Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 21st, 2009
Only two social classes existed in the tiny town of Chekian, China, circa 1858: the peasant citizenry, and those who lived in the Governor’s palace. Lawlessness was the order of the day; the streets of Chekian crawled with scum and villainy of every degree, from pickpockets to kidnappers to roving gangs of thugs and extortionists. The worst of all was none other than Governor Cheng himself, the greedy and corrupt ruler of the town (James Wong). The governor’s latest profitable but nefarious practice: to hoard the town food supply and gouge the poor and starving for every sliver of their meager livings. Fortunately for these peasants, they have one advocate with the smarts and the guts to stand up for them: the mysterious Iron Monkey (Ronggaung Yu). To the Governor, he’s a masked rogue fit to be tortured when caught, but to the people he’s a saint clad in black, the Chinese Robin Hood or Zorro, a swashbuckling super ninja who employs his skills mainly in pilfering gold from the governor’s house, oftentimes from right under his nose.
The governor doesn’t just hate Iron Monkey, he’s absolutely terrified of him (as demonstrated in typical over-the-top, grindhouse kung-fu style histrionics). He’s gone to all sorts of measures in an effort to capture this righteous and elusive bandit, from doubling his private security staff, to setting elaborate traps, to hiring powerful but corrupt Shaolin monks. Try as he might, nothing works, and the Iron Monkey always escapes with his prize. Come hell or high water, Cheng is going to stop Iron Monkey once and for all. His underhanded technique uses the son of a Shaolin monk to get the father to promise to bring down the Monkey.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 21st, 2009
He’s one of the most compelling villains of modern fiction. Disturbing, disgusting and absolutely captivating at the same time, Hannibal Lecter can really get inside your head.You may not have read the novels by Thomas Harris, or even seen all of the films, but I’m willing to bet you’re familiar with The Silence of the Lambs. One of the greatest thrillers in film history, the film in which Sir Anthony Hopkins became Dr. Lecter is the cornerstone of this three-movie set.
The Hannibal Lecter Collection brings together – in chronological order – Michael Mann’s Manhunter, Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs and Ridley Scott’s Hannibal. Film buffs will note the absence of Brett Ratner’s Red Dragon, essentially a remake of Manhunter. Unfortunately for any completists, MGM, the studio behind this set, doesn’t have the rights to Red Dragon, which is a Universal picture. In any case, these three films make a fantastic trilogy.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 21st, 2009
Written by Adrienne Ambush
Nightmare on Elm Street it is not, but Wallace & Gromit’s: A matter of Loaf and Death is anything but a movie you should let your kids watch without parental supervision.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on September 21st, 2009
Henry Lee Lucas tortured and murdered hundreds of people. He spent most of his formative years being brutally assaulted by his mother and half brother. Henry spent most of his life in prison and whenever he was released the temptation for murder was too much. Drifter: Henry Lee Lucas picks up during his last release from prison in 1975 and his subsequent arrest in 1983. Henry Lee Lucas (Antonio Sabato Jr.) joins forces with Ottis Toole (Kostas Sommer) and Becky (Kelly Curran) and they embark on one of the most prolific killing sprees in American history.
Unfortunately, Antonio Sabato Jr. cannot provide the performance that this film needs. Henry Lee Lucas is a deeply disturbed and mangled personality. The lead actor cannot be a former Calvin Klein underwear model. The audience does not get the desired impact from the emotional scenes and the film struggles considerably from his performance. When an entire film is centred around one character, the lead needs to shine. The budget that is required to get some reasonable talent was probably not available. However, the casting just seems off in every role. The three lead characters are all too "good looking" to be playing their roles. The cast needs to be as unattractive as their roles indicate. The casting is the biggest concern with this effort.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on September 13th, 2009
This Canadian made-for-TV movie from 2003 is about to be released on DVD. It stars a young Ellen Page (Juno, Hard Candy) which, I suspect, is the reason it is being released on DVD after all this time. The changes to the cover art support this theory. The original displayed much of the cast, with the titular cat featured in the foreground. The new and improved cover features a large picture of Ellen Page above the cat, with her name featured prominently above the title. I’m not sure if Miss Page has the kind of wide appeal to warrant basing a marketing campaign around, but sometimes you have to toss out every pitch you know and hope one of them gets over the plate.
The screenplay is based on a kids’ novel, and has popped up on various cable networks since its initial airing, most recently being shown as an Animal Planet original production. Over the years it has also changed titles, having originally been called Mrs. Ashboro’s Cat. The title Ghost Cat is certainly more evocative and will likely sell more copies, but is a tad misleading. I was really expecting a kind of whacky supernatural comedy, like one of those fluffy Disney Channel pictures featuring whatever set of clones happens to have been most recently harvested from their labs. Instead, what I got was a grounded, sincere family drama with some supernatural elements and many cute animals.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 8th, 2009
If someone told you there was a movie out there starring David Carradine, Bruce Dern, and Rip Torn as three retired sea captains sharing a house together, what would your expectations be? I personally would expect a raucous production with colorful characters and a whole lot of the kind of scenery-chewing that those three guys are known for. However, set it at the turn of the century, fill it with unmemorable supporting actors, and change its title from Chatham (not a great title I admit) to the far more generic The Golden Boys, and it doesn’t take a perch in the crow’s nest to see that this schooner is close-hauled and tacking into the wind. See what I did there? I cleverly used nautical terminology to illustrate the disappointing quality of a movie about sailors. Now I feel like a big-time reviewer.
The DVD cover trumpets the quotation, “A cross between Grumpy Old Men and Three Men and a Baby”. This quote is attributed to Cindy Adams of the New York Post, and I’m not sure which film she watched, but it certainly was not this one. The three lead characters are not grumpy, there isn’t a baby to be seen anywhere, and the romantic rivalry for the affections of Mariel Hemingway amounts to nothing and, in fact, is pretty much nonexistent. I looked up the source of the quote and found that it didn’t even come from a review, but from a puff piece she wrote about Rip Torn. This gives you an idea of how desperate the publishers were to find a way to market this thing.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 6th, 2009
When we left J.D., Turk, and the rest of the staff of Sacred Heart Hospital at the end of their seventh season, there were good reasons to believe we had seen the last of Scrubs:
1) The show had suffered the lowest ratings in its history.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 1st, 2009
Already languishing in the $6.99 bin at my local Blockbuster, and with dismal reviews on its release, my hopes for The Haunting of Molly Hartley were not high. However, after viewing the DVD I can safely report that the movie falls firmly into the ‘not anywhere as awful as I thought it was going to be’ category.
This is not an endorsement. The movie is by no means good, but nowhere near as wretched as I’d been set up to believe.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 21st, 2009
In the first season of Showtime’s Californication, we were introduced to David Duchovny’s character, bitter yet upbeat writer Hank Moody. Hank, after moving to Los Angeles on the heels of his first novel - a critical darling entitled “God Hates Us All” - has recently lost his long-time love and, by extension, his daughter, to a straight-arrow bore who makes his girlfriend Karen (Natascha McElhone) feel safe.
The first season told us the story of Hank’s attempts to win Karen back and his increasingly perilous relationship with a sixteen-year-old Lolita whose inclination for combining sex with a wicked right hook leads to one of television’s all-time great novel titles. Oh yeah, and it also featured lots and lots of raunchy sex between Hank and many gorgeous women. This was a major reason for the show’s notoriety, but what really makes the show work is Duchovny’s portrayal of Hank. He imbues him with a charming kind of good-natured nihilism and, even when he is being a grade-A jackass, we still like him.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 13th, 2009
An American Affair is set in the early 1960’s. The John F. Kennedy administration is at the height of its popularity and yet there is still quite a bit of controversy swirling after the Cuban missile crisis. Adam Stafford (Cameron Bright) is a thirteen year old enduring the awkward years of his life when he catches a glimpse of his neighbor across the street. His neighbor is Catherine Caswell (Gretchen Mol) and she eventually hires Adam as her landscaper. Despite the enormous age-gap between Catherine and Adam, a friendship emerges. As the film continues, Caswell’s complicated history begins to return and the two of them become involved in the growing speculation about the JFK administration.
The film manages to deliver some emotion throughout. In a shocking display, Gretchen Mol’s performance is very strong. The vulnerability of her character is portrayed quite well and viewers can understand her. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Cameron Bright. His role is the most crucial in the film and in a most disappointing way becomes the least powerful. Most of his major scenes are forgettable and his performance is flat. The other characters throughout the film do not overly impress. However, everyone plays their character well enough to get by.
![Iron Monkey [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/iron-monkey-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![The Hannibal Lecter Anthology [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-hannibal-lecter-anthology-blu--large.jpg)
