KISS KISS BANG BANG (DVD Review) - 29/1/07

Found it quite strange how this film slipped under the net? Not only was the Screenplay by Shane Black but he was also the Director (He wrote "The Long Kiss Goodnight" and also starred in "Predator" & "Lethal Weapon") and also teams up Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer in a very strange "buddy" movie which comes across as a pulp film-noir black comedy drama come thriller mystery - A real mixed bag that can't be put into any genre and still seems to work out fine as a good film despite it's strangeness and the odd movie-making style. Downey Jr. is the petty thief who gets mixed up with an old flame (Michelle Monaghan) and also runs into trouble in high-class L.A. with a number of bodies and working with Kilmer's Private Eye to sort it all out? Very reminiscent of Black's "The Last Boy Scout" in it's stylisation and if you like dark humour that will have you gargling like a drain (Something like "Miami Blues" in the fingers department) then this could be one for you. A nice little off-beat oddity that I could certainly watch again; but unfortunately just a Vanilla disc for this product so disappointing, as I would like some grounding to the back story and how everything was set up Special Features wise?

"Val Kilmer & Robert Downey Jr. getting wood"

"My name is NOT Holly!"

"A 'pulp fiction' paperback novel cover design"

SNAKES ON A PLANE (DVD Rental Review) - 28/1/07

Another of those damn Rentals without Special Features attached - Not that it really matters in this case as "Snakes On A Plane" is such ludicrous over-the-top fare that it is entertaining for all of it's running time. Packed full of the usual cliched characters from start to finish it is so funny in just such a stupid way that you can not really be not amused by it? Like an "Airport" movie of the 70's what can go wrong on a plane does; with the added ingredient of a load of snakes of all shapes and sizes, and it's hard to tell which are real and which are CGI? With the added attraction of Samuel L. Jackson putting his tongue in his cheek and obviously enjoying himself immensely we get a roller-coaster of a ride as things go bad for the passengers with a variety of death by snake scenarios. Certainly worth watching once for a good time!

FEARLESS (Huo Yuan Jia) (DVD Rental Review) - 27/1/07

A typical trick from the DVD Producers in the Rental Sector is to leave off the Special Features; so if you really want them, you will go out and buy a copy after forking out £3.75p for a Rental. So with this version we get just the film and it is billed as Jet Li's swansong to his Martial Arts career in an historical tale of the legendary Huo Yuanjia who was a man struggling with his past at the turn of 20th Century China and it's quite a nice little piece. Starting off slowly and setting out it's wares with considerable skill it lays the groundwork for some amazing bone-crunching fight scene set pieces while at the same time giving an idyllic lustrous feel to the whole epic scope that it is attempting to paint out as a canvas of the period it is covering around 1910. With a certain amount of honour and a real flourish in conveying a changing of understanding from Jet Li's character portrayal you can't help feeling angry for the way business commerce and greed affected China at this time both culturally and politically. They say a picture paints a thousand words and this film strives to give meaning to this past with never a let up in it's hour and forty minutes or so running time and not a frame is wasted by the Director Ronny Yu in all it's box of erstwhile delights.

WINDTALKERS (DVD Review) - 21/1/07

Any type of war is an awful thing and foremost in my mind is that anything like this film has to be treated as walking a thin line between entertainment and reality. Coming across very much like an "in your face" close-up documentary Director John Woo's "Windtalkers" covers another very little known aspect of the Second World War in the battle for the Japanese island of Saipan. Codes were continually being broken by the Japanese so the American forces drafted in Native Americans with the use of Navajo Indians and a code based on their language which the Japanese never managed to break. Forgetting the Hollywood aspects of this film we get the casual inherent racism manifested by the Americans towards the Navajo which is always ugly in any form especially as they are supposedly fighting on the same side? The Japanese are pretty much faceless in this film as they repeatedly overwhelm the American forces again and again dying in the attempt in foolhardy gestures. A very strong cast (Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach, Peter Stormare, Noah Emmerich, Mark Ruffalo, Christian Slater) holds this all together but it's a very bloody film as limbs fly and the horrendous terror takes hold. War is not fun as the vicious reality comes home to both the audience and the characters in this movie.

SPECIAL FEATURES: Actor's Bootcamp - The featurette covering the physical Marine training that the actors went through. Bravo Special - Making of... and Behind The Scenes Photo Gallery. Two Feature Length Audio Commentaries. Fly On The Set Diaries: Four raw set pieces observe the set-up and construction of integral scenes (With a link to jump to the completed scene in the film).

Region 2 (UK) - Rated 15. Colour - PAL. Running Time: 2 Hrs. 9 Mins. Soundtrack: English/Czech 5.1. Dolby Digital with Subtitles for both and HOH. Widescreen Version 16:9 - 2.40:1. MGM 2002. 22896DVD MZ1 / ISBN # 5050070008098>

BABEL Film Review - 21/1/07

I don't know what is more depressing? Watching this awful depressing film or it's vile subject matter. Not only is it an unrepentant bitter film about people making wrong choices and decisions it actually seems to wallow in it's despondency. Incredibly dull and slow with no redeeming points this dire mish-mash of time delayed film sequences flits from scene to scene in no order and is excruciating to watch. I sat there cringing as things got worst and the tales that were intertwined just dragged on and on. People being brutal to each other (in different ways) seems to be what this tale of miscommunication and misunderstanding is about hence the title "Babel" where instead of listening; people seem to jump at any slight, in atrocious ways. Horrible film - Horrible. I was expecting an intelligent drama and some entertainment - Not so with this dire film.

LOVE'S A BITCH (Amores Perros) (DVD Review) - 14/1/07

I had heard a lot about this film and it's Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and also much about one of it's stars Gael Garcia Bernal - Both of whom seem to be heading up the ranks into Hollywood and it's erstwhile miseries - Let's hope they both survive the encounters? As to the film it's a strange mish-mash that is rather dull in places? Jumping from the past, to the present and the future we get a series of tales interconnected by an horrific car crash as a starting point then seem to flit between the three with a variety of possible messages? Do these people learn from these events? Do the dogs (As metaphors for the characters) enhance the tales? Or is it a series of events about different forms of love on different levels? Some nasty dog fighting scenes will immediately put people off; but as the film's title suggests "Love's A Bitch" and it could easily be a dog, much like this film?

SPECIAL FEATURES: Include Additional Scenes deleted from the Production with Commentary. Behind The Scenes with Campaign Poster Development & Theatrical Trailer. Three Music Videos and further Film Trailers.

Region 2 (UK) Rated 18. PAL - Colour. 16x9 Anamorphic Presentation. 5.1. Dolby Digital with English Subtitles. ISBN#5060034570011.

WARLOCK & WARLOCK: THE ARMAGEDDON (DVD Review) - 7/1/07

Bit of a double-bill here with "Warlock" (1989) and "Warlock: The Armageddon" (1993). Unfortunately the Region 2 Version of Warlock has now been deleted and is only available on Region 1 (USA) DVD which only has the revamped cover not the original excellent poster design. The second film sequel is Warlock: Armageddon and available on both Regions. Also both crappy Vanilla discs and neither has a particularly good film transfer and the sound is a measly 2.0. Dolby Stereo Surround. Still there is a lot to enjoy; we get an evil warlock (Julian Sands) fleeing from the 16th to the 20th Century, with a witch-hunter (Richard E. Grant) in hot pursuit with the first film "Warlock". This is ably directed by Steve Miner (Of "Friday The 13th" 2 & 3 fame) and written by excellent writer David Twohy (Who went on to direct & write "Pitch Black" & "The Chronicles Of Riddick").

"The Dangers Of Botox!"

"Pull my finger"

Obviously having made money on the first Warlock film a sequel appeared in 1993 again with Julian Sands in the lead. This time directed by Anthony Hickox (Who had made "Hellraiser 3" the year before in 1992) and with an SFX maestro in the well renowned Bob Keen we get even more action, blood & gore and the story fairly rattles along. This time around the warlock is searching for ancient stones and battling druid warriors. Sadly a third film was made in the series with Bruce Payne replacing Julian Sands - But the less said about that the better. If you fancy a dodgy slice of pure hokum as a guilty pleasure then you would probably enjoy these tastes of the past!

ALONE IN THE DARK (DVD Review) - 7/1/07

First off this is a terrible film - But it is also terribly entertaining! For the hour and a half running time I was entertained with some laughs, explosions & fights, a bit of romance and a vague but fairly interesting story along the lines of archaeological mythos with a sprinkle of Matrix-style FX and some gobbledygook about a door between worlds. Chuck in Christian Slater and Stephen Dorff to the mix with some crazy CGI monsters and a lot of guns going off and for the first 20 minutes or so it really does come across quite well. You could certainly watch it once and enjoy it for what it is and at least the Director & Producers made an effort with this DVD release as there is also a nice slew of Special Features to go with it unlike some piss-poor Vanilla discs I could tell you about. Based on a game ( Hollywood's desperation now stretches for the last few years in gaining new material for films by trawling the games/comics market for inspiration - Some adaptions haven't been that successful) which I have never heard of; a Paranormal Detective investigates Supernatural events and gets involved with his ex-government agency, looking into a mystery from his past and (not surprising!) the "end of the world" as usual gubbins. SPECIAL FEATURES: Commentary and Into The Dark Making Of Featurette. Shedding The Light Featurette with Storyboard To Screen Feature. Bullet Time Animatic and five Music Videos. Plus a great Dolby/DTS 5.1. Soundtrack.

"It's behind you!"

"Your saying yours is bigger than mine?"

LAND OF THE DEAD (DVD Review) - 4/1/07

I had the great pleasure to meet the Director of this film a couple of years back when this film first came out and was rather awed at just how quietly spoken and self-effacing George A. Romero was. Having talked to him about this film and all the usual "Hollywood" bullshit that he was quite happy to not get involved with made me think even more of him as a Director. Rightly acknowledged as the Grand Master of the Zombie format with his ground breaking films "Night Of The Living Dead" and followed by both "Dawn Of The Dead" and "Day Of The Dead" this fourth film in the series carries the plot further - I even had a hint from him that he would be quite happy to do a fifth film in the series as his enthusiasm for the genre clearly shines through which isn't all that bad for a guy in his late sixties. Wearing his heart on his sleeve we even get a nice little nod to "Shaun Of The Dead" in the form of cameos from Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright as the Photo Booth Zombies and they also stand in awe of the man when you can watch them in a Special Feature called "When Shaun Met George" and they love it!

Filled with gratuitous gore and guts the humour flows like the fake blood and the Rating jumped from 15 to 18 only because of the Unseen Footage and Additional Material being classified at a higher certificate than the main feature. The make-up effects and general SFX for what is essentially a "B" Movie are stunning with a sort of 80's feel to the overall product. In the story the zombies have now taken over the whole world and large human enclaves holding them back with electrified fences and gun emplacements have a different world of the haves and the have nots - Whilst money speaks at the top; the rest of this society is now the dregs, scratching a living from what they can scavenge. Things turn nasty as the zombies take a step forward in their evolution and once again the status quo shifts.

A fairly unknown cast is well lead by Dennis Hopper as Kaufman and joined by a looney-tunes performance from John Leguizamo as Cholo. SPECIAL FEATURES: Consist of Undead Again: The Making Of "Land Of The Dead" with an on set Featurette entitled A Day With The Living Dead and Greg Nicotero's SFX Workshop Featurette. The previously mentioned When Shaun Met George and Deleted Scenes in the form of The Remaining Bits. Bringing The Storyboards To Life, Scream Tests: Zombie Casting Call & Scenes Of Carnage. Zombie Effects From Green Screen To Finished Scene and a Feature Audio Commentary.

Subtitle Tracks: English SDH & also on Bonus Features. Soundtrack: English 5.1. Dolby. Regions: 2,5 PAL. COLOUR - Anamorphic Widescreen: 2.35:1. Rating: 18 (UK) Overall Category raised to (18) due to additional material being classified at a Higher Certificate then the Main Feature (15). Runtime: 1Hr. 33 Mins Approx. DVD Extras: 59 Mins Approx. UNIVERSAL 2005. 823 684 0 / ISBN # 5050582368406>

TALES FROM THE CRYPT - TV Film Review 2/1/07

Cast your mind back to the year 1972 long before the TV Series or the later films were made to the original Amicus Film Studios production of "Tales From The Crypt" based on the Comic Books with a slice of early seventies day-glo colour in the shape of a selection of short stories starting off with a Christmas theme (Uh? Obviously!) and a serious ham of a performance from Joan Collins being attacked by a psychotic Santa - Laughable - In a terrible way - And this would have been an "X" Certificate then! The blood looks like it has been left over from the kiddies play school paint set and just daubed on badly. Luckily as the stories progress they actually get tighter with a nasty tale with Peter Cushing ending in a bloody fashion and getting even nastier with the final tale; in the way a hungry dog and some razor blades, in the hands of a group of blind men gets very nasty indeed - Quite creepy in fact. At least we get the Crypt Keeper in the form of the excellent Ralph Richardson and not some animatronic puppet.

From what I can see it is only available from the USA as a Region 0 (All Regions) NTSC DVD and seems hard to find but is worth hunting down for the last two stories at least.......

ENEMY AT THE GATES (DVD Review) - 1/1/07

A film from 2001 that I would have got around to seeing earlier as I had been told that it was an excellent story and well filmed and luckily enough I picked up a copy in the local Tesco sales for £3 and it was also replete with a shedload of Special Features. If I had realised that the Director had been Jean-Jacque Annaud (Director of "The Name Of The Rose" with one of Sean Connery's best acting performances ever) I would have seen it immediately on the strength of that connection alone - But these things happen as things slide aside. In a war torn Stalingrad (Based on a true story with obviously a Hollywood spin to the truth) we get a literally gut wrenching opening as soldiers are driven into the enemy's guns with no retreat; or if they did, to be cut down by their own troops from behind for "cowardice". Thrown into this maelstrom of destruction and despair farmer's boy Vassili Zaitsev (A fine Jude Law) ends up with Joseph Fiennes character (Danilov) who sees a certain attitude that can be harnessed by Kruschev (Bob Hoskins) against the Nazi war machine. As a sniper Jude Law's character of Vassili is a perfect propaganda tool so much so that in the end with desperation the German's send a top sniper of their own in the form of Major Koenig (Ed Harris) chuck in a spoonful of romance and a bitter cat and mouse tale ensues as each tries to take the other out. War from what I can see - is hell - no matter where it is fought and when and we humans always seem to be doing it somewhere sadly?

SPECIAL FEATURES: Director's Commentary and 3 Documentaries (WARNING: One of these covers "Stalingrad" in Black & White Real Wartime Footage and therefore contains some very distressing images/scenes - Also French Language so therefore Subtitled in English) with Filmographies. Deleted Scenes: NOTE - If you wish to view the deleted scenes within the film there is an option to do so or view them separately) some short Storyboards to Frames with Film Posters and Theatrical Trailer. Plus Audio Description.

Language: English COLOUR with English HOH Subtitles. Runtime: 125 Mins and Dolby Digital/DTS 5.1. Sound. Region 2 (UK) 15 Certificate. Widescreen Version 16:9 / 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio Approx. PATHE/20th CENTURY FOX 2001. P9017DVD/ISBN # 5060002830802>