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11.15.07 by Dindrane @ 8:42 pm  There comes a time in the life of every daikaiju and/or tokusatsu fan when we must draw the line. Will we love the American Godzilla release merely because it stars our favorite giant lizard (and Ferris Bueller)? Will we love Mothra, but not Gamera, because a giant flying tortoise is just silly? Luckily for daikaiju fans everywhere, no matter where you draw it, that line always includes Ultraman, and the second (and final) volume of the original 1960s series is awaiting you on DVD. Sure, the monsters are obviously just people wearing rubber suits, and sure, a giant alien superhero with a package is kinda scary, and sure, the actor was hired more for how he looks in skin-tight silver and red spandex than for his acting skills, but who cares? It has futuristic space guns! Something they actually called "The Science Patrol"! And the odd spaceship here and there! And giant robots! And giant other stuff! Giant! Other! Stuff! If you don't know the story already from Saturday mornings when you were ten, it is as follows: Hayata is a typical henshin character--that is, he can transform into something. In his case, he can channel the power of a giant space superhero (I mean, seriously--how can you not love it already? Just ask Ernest Cline about how awesome this show is.) from a far-off planet in Nebula M78. In this form, he commences to the kicking of evil arse, all the while looking quite fly and posing dramatically at appropriate points. Every episode, he encounters and then defeats one of a host of nasty villains, and now you can see it all in digitally restored, stereo (try that on your old 1974 TV!), with the original fascinating Japanese audio fully intact. Categorized as: DVD and Reviews
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11.15.07 by Dindrane @ 12:23 pm   Wow, where to begin with Streets of Legend. The tagline really tells you anything you need to know: a saga of love, set among the romantic illegal street-racing "scene" of Los Angeles. Yes, anything that's called a "scene" is likely to be incredibly self-indulgent, irritating, and annoyingly self-referential, and this, boy howdy, does all three in spades. Alas, it does little else in spades. Except maybe suck. Something about male posturing, some girls wearing oddly little for non-hookers, and something else about … whatever. I mean, really, who cares? It's street-racing with lots of flashing neon and some horrible actors, all with a veneer of "wow, this is supposed to be exciting and illegal and wicked and stuff!" mixed with "Latino pride," when really you just want to give the girls a robe and send the boys off to the Queer Eye crew to learn at least a little something about not looking like an idiot. You want Latino goodness? Try something with a plot (and some action) like Carlito's Way or just a still shot of Eduardo Verástegui. You want action? Try Shoot 'Em Up, The Professional, or anything starring Jason Statham. If you thought Gone in 60 Seconds was the best movie EVAR, but thought it needed more T&A, a less coherent plot, and a shallower philosophical base, and the third Highlander movie is the yardstick by which you judge all good cinema, then this might be for you. If, on the other hand, you actually like movies with a plot to go with those explosions, then you're better off with Live Free or Die Hard. Seriously. This thing won the award for "Best Cinematography" at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, which makes me fear for the future. Apparently, all you need to win an award is to grossly overuse the "cutting edge" (read: cliché) fast-cut method, manage to keep the speakers in the frame, and occasionally turn your camera sideways. Categorized as: DVD and Reviews
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10.30.07 by Widge @ 3:57 pm    First up, let's talk about Caligula. There's the running line about "It's as if Merchant Ivory did (insert genre here)." Well, this is as close to seeing "It's as if Merchany Ivory did porn" as you're going to get. Where else could you see full-on hardcore sex scenes and Malcolm McDowell, John Gielgud, Peter O'Toole and Helen Mirren all on the same disc? Nowhere. And while this was a hellaciously controversial film upon its release, you can decide for yourself whether or not the critics who savaged it were right. It's being released in an unrated version, an R-rated version, and so forth, but we always try to go for the mongo version: which is this three-disc imperial edition. It's a huge set here from General Media, including: the uncensored version remastered; a new pre-release version of the film that hasn't been seen before; commentaries with Mirren, McDowell and an on-set writer, Ernest Volkman; interviews (including Tinto Brass, the director); scads of deleted scenes, alternate scenes, photos, behind the scenes footage; a making-of docu in two versions; and a slew of DVD-ROM extas. So if you'd like a little sex with your sword and sandals, then feel free. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.) Categorized as: DVD
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09.17.07 by Widge @ 10:42 pm    First up, we've got a pair of releases from Dragon Dynasty, which is basically The Weinstein Company and Genius putting out action flicks from Asia on DVD. In other words, they are Our Friends. We've got City of Violence, which follows a pretty common idea: old friend gets killed, surviving friends must track down those responsible and beat them viciously. And, since the plot is old hat (but a well loved, broken-in kinda hat), what you really show up for are said beatings. And they do not disappoint, because you've got our two heroes taking on ridiculous amounts of foes in all-out brawls. Well, the title did warn you, after all. Anyway all of this mayhem makes this worth a serious rental for fu and action fans. It comes with a director's commentary, blooper reel, deleted scenes with commentary, and a slew of featurettes with interviews and design work with tons more, spread across two discs. (Buy it from Amazon.) Categorized as: DVD
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09.05.07 by Widge @ 11:40 pm    The complete title, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters for DVD, still loses out to Borat's complete title for longest and most absurd film title of the past ten years. Regardless, the film, despite not having a tremendous performance at the box office, was produced for all of $750K. So it's pretty easy to turn a profit--which should get even easier now that Cartoon Network and Warner Brothers have released this to DVD. Especially when you consider it's a two-disc set, which hardcore fans will appreciate, twisted little bastages that they are. You get a commentary track, behind the scenes featurette, an alternate "deleted movie" version of the movie, alternate "fake" endings, deleted scenes, an interview of Dana "Madman" Snyder, and much more. Is it a return to the salad days, like "Dumber Dolls" and "Broodwich"? Nah. But still moderately amusing. (Buy it from Amazon.) Categorized as: DVD
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