Ring of Fire (1991) Review

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(More customer reviews)After almost 12 years of looking hopelessly for this edition of Ring of Fire on VHS and DVD, and even asking people online and searching the web to see if someone taped a copy off of TV, the real deal is finally here on DVD! If you don't know what I'm talking about, there was about 4 minutes of sex and nudity cut out of all versions of this movie on VHS and DVD and was only shown on premium channels back around 1991 or 1992. After almost 12 years they finally decided to release it with the nudity. Even if you already own a previous edition on DVD or VHS this is still a MUST BUY for Maria Ford fans. You won't be disappointed and the movie's (finally) great now!!

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The Shaolin Temple Review

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(More customer reviews)I am admittedly an addict of kung fu films. Ever since I was 10 and saw Enter the Dragon, I have watched literally hundreds of kung fu movies, practiced various styles and read the Toa Te Ching. I love all Chinese martial arts films from plotless two dollar chop sockey flicks of the 70's to modern day crime saga's to swordsman fantasies with sexy ghosts, hopping vampires and enchanted swords.
Shaolin temple and it's warrior monks are revered by movie goers and film makers, to the same extent they are admired by martial arts students the world over, so naturally shaolin and it's monks are featured as agents of virtue fighting for good in almost half the kung fu films out there. But no other film is as historicly significant and few are as visually spectacular as this one.
Firstly Shaolin Temple was the first martial arts film made in communist mainland China. Funded by the Chinese government in the early 80's to cash in on the kung fu film market in Hong Kong's success. One should consider the significance of this alone since religion of any kind was pretty much forbiden by the government of China, yet this film was made with quite a lot of Buhddist phylosophy and ceromony featured.
Secondly this was the debut film of Jet Li, who has since became the 3rd biggest star in martial arts film history (Bruce Lee #1, Jackie Chan #2) and his star continues to rise today. At the time Jet Li was the national Wu Shu champion of China. His performance in this film so amazing that after it screened in China, people walked great distances to see Jet Li at his home village, some days the line of people outsides of his house stretched for miles! No BS.
Also along side Li, the cast was made up of many other Wu Shu champions, unfourtunatly Li and all actors in the cast were paid about the equivelent of $0.20 a day, which is the same rate factory workers were paid! A few members of the cast are also real shaolin monks.
Another amazing feature of this film is that many of the scenes were filmed in the real shaolin temple. The temple itself is as stunning as most ancient Chinese structures, but there is something truely special when scenes are filmed in the forest of Pagodas, where the most respected monks are buried and also the hall with the holes in the floor is a true training hall in Shaolin and the holes in the stone floor have actually being worn down by centuries of practice. Something about the reality just astounds you in a way that mere cinematic specials effects never will.
If that is not enough, Shaolin Temple features some of the most lengthy and exciting, action packed and dazzling, skillfull and well executed fight scenes ever caught on film. The scenes feature plenty of different fighting styles and some of the more exotic Chinese weaponary, not usually seen in action on film. There is a great piece too where Jet Li peeks over a fence to watch monks practice, once again the REALITY (of their skill) is more stunning than any explosions or laughably phony CGI.
Shaolin Temple is a true classic of the kung fu genre and landmark film for many reasons. Ever since this film hit the screens, the Shaolin temple in China has received renewed fame and people the world over have flocked to the real temple in the hopes of learning from the monks. Hundreds of schools, a few are run by actual monks, have set up all around the actual temple. The power of the film Shaolin Temple has inspired countless people East and West and I am sure that it will continue to inspire.

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Top Dog (1995) Review

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(More customer reviews)In "Top Dog", Chuck Norris again plays a tough cop who prefers to work alone, very much like in "Lone Wolf McQuade". His boss forces him to work with a partner, only this time the new partner turns out to be a dog named Reno, Together, they must stop a violent white supremacist group and at the same time find out who killed Reno's last partner.
Watching "Top Dog", I get the feeling the filmmakers couldn't decide who their target audience was. The cop/dog story, and a subplot involving a young boy suggests a family film, but the film is no less violent than many other Norris films. I doubt if it's suitable for children. On the other hand, some scenes feel very much like a family film and aren't likely to appeal to action or Chuck Norris fans. To me the film would have been better without those scenes. It's still an entertaining grade B film with both action and humor. The interaction between Norris and his dog is more fun than that of James Belushi and his dog in "K-9". Recommended to Norris fans and fans of lightweight action/comedies who can overlook the more silly parts of the film.

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Killing Machine - Shorinji Kenpo Review

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(More customer reviews)And man was it powerful. Just as hard hitting emotionally as a lot of good american post war movies, BUT WITH KARATE. I have to admit that I really am not a huge fan of Sonny Chiba. But then again, I don't really like the street fighter movies. I grew up on that stupid iron eagle movie. i like him more in movies like shogun's assasin, shogun's ninja, kill bill, and storm rider's but this movie is more of the "street fighter" style and is in my personal opinion, BY FAR SONNY CHIBA's SINGLE BEST PERFORMANCE. Sonny Chiba, the greatest anti hero ever is truly a killing machine in this one.
So basically every time you here a woman crying or someone is in trouble, SONNY CHIBA WILL START KILLING PEOPLE. Oh man was he awesome. He is not fighting some fat karate guy like he did in street fighter but he is playing a characeter named Doshin So. He was trained in Shaolin and eventually founded the style known today as Shorinji Kenpo. And Kenpo is beign used to just detroy people in thsi movie! He plays a renegade who after the war just gets pissed off at evreything wrong in the world and DOES SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!!! He doesn;t give up, just keeps noticign things that are wrong with his country becasue of the war and blows up. He is told to lay low, but oh no. He keeps teaching at his school and a young girl who he saved twice learns from him. So the local thugs know that Chiba is a badass and go to his school to offer him and his students money to take care of some criminal business they need done to capitilize on the post war depression, uh-oh. You just asked that question to the wrong guy. He declines of course but he goes to stop them and brings his students, of course. One of his students gets killed and uh-oh again. Yeah, some more limbs by the tens get broken and some are lost forever:)
Overall this movie has a few big flaws, but with how low of a budget they had, it was truly an epic for it's time.
Perfectly letterboxed picture, 5.1 sound is pretty good, and picture is surprisingly VERY good. Subtitles are also VERY good.
Also some trailers including another one of my favorite chiba flicks-G.I. SAMURAI.
I first saw this on the brentwood 10 pack-"Tough Guys of Kung Fu" and that is actually a pretty good buy. Full screened but probably best pictuer quality in the whole set. Still pretty bad though.I would only suggest the good version if you have the money and really enjoy this flick, casue i know I liked it enough that I had to egt teh other version. Well worth it! Enjoy.

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The Trouble-Makers (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)This often silly romantic tale stars Maggie Q from "Mission Impossible 3" & next year's "Die Hard 4." Maggie plays Clary who rents a room in a Chinese flat. Terence Yin from "Lara Croft Tomb Raider" plays the romantic lead who is transferred into this Chinese town. The landlord, the cop & Clary set up a scam to scare Yin out of the house by making him believe it is haunted so they can rent it again. There is a lot of dressing up in crazy attire, but this is not a spooky tale. Yin moves to his Aunt's house who also sets up a scam of accusing him of taking advantage his cousin so she can have an excuse to boot him out of the house. With nowhere to go, he returns to his flat to discover the first scam. Yin's buddies set up retro-scam and pretend to take advantage of Q. She then scams the scammers, which results in Yin taking care of a catatonic Clary. After the plot bounces back & forth a few times, the frame freezes just as Yin leans in for the big kiss. This entertaining lightweight romp teases more than delivers. Enjoy!

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Another Meltdown Review

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(More customer reviews)I heard of this movie through the 'coming attractions' list on the end of the new Director's Cut DVD of 'Drive' by Steve Wang (Region 2 only, sorry!). Get ready - a Hong Kong movie that has good plot, great characters and depth. It's the perfect antidote to overblown, over-hyped American/British films that take 3 hours and $3million to make a lot of noise about nothing. Chiu Man Chuk (his Cantonese name) is Officer Dong, transferred to the (fictional) Russian state of Lavernia for disobeying orders while rescuing hostages. He meets up with his best mate Andrew who takes life a little less seriously than he does. Dong is there five minutes and manages to arrest the leading criminal in the subway, featuring the first of many amazing fight sequences between the two. What follows is a passionate tale of second chances, betrayal, heroes and friendship. A quietly amazing film. The Honk Kong Legends Region 2 DVD has some real goodies too - an interview with Chiu Man Chuk, his Wu Shu demonstration, photo galleries, a music promo for the release, more coming attractions from the distribution company, biographies and audio options. A few scenes are grainy but it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the film,and the sound is obviously great. It only comes in 2CH not 5.1 Dolby sound, but hey, it still beats a VHS! WATCH THIS IN CANTONESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES! If you choose the dubbed version Officer Dong is American and it ruins the whole style of the film. Don't miss Chiu Man Chuk's performance - be ready to put him on your list of top ten actors. What about the fact he doesn't speak English? Well I don't speak Cantonese but there are less people in the English-speaking world than there are in the Chinese dialects region! Rent it, buy it, just get hold of it! At 87 minutes its well worth the investment!

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NEW Three Kingdoms - Three Kingdoms (blu-ray) (Blu-ray) Review

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(More customer reviews)Review of the Uncut HK version.
Amid the beloved historical epic tales of the "Battle or Romance of the Three Kingdoms", arose three movies in 2008. The very mediocre "Empress and the Warriors" with Donnie Yen, and late last year came the first chapter of John Woo's "Red Cliff". Daniel Lee's (Dragon Squad) "Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon" was released a few months earlier in Asia than Woo's star-studded film (which I will review later), and has Hong Kong's Andy Lau (Running on Karma) in the lead as the famous General Zhao Zhilong--yes the same guy in the video game named Zhao Yun in "Dynasty Warriors". The film has massive commercial appeal, and the film is beautifully shot. However, purists of the tales of the Three Kingdoms will be annoyed and repulsed, as the film does feel a little empty in regards to an intricate storyline and full of historical inaccuracies. (Hint: John Woo's overly exaggerated film about the three kingdoms isn't much better)
228 A.D, before the rise of the Jin Dynasty. The kingdoms of Shu, Wei and Wu are divided. Zhilong (Andy Lau) is a simple soldier from Changsan who becomes a legendary warrior under the employ of Liu (Yueh Huah) who rises from the ranks of the Shu forces to become one of the "Five Tiger Generals". Zhilong becomes famous for his many campaigns against Cao and the last surviving general of the "Five Tigers". Now, after many years of war, Zhilong is set to make his last stand against Cho's granddaughter--who has become a beautiful, cold and stoic warrior woman; Cao Ling (Maggie Q, Live Free and Die Hard).
The film is narrated by Pingan (Sammo Hung), Zhilong's oldest friend who joined the Liu army with him many years ago. The film is supposed to cover thirty years, Zhilong was a simple soldier who ascends to become a simple general and so the film feels a little too short. There are a lot of plot holes and several important parts missing, but then as a tale being narrated by Pingan who remained a simple soldier in the ranks, I can accept its shortcomings. Pingan never became a part of Zhilong's military unit until his final campaign. The viewer is privy to Zhilong's achievements through the musings of humble Pingan and it is rather hard for Sammo Hung to carry this burden, and purists will undoubtedly become disconnected. Zhilong is a renowned general in the Shu kingdom, he may be remembered as the "Spartan" of the Liu army--truly legendary and whose name struck fear in the hearts of his enemies.
Thankfully, Andy Lau does turn in a great performance and I am happy to say he isn't miscast. This may well be his best performance since his role in "The Warlords" with Jet Li. The plot may be a little too simple and doesn't reach Zhilong's epic grandeur, but Lau does the best of what he's got; Lau is playing a larger-than-life character and despite the simple plot, he manages to project the character competently. Maggie Q. is alluring as Cao Ling, and despite her limited screen time, she was exciting and enchanting to watch. The rest of the supporting cast isn't so bad, but we all have to remember that this is a film with Zhilong as its central focus.
Aside from the Pingan narrations, the real problems begin when the film has some "add-on" characters played by two lesser known performers in the persona of Vanness Wu, and Andy On; they seem to be mere attempts to give the young stars some exposure. (Maggie Q. is just so hot, I don`t mind her at all) A lot of folks would be interested to see this film because of truly iconic characters played by accomplished actors such as Sammo Hung, Yueh Hua, Ti Lung, Chen Zhihui; but sadly the film does nothing with them. Zhilong may be the center of the film but all others, disappear after the first half. This film definitely needed to be longer and the significance of the other four "Tiger Generals" to Zhilong a little more fleshed out.
The action sequences have the usual style of Chinese epics and reminiscent of other films of this kind. The choreography by Yuen Tak is fairly good, although it looked too flashy for my tastes. (as with Woo's "Red Cliff') The shots are cool and well-choreographed, a blend of the usual wire-fu, wild slow-mo and blood and some gore. Highlights include Zhilong rescuing Liu's son, (which was fairly exciting) and the fight between Cao Ling and Zhilong were very cool to watch. The fights provide great eye candy, but that's all they were; pure eye candy. The film does have a lot of action, it feels more like an action drama and abandons the contemplative nature of the horrors of war.(although it does touch on this idea a little in the final act) Writer/director Daniel Lee does an average job in mixing in emotions and action, but it felt that it reduced its visceral effect. The film has colorful, elaborate costumes and some beautiful cinematography that it will no doubt attract mainstream audiences.
"Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon" isn't a bad film, and I rather thought that this may be Daniel Lee's best work. It is a lot better than the abysmal "Empress and the Warriors" and I've seen John Woo's "Red Cliff" and believe me, Woo's first take on the "Three Kingdoms" period was better but only by a tad. The lore and legend of the Three Kingdoms isn't fully fleshed out, and the film does resort to flashy camera tricks and choreographed action sequences. While this may not be exactly be a bad thing, and will no doubt give the non-meticulous viewer a good diversion, purists of its historical significance will be very disappointed since it isn`t as intricately compelling as I wished it to be. The film never does delve into wartime strategy that much and falls to the usual epic trappings of honor, betrayal and fate. This film has massive commercial appeal but quite respectable in its quality. "Three Kingdoms" is indeed an entertaining experience, but not outstanding and manages to exude coolness throughout--but isn't war supposed to be "un-cool"?
Another one for the overindulgent International audience for beautiful Chinese epics.
Recommended! [3 ½ Stars]


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The Legend (1993) Review

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(More customer reviews)I recently saw the english dubbed version of Fong Sai Yuk (The Legend), after watching the original subtitled version.
First, let me say- Disney is way off on the R rating of this film. There is no nudity, coarse language, or blood and guts. There is violence, but it never goes past the point of something you wouldn't see in an action cartoon show on Saturday mornings. It's punching, hitting, and kicking. There's hardly any scenes with knives or swords or other deadly weapons. Not that I'm saying it's cool to beat people up, it's just never used in bad taste.
Overall, I was sorely disappointed with the dubbed version. However, my friends (who never saw the subtitled version) really enjoyed it- so I gave it a higher rating of 4 stars. For me, it's one thing to ruin the dialog and music from the original movie, but deleting scenes goes a step way too far. Here's a few missing scenes from the english dubbed version:
1. Fong Sai Yuk (Jet Li's character) curling his mom's hair. It may seem trivial, but without it my friends didn't understand the close relationship between the two characters. Not to mention, it's a funny scene. 2. The mother's uncontrollable orgasmic interpretive dance reaction to the father reciting poetry. It's an ongoing joke in the film and with these scenes cut out and dialog missing, there is a real confusing part in the end for people who haven't seen the subtitled version. In the subtitled version Fong Sai Yuk and his lovely new bride ride into the sunset. As they ride off, Fong Sai Yuk recites poetry to her. With the dialog changed and without seeing the previous deleted scene, my friends were confused to why Fong Sai Yuk's new bride was going into deadly convulsions on her horse as she rode away. 3. When Fong Sai Yuk's Mom wins the fight to win the daughter's hand in marriage, she is forced to sign a marriage contract with a knife to her throat. When Tiger Lu can't get her hand open to put her thumb print, he just shoves her fist into an ink bowl and just stamps her fist on the marriage contract. Great physical comedy. Later on at Fong Sai Yuk's home, the mother has the palace guard's swords to her throat as ransom- which is how they manage to capture Fong Sai Yuk. A scene that was also deleted. 4. Tiger Lu trying to make friends with Fong Sai Yuk by joining him in making terrible music in the palace courtyard. This is a hilarious scene! Fong Sai Yuk is determined to make his father in law to be (Tiger Lu) hate him. He is doing this to get out of marrying his daughter, or who he believes is Tiger Lu's daughter. At the same time, Tiger Lu is trying to gain acceptance by marrying his daughter to a popular young man from the town (Fong Sai Yuk). To cheese off Tiger Lu, Fong Sai Yuk starts playing pots and pans in the palace courtyard at the break of dawn and chants some terrible off key tune. Tiger Lu awakens angrily but goes into the courtyard Smiling and joins him with a gong. The two try harder to annoy and warm up to each other while the palace servants fall victim to the terrible racket.
There are other deleted scenes not worth mentioning. The dialogue in the original version was highly witty and also the lines between character's were more in depth. Still, although the dialogue wasn't up to par compared with the original, there is some credit due that they didn't make up really terrible dialogue in it's place. For the most part, the story moves along exactly as it does in the original and it's the story that is the real incredible part of this movie. The story contains romance, mistaken identity, traitors, heros, villains, tragedy, and (of course) victory. The storyline of this movie seems almost like one of Shakespeare's plays. Also, the original dialogue was even wittier than what Shakespeare would come up with- which makes me upset it was lost. My friends understood the story though, and loved the movie with it's flaws. As others have stated, it's inexcusable for a DVD release not have both languages and subtitles on it. That's whole point of getting a DVD, those great extra features. I'll wind up buying both versions, it's the kind of movie you want to share with people and some people just can't keep up with subtitles. I suggest you rent or buy the english version "The Legend", and if you like it- check out the subtitled version. You can find the subtitled version on eBay.

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The Master Gunfighter (1975) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you're looking for a sophisticated, well written and well acted western, look elsewhere. However, if you're looking for a unique western that will provide you with silly entertainment, get this movie. The movie can simply be described as a "Billy Jack" movie set in the old west and Billy Jack is armed with a samurai sword and a special revolver (and he, of course, knows how to use them both). If you're a fan of the "Billy Jack" movies or you're just looking to expand your 1970's cultural awareness, you'll enjoy this movie.

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Shaolin Master Killer (Widescreen Edition) (1979) Review

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(More customer reviews)Gordon Liu (also known as Lau Kar Fai) stars as a young man who's friends and family have been killed by the new government. He wakes up at the Shaolin Temple, a place he has only heard about a couple of times. When he realizes he is at the best place possible to learn kung fu, he begs and begs to learn so that he can revenge his family. He does finally get taught, but has to start with the basics. Every part of his body must become stronger before he can learn how to fight. After he finishes the first stages of training in record time, he is now highly respected and moves onto learning actual fighting styles. He breezes through this and becomes a great fighter in only 5 years or so. This is not one of those movies that has 1 or 2 training sequences. Gordon is shown in at least 13 of the chambers and half of the movie is spent at Shaolin. So after he has become a master fighter, he is given a high honor and told that he can become second in charge of any of the 35 chambers. A senior monk played by the great Lee Hoi San objects to this and says that he can't have this honor unless Gordon defeats him in a weapons duel. Lee Hoi San does not play a villain, but he does not think that Gordon is a good enough fighter to receive so much praise. His plan works better than he could have ever imagined. He ends up helping Gordon improve as a fighter and as a person. Gordon is told he can leave Shaolin now, and he goes to take revenge on the evil General who killed his family.
One thing that sets this movie apart is that it tries to be a real movie, and it succeeds. Watching Gordon grow up into a man is remarkable to see. The commentators didn't notice, but a lot of the stuff in this movie is very real. When Gordon has to use the pole with the wieght on the end to hit the bell over and over again, that is a real weight on the end of the pole! Gordon talks in the interview (included on this disc) about how the sabres that Lo Lieh uses in the final fight are real, and it just makes the movie that much better. Dont expect your average tale of revenge. I was touched deeply when I first saw this and there are not many kung fu movies that have as much meaning and feeling.
Rating- 5/5
Picture quality is remastered very well. It does get a bit darker and lighter in some scenes, but other than slight print damage once or twice, the picture quality is perfect. The Mandarin, Cantonese and English tracks all sound excellent. In fact, I have never heard the English dub sound this good. The subtitles should have been written better, and the English dub is actually a better translation. They are not horribly written, but could have been a lot better. I am not complaining though since this is the only fault on the DVD.
Special features include a great commentary from The RZA and this Andy Klein guy who does not know very much about the genre. Luckily RZA is there to help him point out actors like Lau Kar Wing, Wilson Tong and Hsiao Hou. I found the commmentary enjoyable. RZA talks about his experiences with this movie, and he is definitely a 36th Chamber expert. And I found it pretty funny that he seems to think Gordon Liu is a monk in real life.
The 17 minute interview with Gordon Liu is very interesting. He talks about many things such as training day and night and how great of an honor it was to work with a megastar like Lo Lieh. Gordon skips over the years like people should know what he is talking about, but just in case you don't, I will fill you in. In 1974 Lau Kar Leung was Chang Cheh's top action director and Gordon Liu was cast as a villain alongside Johnny Wang Lung Wei and Leung Kar Yan in movies like '7 Man Army'. When Lau Kar Leung split up with Chang Cheh he started directing his own movies for the Shaw Brothers, starting with 'Spiritual Boxer'. In his next movie 'Challenge of the Masters', Lau Kar Leung cast his younger adopted brother Gordon Liu as the lead. This is what led to Gordon becoming the star of 'The 36th Chamber of Shaolin', the greatest Shaolin Temple movie ever made.
There is a 17 minute documentary on Shaolin that is basically another 17 minutes of awesome info from Gordon Liu.
The 8 minute interview with film critic/scholars Andy Klein and David Shute is a very good description of how great of a movie this is.
The RZA gets a 10 minute interview where he talks about where he first started watching these movies and also gives his thoughts on the Shaw Brothers and explains why the Master Killer in his rap group took that name.
The trailers are the best special feature. The trailer for 'Shaolin Mantis' is very unique. Instead of showing clips from the movie, the actors introduce what kind of kung fu styles are going to be used (be sure to look for Lily Li!). Lau Kar Leung is the director of 'Shaolin Mantis' and doesn't even have a role in the movie, but he gets to show off his ultra awesome kung fu skills quite a bit in the trailer. I think I have watched this trailer about 50 times, and I will eventually master that Shadow style!
Also included are ORIGINAL trailers for 'The 36th Chamber', 'Return to the 36th Chamber', 'Disciples of the 36th Chamber', '8 Diagram Pole Fighter', 'My Young Auntie', 'One Armed Swordsman', 'Infernal Affairs 3' and the original Master Killer US TV commercial.
The last special feature is a gallery of original movie posters and movie stills.

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Rickson Gracie: Choke (1999) Review

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(More customer reviews)Rickson Gracie "Choke" is more than just a fight video - it captures the anxiety, preparation, and visceral intensity behind the competitors as they prepare for competition. View at the Ultimate Fighting Championship with a much deeper background.
The video captures the preparation for, and competition in Vale Tudo Japan 1995, a mixed martial arts competition where almost anything goes. ("Vale Tudo" is Portuguese for "Anything Goes", but the rules are not quite that extreme.)
The video takes an in depth look at 3 of the participants.
1 - Todd Hays is an all around gifted athlete, with a background in kickboxing. His mixture and fear are apparent as he attempts to use this event to pay for his Olympic bobsleading dreams.
2 - Koichiro Kimura is a Japanese amateur shootfighting champion, who wants nothing more than to test himself against the best. You get to meet his parents, who are affraid he'll die in the ring.
3 - Rickson Gracie is the defending champion, as well as the best of the famous Gracie family. It's no suprise that he gets the lion's share of the publicity.
In addition to the gritty reality of the fighting, you're introduced to some humorous back scene footage: Rickson's desire for a belt in addition to a trophy brings some chuckles, as does his last minute desire to hit the restroom. A near blind Yuki Nakai is both valiant and funny when he screams, "Rickson, I'm coming for you!"
If you're looking for a technique video, this is not it. If you're looking for 2 hours of fighting from the best guys out there today, again this is not the video. If you're looking to understand the mind of the fighter, in the context of the ring, this is the only DVD out there. I was rivited from start to finish.

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This exquisite piece of work is far more professional than any of the American pro wrestling mega-event videos produced recently. The often-gory fights are well handled and only play a small role; this video is not solely about fighting. Done in documentary style, "Choke" takes an introspective look at the men--their goals, their dreams, and their families--who become the ultimate fighting machines in the ring at the 1995 Vale Tudo World Fighting Championship in Tokyo. \nDelving into the life of the undefeated and undisputed world freestyle fighting champion, Rickson Gracie, a 30-year-old jujitsu expert from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this video displays a side that you rarely see in sports: the articulate, intelligent family man who turns his training into the art of movement and athleticism--not violence. It also explores the world of two men expected to offer a serious challenge to Gracie: American heavyweight kickboxer Todd "Hollywood" Hays and Japanese shootfighting heavyweight champion Koichiro Kimura. These two men provide some of the more uplifting moments in the documentary. Hays, who is also a member of the U.S. Olympic bobsled team, explains how he will use his performance money to fund his dream of buying a bobsled that will allow him to be a driver in the 1998 Winter Games. Kimura completes his training but then has to ask the permission of his elderly parents to compete. The big man bluffs his way through with a warm smile and a respectful manner.\n"Choke" is an insightful look at a full-contact, controversial sport. The only warning it should carry is that some of the scenes are graphically violent and some of the language is X-rated. "--Gordie Sholtys"

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Kiss the Bride Review

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(More customer reviews)My wife watches a lot of chick flicks, but this one has to be amongst the most boring. It's pretty much the same old trope, little that's original. The groom commits the stupid mistake of telling the bride about some secret sin ON HER WEDDING DAY. It's amazing how often this happens in romantic comedies. Frankly, this one's a pass.

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In Hell (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)In Hell is one of the best JCVD movies from his recent direct to video offerings. In the film, he plays Kyle LeBlanc, a French-American man living and working in Russia with his American wife, who soon gets brutally murdered. Kyle is then sent to a Russian prison after he murders the man who killed his wife. Of course, this prison is no cakewalk...actually it makes Oswald State Prison from the HBO show "Oz" literally look like Disney World. The warden and guards are all corrupt and the prisoners who have money get all the perks. The warden also sets up a human cockfighting arena on the prison grounds where he has two prisoners fight (most of the time fight to the death) and he and his friends take bets on the winners. Of course, JCVD sets out to make his way through this corrupt system, help his new prison friends, and get revenge for his wife's death.
The film is very dark, brutal, and bloody, but it is beautifully filmed. There is one scene in particular when Kyle is thrown in "the hole" for misbehaving. In that scene, after Kyle loses hope and tries to hang himself, a moth flies down from the window/rafters above him and the camera beautifully follows it down as it flutters toward Kyle, and then it lands on the handle of the spoon that is in his untouched bowl of gruel, as if to say, "Eat. Get stronger, and you will be able to free yourself from this place." I know it sounds really corny, but it is really a lovely scene and not something that you typically see in JCVD films.
The DVD transfer is awesome. Picture and sound quality are good and you get widescreen and fullscreen to choose from.
Definitely a movie to see, whether you like Van Damme or not. It's a movie for anyone who has ever lost anyone they loved or had their life inexplicably turned upside down and had to fight to get things right.

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Mighty Morphin Power Rangers The Movie / Turbo - A Power Rangers Movie (1995) Review

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(More customer reviews)Wow! The Power Rangers on DVD! Never before have the Power Rangers looked so good! I don't even know where to begin, but here goes! First, the contents of this dvd. Both Mighty Morphin Power Rangers The Movie and Turbo A Power Rangers Movie are here. This disc is a dual-layer disc, with one movie per side. Each movie is in widescreen format (YEAH!), and each movie is accompanied by the theatrical trailer and featurette. It's not loaded with extras, but since you're getting two awesome movies on one disc for a fair price, it's hard to complain. As for the films, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers The Movie is the first theatrical production of the Power Rangers series. The Rangers in this movie are Tommy, Kimberly, Adam, Billy, Aisha and Rocky. MMPR The Movie is good fun, with cool action sequences and neat costumes. The only draw back to this film is that it strays from its Sentai roots by giving the Rangers vinyl outfits and replacing their Mega Zord with a poorly designed computer graphic one. Besides those minor discrepancies though, this movie is great for Power Rangers fans. Next, Turbo Power Rangers, is my personal favorite of the two. The Rangers in this film are Tommy, Kat, Adam, Tanya, and Justin (who replaces Rocky). However, the highlight of this movie is the return of the ORIGINAL POWER RANGERS, Jason and Kimberly, although they don't suit up as Rangers. Thankfully, this movie does not stray far from its Sentai roots, as the Rangers faithfully maintain the costumes and Zords of their Japanese counter-parts, and all other elements you've come to expect from a Power Rangers spectacle are there. All in all, this dvd is great bang for your buck and awesome entertainment for those who enjoy light-fare, Sentai, sci-fi action. I highly recommend it for the kid in the family or the kid in you. It'll surely put a smile on your face : )

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Kung-Fu Master Review

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(More customer reviews)I am a big fan of kung-fu movies so when I saw this I had to watch it. I figured it would be good since it is new. Also it has Yuen Biao in it who I loved in the Once Upon a Time in China series. After watching the movie which I could barely do, I was disappointed. This is one of the worst kung fu movies I have seen and any fan of kung fu movies knows there are a ton of bad ones. I prefer bad '70s kung fu movies to this. It seems to have taken little parts and scenes from a lot of movies to make this one. I thought the picture quality wasn't that good, the plot wasn't original, and the fight scenes were done poorly. It seems as if a high school drama class was in charge of producing the movie. If you have really low expectations than it may be okay but when I see Yuen Biao in a movie I expect it to not be horrible. I hope you like it more than I did.

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Army of One (aka Joshua Tree) (1993) Review

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(More customer reviews)I thought this was a good entertaining movie. I wish there was more hand to hand combat, since Lundgren is specialized, but overall it was good. I got double my money's worth. Non stop action. George Segal was excellent as well as a corrupt cop.

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I thought this was a good entertaining movie. I wish there was more hand to hand combat, since Lundgren is specialized, but overall it was good. Igot double my money's worth. Non stop action. George Segal was excellent as well as a corrupt cop.

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The 14 Amazons (Shaw Brothers) (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Shaw Brothers, the company known for their many releases of Hong Kong films for many decades ran by producer Sir Run Run Shaw, knighted by the British government and founder of Shaw University in Hong Kong and even founded the HK-TVB TV network was a major power behind the company and his third brother Runme Shaw (who founded South Sea Film), the film company would become known as Shaw Brothers Studio and become the first studio to bring Hong Kong cinema with sound in 1934.
The Shaw Brothers have created over a thousand films and with several having been aired on US television and some being released on video, "The 14 Amazons" gets its release on DVD courtesy of Celestial Pictures and FUNimation Entertainment via their Hong Kong Connection line featuring original masters of the original film and both the Mandarin and English dub dialogue.
In 1972, the film "The 14 Amazons" was released in theaters and won Best Director (Cheng Kang), Best Supporting Actress (Lisa Lu), Best Sound Recording and Honorable Mention for Drama for the 11th Golden Horse Awards in 1973 and earn Lily Ho the "Oustanding Female Lead Performance" for the 19th Asian Film Festival (1973).VIDEO:
"The 14 Amazons" is presented in 16:9 and received restoration by Celestial Pictures. I was absolutely impressed by the restoration since a lot of the older Shaw films I have seen definitely shows its age. Watching this film, I was impressed by the colors and how the film looks as if it was made recently versus in 1972. I can definitely imagine how beautiful the print would be on Blu-ray where I'm sure the colors of the film would definitely pop.
The film utilizes quite a bit of colors and since the characters are seen during the outdoors, a good level of natural light is shown through the film. Details on mountains and lush scenery can be seen and of course, a lot of red for the blood seen on this film.
But aside from the colors which I enjoy, there are some problems that I did find. There is a blurring effect when the camera pans quickly and also some parts, was not sure if it was intentional (to be artistic) when you see the picture pause for a split second. Also, one scene where I felt the editing was cut to abruptly.
But overall, aside from those few negatives, it doesn't ruin the enjoyment of the film at all. The restoration of "The 14 Amazons" is quite impressive.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
As for audio, the film is presented in English Dolby Digital stereo and Mandarin Mono. Personally, having endured these Shaw films with the terrible (yet humorous) English dubs back in the late '70s and early '80s, just watching it again with the English dub just didn't make sense anymore (unless you get a kick of how bad they were acted). So, watching it with the Mandarin mono track was my choice and preference.
I felt the English stereo soundtrack was OK but felt the Mandarin mono to be much better. For listening, I had my receiver set for stereo on all channels for a more immersive soundtrack.
Some may be wondering why the film is presented in Mandarin when Hong Kong films are typically in Cantonese. The Shaw Brothers Studio had films split into Mandarin and Cantonese. Kang Cheng spearheaded the Mandarin division and was known for his violent martial arts films which were box office hits for the Shaw Brothers.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"The 14 Amazons" comes with trailers of upcoming releases.
EXTRAS:
The DVD comes with a slipcase.
JUDGMENT CALL:
"The 14 Amazons" was actually quite an epic film and at first I was expecting a cheesy film but I was very impressed by the sheer amount of action, violence and also how many talent were featured in this film to showcase the battles between the two clans. I use the word "epic" but not in the way that you see many people onscreen like John Woo's "Red Cliff" but for a '70s film, there's a lot of extras on this film to create the feeling of war.
And in some ways, I felt that this film was quite ambitious with the amount of obstacles the Yang Family had to endure during their march towards Western Xia and showing the sheer violence of the King and his sons.
Also, different compared to other Hong Kong Wuxia films is that the cast is mostly all female (for the Yang family). Although General Pao's remaining son Yang Wen is played by a woman (Lily Ho), the film which the actress really shines in but can see her in other Shaw Bros. films such as "The Golden Knight", "Jade Faced Assassin", "Silver Fox" and "Angel" films.
But "The 14 Amazons" was definitely an exciting adventure/martial arts film. The amount of action and violence worked well with each other as well as having a clan full of women who can kick ass makes things a bit more exciting as well. Interesting to note is a short early appearance by now world renown martial arts actor Yuen Biao (who trained with Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Corey Yuen) who has a role of a Yang soldier.
As for the DVD, I'm glad that you do have the option of the Mandarin or English dub track and the restoration of the film definitely adds to the enjoyment of the film as well. A shame that there are no special features but then again, since the Shaw Bros. churned out films one after the other, I'm not sure if that type of footage of the making of the film is lost.
But on its own, FUNimation Entertainment and Celestial Pictures are doing a great service for fans of these classic martial arts films by releasing it on DVD in the US. If you are a fan of the Shaw Brothers, these restored DVD releases are worth watching!

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