have even been made in the first place and not worthy of the “disturbing sadistic violence including rape, terror, sexuality, language and some drug content” on the back of the box.
The audio and video quality are the DVD are what you would expect from a new movie coming from a major label with only some compression artifacts that do the jitterbug across the image. The disc has trailers for other torture-gore films like MURDER-SET-PIECES, CURSE OF THE ZODIAC, BTK KILLER, BLACK DAHLIA and ED GEIN, but none for the film itself. A few deleted scenes not worth mentioning, lame still gallery and audio commentary by the director Michael Feifer and actor Corin Nemec round out the disc’s special features. I honestly didn’t even listen to the audio commentary. Instead I watched all of the special features on LionsGate’s excellent MONSTER SQUAD disc in one sitting. I guarantee 20 years from now there won’t be a 2-disc special edition for this film. Why couldn’t LionsGate have given a screener of THE MONSTER SQUAD to review?
I should have given that nutcase I ran into this DVD and see if he could get any bright ideas from it.
PICTURES (NSFV):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v454/Baradagi/cap013.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v454/Baradagi/cap012.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v454/Baradagi/cap014.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v454/Baradagi/cap011.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v454/Baradagi/cap010-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v454/Baradagi/cap008-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v454/Baradagi/cap007-1.jpg
Earlier today after blowing about $362.27 on Toho’s GODZILLA: DEATH BATTLE CHRONICLES 8 LaserDisc boxset, I figured I could spend even more money and drove down to Best Buy to pick up LionsGate’s release of THE MONSTER SQUAD, a film I hadn’t seen in over 15 years. After spending some time looking for the film due to the misleading photoshopped boxart, I quickly paid the $14 and headed out to my car. As I was going around the corner of the store where I usually park by the Geeksquad’s headquarters, a suspicious man came up to me rambling about how he needed my help.
According to his story, his wife was giving birth in the Target parking lot, he was bitten by numerous brown-recluse spiders (and even pulled up his shirt to show me the puss filled sores), wasn’t on any anti-biodics, and assured me at least four times he wasn’t on any drugs. He continued to rant about how nobody helps others in today’s world, had only $2 on him, bla bla bla. Being the kind-hearted person I am, I led the piece of trailer park trash into an unsuspecting Best Buy and let others deal with his problem.
Driving home I realized I had watched a film a few weeks earlier with a crazy fuck just like that in the film. It was another Lionsgate release called CHICAGO MASSACRE: RICHARD SPECK, a disc Ian has been telling me for over a month to get off my ass and review. I’ll be quick, because the movie is a total waste of time, unless you are into those torture-gore films that are popular today.
The film itself is nothing original, mostly a cross between a CSI episode and a slasher film. Corin Nemec as serial killer Richard Speck and Tony Todd as the Angry Black Man bring this direct to video affair up a notch, but Debbie Rochon as the prostitute (what a shock) ruins the rest of the film the minute she opens her mouth halfway through the picture. The production values are nice and the film’s muted colors that have been popular in recent horror films since THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE remake are visually pleasing.
Unfortunately, the film’s biggest letdown is one of the reasons people really pay to watch these types of films for: the rapes. Sure, there is plenty of red syrup sprayed across the screen, but nary a single nipple! After raping nine women, you would think they could have added some nudity to the whole affair. In fact, there isn’t a single bare boob in the entire film unless you count Corin Nemec’s breast implants at the end! Fans of this genre are going to wish the filmmakers could have had some balls and made every rape count instead of this G-rated nonsense. Each nurse should have gotten a DEATH WISH 2 style rape and beating. Instead, they gave us a forgettable 90 minute true crime drama which shouldn’t have even been made in the first place and not worthy of the “disturbing sadistic violence including rape, terror, sexuality, language and some drug content” on the back of the box.
The audio and video quality are the DVD are what you would expect from a new movie coming from a major label with only some compression artifacts that do the jitterbug across the image. The disc has trailers for other torture-gore films like MURDER-SET-PIECES, CURSE OF THE ZODIAC, BTK KILLER, BLACK DAHLIA and ED GEIN, but none for the film itself. A few deleted scenes not worth mentioning, lame still gallery and audio commentary by the director Michael Feifer and actor Corin Nemec round out the disc’s special features. I honestly didn’t even listen to the audio commentary. Instead I watched all of the special features on LionsGate’s excellent MONSTER SQUAD disc in one sitting. I guarantee 20 years from now there won’t be a 2-disc special edition for this film. Why couldn’t LionsGate have given a screener of THE MONSTER SQUAD to review?
I should have given that nutcase I ran into this DVD and see if he could get any bright ideas from it.
PICTURES (NSFV):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v454/Baradagi/cap013.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v454/Baradagi/cap012.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v454/Baradagi/cap014.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v454/Baradagi/cap011.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v454/Baradagi/cap010-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v454/Baradagi/cap008-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v454/Baradagi/cap007-1.jpg
We're back!
We start today with some pictures later today from the Lo Meng Expo in Philly this weekend. We also will have Crime Story screencaps today. Expect a return to regular daily updates from now on!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
So I was at PAX yesterday...
So I was at the Penny Arcade Expo (video game convention) yesterday, and I just wanted to say the following:
I have never seen so many pasty-ass white motherfuckers dressed in so much black in my life. Shit was scary. Ain't no love in the heart of the city.
I have never seen so many pasty-ass white motherfuckers dressed in so much black in my life. Shit was scary. Ain't no love in the heart of the city.
Friday, August 24, 2007
I'm Unpacked Too!
I have just started work here in Seattle and am pretty much settled in. Now I should be better able to post new movie reviews.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
All Unpacked!
Sorry for the lack of activity, but I've been moving recently and starting up law school at Seton Hall. However, everything is now back to normal. We have some great things coming up:
1. Screencaps and review for Dragon Dynasty's Crime Story.
2. Exclusive first hand coverage of the Lo Meng Philly Fest next weekend.
3. A belated review of the first film crew release: Hollywood After Dark and a contest to win a free copy.
4. A review of Dragon Dynasty's Hard Boiled DVD.
5. Coverage of the weird things that pop up on Kung Fu HD.
1. Screencaps and review for Dragon Dynasty's Crime Story.
2. Exclusive first hand coverage of the Lo Meng Philly Fest next weekend.
3. A belated review of the first film crew release: Hollywood After Dark and a contest to win a free copy.
4. A review of Dragon Dynasty's Hard Boiled DVD.
5. Coverage of the weird things that pop up on Kung Fu HD.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
The Mythical Text Ending to Peking Oprea Blues!
Source: A Kung Fu HD channel print supplied by Miramax. Sorry for the quality as I'm still waiting for my PC and thus cant transfer it yet.
Last Hurrah for Chivalry Dragon Dynasty DVD Review
Video Quality: Last Hurrah for Chivalry comes to us anamorphically enhanced for widescreen TVs and in its proper original aspect ratio. The picture quality during the first fifteen minutes does display some minor print damage. However, it disappears after a short while and is never very noticeable. Otherwise, this print sourced from a Fortune Star HD master looks great and his very rich and vibrant colors without looking oversaturated. The picture also does not suffer from any ghosting or any transfer-related issues.
Audio: The audio quality is also excellent. The mono as can be expected by Dragon Dynasty releases is actually a mono track and not a downmix. There is also a Fortune Star created 5.1 mix and English dub, which are also both fine and suffer from no distortion or other audio issues. The English dub is sadly one created recently by Fortune Star. However, this is really not something that can be blamed on Dragon Dynasty, as the previous dub was created by Media Asia when they owned the rights to the Fortune Star collection and thus was not owned by Fortune Star.
Extras: First of all, we get another excellent commentary by Bey Logan, who once again gives great facts and background stories about the film, such as its place in the box office when it first came out and its theme song by Roman Tam. Bey Logan also hosts an excellent feature about Chinese weapons showing demos of weapon use with historical information on their usage on and off-screen. The feature runs a little short of 11 minutes. Next up are some great interviews more than likely coming to us courtesy of Mike Leeder. First is an interview with villain Fung Hak-On. The interview touches on many subjects such as John Woo’s start at Golden Harvest and their friendship. This interview runs around 9 minutes long. Another interview with Lee Hoi-San is also on the disc. Lee looks really old, but is still able to give a great interview talking about working with Woo and the film. This interview runs about 11 minutes long. Finally, the original trailer and a new promotional trailer round up the extras.
Final: If you have the slightest interest in this film (and it’s a really good swordplay film), then I highly recommend that you get the brand new Dragon Dynasty Special Edition. It’s got great picture and sound quality and some really nice extras. This is a really easy film to recommend.
Audio: The audio quality is also excellent. The mono as can be expected by Dragon Dynasty releases is actually a mono track and not a downmix. There is also a Fortune Star created 5.1 mix and English dub, which are also both fine and suffer from no distortion or other audio issues. The English dub is sadly one created recently by Fortune Star. However, this is really not something that can be blamed on Dragon Dynasty, as the previous dub was created by Media Asia when they owned the rights to the Fortune Star collection and thus was not owned by Fortune Star.
Extras: First of all, we get another excellent commentary by Bey Logan, who once again gives great facts and background stories about the film, such as its place in the box office when it first came out and its theme song by Roman Tam. Bey Logan also hosts an excellent feature about Chinese weapons showing demos of weapon use with historical information on their usage on and off-screen. The feature runs a little short of 11 minutes. Next up are some great interviews more than likely coming to us courtesy of Mike Leeder. First is an interview with villain Fung Hak-On. The interview touches on many subjects such as John Woo’s start at Golden Harvest and their friendship. This interview runs around 9 minutes long. Another interview with Lee Hoi-San is also on the disc. Lee looks really old, but is still able to give a great interview talking about working with Woo and the film. This interview runs about 11 minutes long. Finally, the original trailer and a new promotional trailer round up the extras.
Final: If you have the slightest interest in this film (and it’s a really good swordplay film), then I highly recommend that you get the brand new Dragon Dynasty Special Edition. It’s got great picture and sound quality and some really nice extras. This is a really easy film to recommend.
Flashpoint with Donnie Yen doing well in Mainland China.
HONG KONG -- "Flash Point," an actioner starring Donnie Yen and helmed by Wilson Yip, has set the Chinese box office alight. Pic grossed RMB15 million ($1.98 million) in its first 3 days of release, according to its Hong Kong production and sales house Mandarin Films.
Full article at
http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/1835/
Dragon Dynasty is selling well, so says Kaiju Shakedown.
Yep, KS is back and Gardy Hendrix is running it, so its only right I quote from it :).
http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/component/option,com_myblog/show,The-future-is-now.-Mostly.-.html/Itemid,/
http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/component/option,com_myblog/show,The-future-is-now.-Mostly.-.html/Itemid,/
Here’s one I didn’t think would happen given the Weinstein’s notoriously short attention spans with Asian projects, but Dragon Dynasty is doing well. They’ve kept on their release schedule, and their releases have been solid. Although the extras sometimes waver in value and quantity the releases are usually good at the very least, and they often make it all the way up to excellent. And the most heartening thing about them is that they’re selling. Their titles move about twice as much, if not more, units than Asian titles from other companies (DD discs appear to average in the 5,000 – 9,000 range, whereas most Asian DVDs in America sell in the 2,000 – 5,000 range. Some of their discs, like KILLZONE and POLICE STORY have even come close to 20,000 units, and THE PROTECTOR did much better than that, but it was supported by a theatrical release). My only complaint is that I wish their cover designs were a little more inspirational, but otherwise this (along with THE HOST) is one of the success stories for Asian movies in the US so far in 2007. Who’d’ve thunk it?
D-Wars makes a ton of money! Yes, thats what I said.
From Variety Asia
http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/1810/1/
http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/1810/1/
SEOUL – Effects-heavy monster movie "D-War" has grossed a jaw-dropping $20.3 million in South Korea in its first five days, according to distributor Showbox.
Cume to Sunday of 2.95 million admissions just narrowly missed breaking the opening week record of 3.17 million admissions set by Showbox release "The Host" a year ago. "D-War" is currently playing on 689 screens, up from 503 on Wednesday.
Pic has set off a virtual culture war in Korea, with fervant fans waging an internet battle against critics and other viewers who panned the film. English-lingo feature about a giant snake that smashes up Los Angeles will open in the U.S. on September 14 through Freestyle Releasing under the name "Dragon Wars".
Attention is now being focused on whether mega-budgeted film will actually turn a profit. Budget is cited as $33 million, not including the procural and operation of f/x equipment and screenplay development costs which reportedly push budget to $75 million. Rumors have abounded that distributor Showbox has virtually staked its future on the film's success.
The Sam Katzman Boxset
The Sam Katzman Boxset
From Nebiroth99 at CHFB
From Tarco and Jim C from MFTV
From Nebiroth99 at CHFB
The titles are confirmed as: The Giant Claw, The Werewolf, Zombies of Mora Tau, Creature With the Atom Brain - evidently, there is not going to be a fifth film about which there was much earlier speculation. There will also be a single episode of the Mysterious Island serial.
The release date is October 16th; the SRP is $24.96
From Tarco and Jim C from MFTV
Here's the latest from Fangoria.com:
THE SAM KATZMAN COLLECTION, containing THE GIANT CLAW, ZOMBIES OF MORA TAU, CREATURE WITH THE ATOM BRAIN and THE WEREWOLF (all making their DVDebuts, with the latter two entirely new to video) will present the features in 1.85:1 transfers; they were shot full-frame, but theater owners at the time were encouraged to project them at that dimension. “People like to make fun of Katzman’s films,” SPHE consultant Michael Schlesinger says, “but they’re generally quite well-made, given their budgets and schedules, and remain entertaining today. THE WEREWOLF, in particular, generates real poignancy in [Steven] Ritch’s plight; it’s not at all a standard wolfman movie. And the only thing wrong with GIANT CLAW is the hokey bird itself; had Ray Harryhausen done the effects, it would be considered a minor classic today. That Sam had the sense to hire great writers like [ATOM BRAIN’s Curt] Siodmak and [ZOMBIES’ Bernard] Gordon proves he took these things very seriously, no matter how far-fetched their premises may be.” Gordon, blacklisted at the time, was originally billed as Raymond T. Marcus; his real name has been restored for the packaging.
Also part of the package are the original trailers for all four films, plus bonus trailers, the monster-comedy shorts MIDNIGHT BLUNDERS and TERROR FACES MAGOO and Chapter 2 of Katzman’s 1951 serial version of MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet. Schlesinger explains why the first installment isn’t included: “The first chapter is all exposition and frankly not very exciting. I thought it would be better to get right to the action. And in any event, it opens with a recap, plus everyone already knows the story from the 1961 Harryhausen version or the Jules Verne novel.” Retail price is $24.95.
Jim Clatterbaugh
Editor/Publisher MFTV
www.monstersfromthevault.com
Saturday, August 4, 2007
CIRCLE OF IRON DVD Review
I am not much of a Bruce Lee fan. It's not that I am incapable of appreciating his work. It's just that I've never really gotten around to watching any of it. So I didn't really know what to expect from CIRCLE OF IRON (aka SILENT FLUTE). I figured that it had David Carradine, Christopher Lee, and Roddy McDowall. Can't be all bad, can it? Much to my surprise, the reviews I found after watching the movie panned it as tepid and watered-down and visually unexciting. The movie does have a leisurely pace, and the fight scenes aren't anywhere near the level of what I'd expect from Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan. But I thought Richard Moore's direction was visually inventive, and the film was quirky enough to keep me entertained.
The great warrior Cord (Jeff Cooper) goes off to find Zetan, keeper of The Book of All Knowledge. He's a rebel, belonging to no martial arts school and breaking all the rules. He gets himself disqualified from the tournament that opens the film, in spite of which, he goes off to claim the prize, the Book. To obtain the book, Cord has to pass several trials, involving several martial arts fights of course. On his journey, he encounters David Carradine as a blind warrior, as Death (in panther form), as a Chinese shiek of some sort, and a monkey guy. Yes, there is a roving gang of men dressed as monkeys that holler like chimps. Needless to say, the film is a bit trippy. To paraphrase Rene Mathis in "Casino Royale," the film is a Russian nesting doll. There are many layers to go through, and although the ending isn't quite up to snuff, the process is entertaining. I give a lot of that credit to Carradine's portrayal and Moore's photography (apparently he was a DP before taking this project).
Blue Underground has put together a great presentation for the movie. The video quality is excellent. Vibrant colors and sharp details and little to no film grain and scarthces. Filmed in the deserts of Israel, the movie has an otherworldly feel, which the DVD captures well. You certainly get a good selection of audio tracks with Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS, and the original mono track. I have to say I was really impressed by that given the obscurity of the film. There are also plenty of extras. The director's commenatry and interviews with several crew members provide plenty of insight on the making of the film. You even get the first draft of the script. They give you the complete package.
This is coming from someone who likes "MANOS" THE HANDS OF FATE, but I found CIRCLE OF IRON to be pretty entertaining. The backstory of the film may be more interesting than the film itself, so it's a good thing the DVD comes with plenty of information on it. If you enjoy the film, though, you'll be more than satisfied with the presentation.
The great warrior Cord (Jeff Cooper) goes off to find Zetan, keeper of The Book of All Knowledge. He's a rebel, belonging to no martial arts school and breaking all the rules. He gets himself disqualified from the tournament that opens the film, in spite of which, he goes off to claim the prize, the Book. To obtain the book, Cord has to pass several trials, involving several martial arts fights of course. On his journey, he encounters David Carradine as a blind warrior, as Death (in panther form), as a Chinese shiek of some sort, and a monkey guy. Yes, there is a roving gang of men dressed as monkeys that holler like chimps. Needless to say, the film is a bit trippy. To paraphrase Rene Mathis in "Casino Royale," the film is a Russian nesting doll. There are many layers to go through, and although the ending isn't quite up to snuff, the process is entertaining. I give a lot of that credit to Carradine's portrayal and Moore's photography (apparently he was a DP before taking this project).
Blue Underground has put together a great presentation for the movie. The video quality is excellent. Vibrant colors and sharp details and little to no film grain and scarthces. Filmed in the deserts of Israel, the movie has an otherworldly feel, which the DVD captures well. You certainly get a good selection of audio tracks with Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS, and the original mono track. I have to say I was really impressed by that given the obscurity of the film. There are also plenty of extras. The director's commenatry and interviews with several crew members provide plenty of insight on the making of the film. You even get the first draft of the script. They give you the complete package.
This is coming from someone who likes "MANOS" THE HANDS OF FATE, but I found CIRCLE OF IRON to be pretty entertaining. The backstory of the film may be more interesting than the film itself, so it's a good thing the DVD comes with plenty of information on it. If you enjoy the film, though, you'll be more than satisfied with the presentation.
Friday, August 3, 2007
A Sneek Peak at a New UK Kung Fu DVD Company!
Greenfan DVD is a new British DVD company that is gearing up to release some great rare films in the new future.
http://www.greenfandvd.com/
Here are some advance specs we were sent for their first release of Ninja in Ancient China:
Never before released on DVD.
Widescreen
Original Mandarin with English subtitles
Extras include :-
Rare footage of Chang Cheh
Interview with actor Hsu Xiao Chien
Feature length audio commentary
Stills gallery
We hope to bring more information on this new company in the near future.
http://www.greenfandvd.com/
Here are some advance specs we were sent for their first release of Ninja in Ancient China:
Never before released on DVD.
Widescreen
Original Mandarin with English subtitles
Extras include :-
Rare footage of Chang Cheh
Interview with actor Hsu Xiao Chien
Feature length audio commentary
Stills gallery
We hope to bring more information on this new company in the near future.
Leave Your Condolences Here
I think Ian will need some cheering up when he gets back online. By now, the grey abyss of New Jersey will have stared back at him and sucked out part of his soul. So please leave a comment and boost his spirits.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Ian's going dark for a couple of days
Ian has just moved into a new apartment and won't have Internet access until Friday or so. But he will be back with reviews of HARD BOILED and LAST HURRAH FOR CHIVALRY. Until then, I think we should all observe a moment of silence for him. He just moved to New Jersey, if I'm not mistaken.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
THE HOST DVD Review
Movie
If the U.S. Army has done anything good in the last 60 years, apparently it's been inspiring good monster movies. Similar to how the Lucky Dragon No. 5 incident inspired GODZILLA, the story for THE HOST from the 2000 case of a mortician working for the U.S. military dumping large amounts of formaldehyde into the Han River. Whereas GODZILLA retools the event to fit the context of the story, however, THE HOST recreates the event and posits it as the genesis of the titular creature. When I first watched the film, I was aware of its satire on the presence of the U.S. military, but not knowing of the exact event, the opening struck me as ridiculous and poor satire. A guy dumps gallons of formaldehyde down the drain because the bottles are dusty? Adrian Monk is a fictional character, not a real American. Oops. Although the cultural gap left me questioning certain details about the movie, the themes themselves are universal: the incompetence of governments, the importance of family, and having to sacrifice for what you find important. As most monster movies have government and military protagonists, THE HOST stands out among the genre.
Director Joon-ho Bong takes Spielberg's WAR OF THE WORLDS approach to the film by focusing the story on one of the families that happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Gang-du and his father run a food stand next to the Han River. Gang-du is a lazy bum who sleeps most of the day. Instead of going to his daughter Hyun-seo's Career Day at school, he sends his unemployed, alcoholic brother, Nam-il. Their sister, Nam-joo, is a would-be gold medal archer, who hesitates at the biggest moment, leaving her with a bronze. Meanwhile, the father is just trying to run his honest business. It's all thrown into disarray when the creature attacks bystanders along the river and kidnaps Hyun-seo. When they find out Hyun-seo is still alive, the dysfunctional family must evade the government, who is trying to contain the virus the creature supposedly carries, and save Hyun-seo before she dies.
Because the danger is on such a small scale, THE HOST manages to generate a lot of suspense, even on a repeat viewing. The characters are written as to not be irksome or whiny. They are given the circumstances and deal with them. Certainly, they feel lots of pain throughout the movie, but there are no moments of panicky "I can't do this! I can't do this!" talk. The monster is very-well realized through CGI by WETA and animatronics. Somewhere in between fish and lizard, the monster is ugly but extremely graceful at times, using its prehensile tail to swing down from the undersides of bridges or chuck humans aside like empty soda cans. Its movements and behaviors feel very animal-like. Its almost like a shark or barracuda. It doesn't do much but swim, leap, and eat, but it's terrifyingly powerful. Bong effectively conveys the power of the creature in the initial attack scene, and the knowledge of what it can do helps maintain the suspense.
I'm not sure that the humor and satire work quite as well. The movie throws in a few strange bits of slapstick here and there that are more uncomfortable than anything. There is one scene involving the monster's digestive system that is horrifying and delightful at the same time. The Korean government is portrayed more or less as lackeys of the American military. They take the military's reports of the virus' existence at face value despite an absence of evidence. They let them spray Agent Yellow (thinly veiled, ain't it?) in Seoul despite reports that it kills every living thing within 12 kilometers. It's just that in terms of satire, the effect of the use of Agent Yellow in the climax is unclear. People start coughing up blood and bleeding from their ears, but I'm still confused as to whether they lived or died. Gang-du, meanwhile, is unaffected somehow. I have no idea what that's about. Seo-ri gets mentioned a lot, but I'm not sure why it's at all germane to the story except to add a couple needless characters.
I'm not terribly uncomfortable saying that THE HOST is the best monster movie of the 00's and possibly even further back. The characters are likable and stay involved in the action rather than watching it from a distance, which the size of the monster helps. The monster is extremely well executed, powerful and frightening. The satire and humor is good at times but inconsistent. And that's about the only complaint I might have. If the script were just a bit tighter, this would be a great movie.
DVD
One thing that surprised me about the movie was how good the cinemtography is. Director Bong finds many great compositions for his shots and fills the screen especially well in the action scenes. The colors are slightly desaturated except for yellow (and red in one scene), and the contrast seems to be slightly turned up, creating a series of glossy, striking images. The video quality of the 1.85:1 anamorphic presentation is excellent with deep blacks, good fleshtones, sharp details even in the darkness, and no visible compression artifacts. This movie would simply not be as good without a good visual presentation, and it almost makes me want to upgrade to Blu-ray/HD-DVD to see what I'm still missing.
You get about as good variety as you'd want from the audio tracks. English dub or the original Korean, Dolby 5.1 or 2.0 for both. I listened only to the Korean 5.1. My biggest complaint is that I had trouble hearing exactly what people were saying when they spoke English. It seemed a bit muffled. Otherwise, the audio presentation was fine.
While the standard edition DVD isn't as deep as the collector's edition, you still get a good amount of information about the making of the movie. The director's commentary is overall interesting, filling in some of the cultural details and decision making process involved. At times, though, they start to narrate events without adding information. The deleted scenes run long at 22 minutes for what little they contain. It's amazing how that movie could have come in at a bloated 140 minutes or so. Sort of reminiscent of the GODZILLA 2000 edits. I found the full versions of the fake news broadcasts interesting just because of the effort that had to go into them. It's like those photographs of family moments in movies. They have to go to the trouble of recreating the moments, and I'm sure it takes a fair amount of time and money. And it's all just for a small touch. There's also a short about the director's reflections on the movie, in which he takes some time to apologize to various people involved in the making among other things.
Overall, THE HOST is a very good movie given a very good DVD presentation. Definitely recommended.
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