Monday, April 09, 2007

DVD Tuesday: Bobby, Batman & More! - Xoanon @ 12:46 PST
36th Chamber of Shaolin: Hong Kong filmmaker Yau Kar-hung directed this standard Shaw Brothers historical action-comedy released at the tail end of the famous studio's mid-'80s decline. It tells yet another story about the oft-filmed heroes Hung Hei-kwun and Fong Sai-yuk, played here by Lo Mang and Wong Yue. Hung gets in trouble for offending the Ching chieftain Chih (genre veteran Lo Lieh), so he and Fong seek refuge in the Shaolin Temple, where they join the newly arrived South Pupils to learn the martial arts disciplines. Many of the students seem more interested in chasing girls and fooling around, upsetting the North Pupils (the Shaolin monks). Chief Chih shows up looking for Hung and Fong with fighters in tow, and the obligatory battle scene results, with the men of the Shaolin emerging victorious. Afterward, however, the monks come to the conclusion that Hung should be expelled from the temple because his primary goal in coming there was not to study, but to hide from Chief Chih. Naturally, Hung affirms his devotion to the ways of Shaolin and they let him stay, setting up yet another raid by Chief Chih and the obligatory final battle. Some interesting fight sequences are dragged out to feature length with extended comic scenes featuring the students playing pranks on the monks, but genre enthusiasts will still find enough to keep them interested. Also released in a drastically cut 84-minute version as Enter the 36th Chamber of Shaolin, the film co-stars Gordon Lau, Chin Siu-ho, and Phillip Kwok.


The Aura: On his first ever hunting trip, in the calm of the Patagonian forest, a shy taxidermist who secretly dreams of executing the perfect robbery stumbles upon an opportunity to make his dreams come true. Caught up in a world of complex new rules and frightening violence, his lack of experience puts him in real danger. And he has another complicated liability: he is an epileptic. Before each seizure he is visited by the “aura'': a paradoxical moment of confusion and enlightenment where the past and future seem to blend. These attacks appear without notice when he least expects them, just when he needs all his wits about him.


Batman: Complete Third Season: As if keeping the streets of Gotham City safe from crazies like The Joker, The Penguin and Scarface weren't enough, now The Batman has women problems! Best friends Barbara Gordon and Pamela Isley are spirited teens, passionate about their campaign of eco-terrorism against the city's corporate offenders. But when a strike against a chemical plant goes bad, their lives change forever and Gotham gains two more players in the showdown of good and evil! Barbara aka Batgirl becomes The Batman's feisty sidekick while Pamela aka Poison Ivy becomes the newest thorn in The Batman's side. With all 13 Season Three episodes, this 2-disc DVD collection delivers The Batman style with a jolt of girl power!


Beneath Still Waters: A supernatural force is devouring the village of Marinbad and its inhabitants, and is threatening to spread beyond its geographical limits. A group of men from the village manage to convince the authorities to build a dam, which would flood the valley and therefore submerge the village forever, sealing the evil force under water. But something remained down in the depths when the waters covered Marinbad. Now, 40 years later, an array of disappearances and deaths in mysterious circumstances are threatening the village built next to the reservoir that now covers Marinbad.


Blood Flood: Get ready to rumble with your Horror Hostess, Morella, a she reveals her All-Night Spooktacular Dusk-To-Dawn Horror-Thon! First of the Triple-Header is Grave of the Vampire (1974) starring William Smith and Michael Pataki. Certainly one of the strangest vampire films ever, this film revels in its own perversity as a mother cuts herself in order to feed her newborn monster baby! Boris Karloff heads south of the border to Mexico for House of Evil (1968) in which he plays the patriarch of a dysfunctional family who are being killed off one at a time by murderous toys! Karloff works the old pipe organ for all its worth as the place burns to the ground. Rarely seen in the U.S., this is the only Gothic horror Karloff appeared in among his four Mexican epics. Finally, what's a creepy night at the movies without something from schlockmeister par excellence, Andy Milligan? Here Morella unveils Guru, the Mad Monk, the only Millian opus filmed in 35mm. Marvel at the bad acting and threadbare historical costuming (reportedly created by the director himself!) and cringe at the blood and gore in an assault on the senses that will leave the viewer reeling. And it's all book-ended by three spooky episodes of Morella's Graveyard Theater, so sit back, unwind and get ready to stay up late!


Bobby: (Drama) A re-telling of the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in 1968. The film follows 22 individuals who are all at the hotel for different purposes but share the common thread of anticipating Kennedy's arrival at the primary election night party, which would change their lives forever. This historic night is set against the backdrop of the cultural issues gripping the country at the time, including racism, sexual inequality and class differences.


By the Light of the Silvery Moon: The trials and tribulations of the Winfield family in small town Indiana as Marjorie Winfield's boyfriend, William Sherman, returns from the Army after W.W.I. Bill & Marjorie's on-again, off-again provide the backdrop for other family issues, primarily brought on by little brother Wesley's overactive imagination and tall tales.


Cinderella: The daughter of a female plastic surgeon begins to wonder why so many patients of her mother commit suicide and uncovers a dark secret.


Dead and Deader: After he's bitten by a beetle carrying a zombie virus, a tough soldier survives the infection, becoming only half zombie. Once back in the US, he finds himself fighting his former comrades in arms, all of whom are turning into zombies!


Dora-Heita: Samurai Koheita Mochizuki, who goes by the nickname Dora-Heita, meaning "alley cat" or "playboy," pretends to be an alcoholic magistrate but is in actuality an envoy from the daimyo sent to clean up the corrupt and lawless town. His task is complicated by the unexpected arrival of his mistress Kosei.


The Doris Day Collection, Vol. 2: Includes - Romance on the High Seas / My Dream Is Yours / On Moonlight Bay / I'll See You in My Dreams / By the Light of the Silvery Moon / Lucky Me


Flannel Pajamas: Relationships are never easy, but when two very opposite people are brought together by a well-meaning acquaintance in Flannel Pajamas, the result is an explosive love that overrides common sense. The spark between the meticulously honest and emotionally scarred Nicole and the self-absorbed Stuart who invents elaborate stories for a living is intense, and despite the fact that they can't stand each other's family and friends, the two are drawn together first by a mutual fascination and later by great sex. The pair move in together and eventually marry, choosing to ignore their insecurities and conflicts over religion, friendships, relatives, and careers, but the cold reality is that the day to day struggles over their inherent differences takes a significant toll on their happiness and threatens their relationships with one another and their friends and families. A compelling, sometimes painful exploration of the relationships between men and women, the artsy and powerful Flannel Pajamas stars Justin Kirk (Showtime's Weeds) and Julianne Nicholson (Law and Order: Criminal Intent ).


Hanna-Barbera Storybook Favorites: This collection of storybook favorites from animation giant Hanna-Barbera Productions includes timeless adaptations of Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty, Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans.


I'll See You in My Dreams: Songwriter Gus Kahn gets the Hollywood treatment. The film chronicles his success and decline, with his wife Grace sticking by him the whole time.


Jonestown: The Life & Death of Peoples Temple: Featuring never-before-seen footage, this documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch.


King Boxer: Two martial arts schools prepare for an important tournament.


Le Petit Lieutenant: This French drama follows a newly recruited police officer, Antoine (Jalil Lespert), in Paris. Antoine's career is unremarkable, until the discovery of a dead body floating in the Seine changes his life forever.


Le Petit Lieutenant / Triple Agent - Combo Pack: This French drama follows a newly recruited police officer, Antoine (Jalil Lespert), in Paris. Antoine's career is unremarkable, until the discovery of a dead body floating in the Seine changes his life forever.


Little Murders: A girl brings home her latest boyfriend to meet her parents. This is done against the background of random shootings that had just begun in NYC at the time the play was written. How the family's failings are magnified by the social confusion of the times is the crux of the plot.


Lucky Me: Candy Williams is a struggling performer in a musical troupe, headed by Hap Schneider. Unfortunately, the troupe has fallen on hard times, forcing the members to get jobs cleaning hotel rooms. This all changes when one day Candy catches the eye of celebrity song writer, Dick Carson. Candy has no idea who he is, but, the rest of the troupe, especially Schneider, believes this is their lucky break. When Candy realizes who he really is, she's furious because he deceived her. By this time, Dick has "fallen head over heels" for Candy - this could be a problem, since he is currently dating another girl, Lorainne, the daughter of an oil tycoon. Dick secretly sits through one of Candy's performances, and is impressed, giving him a brilliant idea - Candy could perform the songs from the musical he has been preparing, and which he hopes Lorainne's father will finance. However, this is not going to be easy, since Lorainne has become very jealous, especially, when it comes to Candy getting closer to Dick.


Major League - Wild Thing Edition: An exotic dancer marries the owner of a baseball club. He does not survive the honeymoon and she is in control of his ball club. Looking at a small stadium, she wants to move to warmer climes where some new stadiums have been built, but her lease has only one escape clause, poor attendance. She fields the worst team she can find. The attitude of the owner gives the misfits and losers something to rally around and they fight back.


Mel Gibson Ultimate Collection: Includes - Braveheart / Payback - The Director's Cut / We Were Soldiers


My Dream Is Yours: Conceited singer Garry Mitchell refuses to renew his radio contract, so agent Doug Blake decides to find a new personality to replace Garry. In New York, he finds Martha Gibson, a single mother with a great voice. He arranges for her to move to Hollywood, but then has a problem trying to sell her to the show's sponsor. Doug tries every trick he can think of to make Martha a star, and as the two work more closely, he falls in love with her. Complicating matters further is when Martha meets and becomes attracted to Garry.


My Young Auntie: A young woman (Kara Hui) marries a dying senior member of a martial arts family in order to keep the inheritance from falling into the wicked hands of Third Uncle (Johnny Wang). Traditional family conventions are turned upside down when this 'grand auntie' by marriage arrives at the home of the rightful inheritor (Lau Kar-leung) and his progressive son (Hsiao Ho).


On Moonlight Bay: The Winfield family moves into a new house in a small town in Indiana. Tomboy Marjorie Winfield begins a romance with William Sherman who lives across the street. Marjorie has to learn how to dance and act like a proper young lady. Unfortunately William Sherman has unconventional ideas for the time (setting is during W.W.I, but the war does not play a major part for most of the movie.) His ideas include not believing in marriage or money, which causes friction with Marjorie's father, who is the local bank vice president.


One Armed Swordsman: Jimmy Wang Yu and David Chiang face off against each other in One Armed Swordsmen. The infamous One Armed Swordsman cuts off the arm of The Dragon Masked Bandit. While revenge is plotted, the Swordsman learns the true identity of the Masked Bandit.


Payback - The Director's Cut: In Brian Helgeland's new director's cut of the film, Mel Gibson portrays Porter, a career criminal bent on revenge after his partners in a street heist pump metal into him and take off with his $70,000 cut. Bad move, thugs. Because if you plan to double-cross Porter, you'd better make sure he's dead. Porter resurfaces, wading into a lurid urban underworld of syndicate kingpins, cops on the take, sniveling informants and deadly gangs. Porter wants his money back. And the way he sets out to get is assures that, from beginning to heart pounding end, Payback pays off big.


Perfect Couple: No description available


Phantasm: Mike, a young teenage boy who has just lost his parents, is afraid to lose his brother. This fear causes him to follow his brother to a funeral, where Mike witnesses the Tall Man lift a coffin on his own. Mike decides to investigate and discovers a horrible world where the Tall Man, along with his flying spheres, shrink the to half their normal size and reanimate them as slaves. It is then up to Mike, his brother, and Reggie the ice cream man to stop the Tall man.


Phantasm III: The Tall Man, that imposing menace from Morningside Mortuary, is back and once again haunting the thoughts of the now-adult Mike and his friend, ex-Ice Cream vendor Reggie. The two continue their hunt for the mysterious figure and in his path of destruction encounter a variety of dangerous situations, friends and enemies. They also must contend with the resurrected dead plus a growing number of the infamous and deadly silver spheres which aid the Tall Man as he sets his sights on indoctrinating Mike and finishing the fight begun so many years ago.


Romance on the High Seas: When Mrs. Kent suspects Mr. Kent of running around behind her back, she decides to play a trick on her husband. She books a single ticket on a cruise ship, announces her departure... and sends another woman in her place.
However, Mr. Kent doesn't like the idea of Mrs. Kent being alone at sea. So he hires a detective to keep an eye on her during the trip. The real trouble begins when the private dick and the fake Mrs. Kent fall in true love...


Scooby Doo Where Are You: Complete Third Season: A group of friends and their dog (Scooby Doo) travel in a van solving strange and hilarious mysteries. Popular cartoon series featuring Scooby Doo, a dog who joins Velma, Daphne, Freddie, and Shaggy on many quests to solve mysterious. Each mystery


Shaking Dream Land: When Robert marries the beautiful Alice they are the 'perfect couple'. But the moment he learns his wife is pregnant, dark secrets from the past fly unbidden into the present and threaten to destroy their future.


Slaughter Night: No description available


Sombre: Former video installation artist Philippe Grandieux made his feature directorial debut with this French psychological thriller that probes the mind of a serial killer. A hand-held camera follows murderer Jean (Marc Barbe) as he strangles French women while driving about France. When Claire (Elina Lowensohn) has a roadside car breakdown, she and her sister Christine (Geraldine Voillat) get a lift from the demented Jean, who later attacks Christine while she's at a lake for a swim. Back at the hotel, he menaces both sisters. Claire succeeds in extricating Christine, who leaves on a train for Paris -- while Claire makes the mistake of sticking around in order to "help" the crazed Jean. Shown in competition at the 1998 Locarno Film Festival where it provoked controversy and an official statement: "Half of the jury would like to call attention to Sombre. Our jury split between those who were morally offended by the film and those who saw a purpose in its darkness, and in the strength of its mise-en-scene and images."


Sons & Lovers: An adaptation of the D.H. Lawrence classic.


The Streets of San Francisco - Season 1, Vol. 1: A pair of plainclothes homicide detectives, Lt. Mike Stone and Inspector Steve Keller, cruise the streets of San Francisco solving a variety of crimes, usually involving murder. Stone is the street-smart 20-year veteran cop, and Keller is the college-educated rookie. Much of the series' success was due to the friendly by-play and relationship between the two leads.


Teen Titans: Complete Third Season: In a major city, Robin the Boy Wonder leads his own team of superheroes, The Teen Titans. With his teammates, the dark Raven, the powerful Cyborg, the flighty alien princess Starfire and the flippant Beast Boy; the team battles the forces of evil where ever they appear like the the enigmatic Slade, the diabolical Brother Blood or the malevolently cosmic Trigon.


The Thomas Mann Collection: Includes - Buddenbrooks / Doktor Faustus / The Magic Mountain


Tom Brown's Schooldays: Based on the classic novel of the same name by Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown’s Schooldays chronicles the trials and tribulations of young Tom Brown at Rugby School. In particular, the story focuses on Tom’s relationships with notorious bully Flashman and the kindly Master Arnold.


The Untouchables - Season One, Vol. 1: Though certainly tame by The Shield standards, the inaugural 14 episodes from The Untouchables' 1959-60 season are still as potent as a shot of Al Capone's bootleg whiskey. Dames get slapped around. Mugs are mowed down in a hail of wall-pocking, mirror-shattering bullets. Upstanding citizens are brutally terrorized by thugs. Incorruptible Feds are brazenly rubbed out. Sometimes, criminals have the last laugh. It has the visceral kick of watching one of those pre-code Hollywood movies produced before the Hays Office stepped in to sanitize objectionable content. This set opens with the theatrically released version of the two-part pilot episode that set the noir sensibility of the series. Robert Stack (in his iconic and oft-parodied role) stars as Elliot Ness, a straight-arrow Federal agent who forms a special squad of "reliable, courageous, dedicated and honest" men who initially take on Al Capone's corrupt criminal empire in 1929 Chicago. Ness is "a real man," (as a "burly-q" stripper observes). He's just not exactly loaded with personality. Nor do any other of the squad members stand out, except perhaps for Martin Flahrety, and that's only because he's played by a pre-Dick Van Dyke Show Jerry Paris. But from Neville Brand's Al Capone and Claire Trevor's Ma Barker to an unbilled Harry Dean Stanton as a suspect blind newspaperman, it's the legendary criminals and their henchmen (and the great character actors who portray them) who give each episode considerable moxie.


Dog Day Afternoon (HD DVD): Based upon true events, a New York man and two accomplices are besieged in a bank with all the bank employees after his attempt to rob enough money to pay for his male lover's sex change operation goes awry. What results is a two day media circus in which his private life and the humiliation of the police is laid bare for the whole city.


Payback - Straight Up - The Director's Cut (HD DVD): In Brian Helgeland's new director's cut of the film, Mel Gibson portrays Porter, a career criminal bent on revenge after his partners in a street heist pump metal into him and take off with his $70,000 cut. Bad move, thugs. Because if you plan to double-cross Porter, you'd better make sure he's dead. Porter resurfaces, wading into a lurid urban underworld of syndicate kingpins, cops on the take, sniveling informants and deadly gangs. Porter wants his money back. And the way he sets out to get is assures that, from beginning to heart pounding end, Payback pays off big.


Scanner Darkly (HD DVD): The L.A. of a not-too-distant future suffers a surge of drug abuse involving a new ultra-addictive and eventually brain-damaging substance simply named "D". Bob Arctor is an undercover narc leading a double life, dutifully reporting to his superiors while effectively having abandoned whatever normal existence he had for a "D" user/dealer career. But this schizophrenic situation and the drug-induced memory and concentration lapses put Bob under mounting stress.


Dog Day Afternoon-Special Edition (Blu-ray): Based upon true events, a New York man and two accomplices are besieged in a bank with all the bank employees after his attempt to rob enough money to pay for his male lover's sex change operation goes awry. What results is a two day media circus in which his private life and the humiliation of the police is laid bare for the whole city.


Payback: Straight Up (Blu-ray): In Brian Helgeland's new director's cut of the film, Mel Gibson portrays Porter, a career criminal bent on revenge after his partners in a street heist pump metal into him and take off with his $70,000 cut. Bad move, thugs. Because if you plan to double-cross Porter, you'd better make sure he's dead. Porter resurfaces, wading into a lurid urban underworld of syndicate kingpins, cops on the take, sniveling informants and deadly gangs. Porter wants his money back. And the way he sets out to get is assures that, from beginning to heart pounding end, Payback pays off big.


Scanner Darkly (Blu-ray): The L.A. of a not-too-distant future suffers a surge of drug abuse involving a new ultra-addictive and eventually brain-damaging substance simply named "D". Bob Arctor is an undercover narc leading a double life, dutifully reporting to his superiors while effectively having abandoned whatever normal existence he had for a "D" user/dealer career. But this schizophrenic situation and the drug-induced memory and concentration lapses put Bob under mounting stress.