Holy cow, does this week suck for DVD & Blu-ray releases... which is fine by me because I'll need all the extra cash I can muster for SALT CITY HORROR FEST on Saturday! Aside from a few Bruce Lee Double Feature discs from Shout! Factory, THE VAMPIRE LOVERS on Blu-ray (courtesy of Scream Factory) and the official DVD/VOD release of MANBORG... there's not a whole lot to get excited over. Here's what's new:
NEW TO DVD & BLU-RAY Night of the Scarecrow (Olive Films) The Vampire Lovers
NEW TO DVD Agent Beetle Body Melt (Katarina's Nightmare Theater) The Dreaming / The Initiation (Katarina's Nightmare Theater) Bruce Lee Double Feature: Big Boss & Fist of Fury Bruce Lee Double Feature: Way of the Dragon & Game of Death Manborg The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey Night of the Living Dead: Resurrection The Wicked Victoryville Massacre
Sorry I'm a bit late with this post, but truthfully, it's no big deal because you're not missing much. It's a small list of genre releases this week that includes a bunch of indie direct-to-DVD titles, with a few cool Blu-rays tossed into the mix. I suggest that you hang on to your cold hard cash unless you have an intense desire to spend it! Here's what's new:
NEW TO DVD & BLU-RAY The Grapes of Death (Redemption Films) A Haunted House Night of the Hunted (Redemption Films) Thale
NEW TO BLU-RAY Castle Freak (There is an issue with this title; release date may be subject to change.) Dementia 13 & The Terror Jurassic Park 3D The Pit and the Pendulum (There is an issue with this title; release date may be subject to change.) Poor Pretty Eddie & Carnival Magic
NEW TO DVD All American Zombie Drugs Bloodsucking Vampire Freaks Cloned: The Recreator Chronicles Cold Prey II Dark Passions of a Sexual Serial Killer Deep Dark Canyon Flash Point Gothkill: The Soul Collector It's in the Blood Judgement Last Caress Pegasus vs. Chimera Re-Generator Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy Sloppy the Psychotic Treasure Chest of Horrors 2 Ultimate Zombie Feast 2
Sorry that this is a little late folks; been feeling out of sorts lately, which led to some laziness on my part. But the weekend is almost here for yours truly and I'm feeling better, and hell, I may even toss away some cash and see Rob Zombie's latest white trash horror fest, or Tom Cruise's new (highly predictable) sci-fi blockbuster. But that's stuff better mentioned in the next NOW PLAYING post, let's look at this (thankfully) small list of genre releases on DVD & Blu-ray:
NEW TO DVD & BLU-RAY Django Unchained Dragon Escapee Girl$: The Live Action Movie (DVD/Blu-ray combo) A Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia Iron Man: The Rise of the Technovore Jacob: Unrated Director's Cut Police Story / Police Story 2 (review) Repo Man (Criterion Collection) The Sorcerer and the White Snake
NEW TO DVD Attack of the Herbals Black Enforcers Flash Gordon: The Complete Series G.H.O.S.T. HP Lovecraft's The Dark Sleep Hunted in Hong Kong The Indestructible Man The Legend of Bruce Lee Part 1 The Legend of Bruce Lee Part 2 Message From Space Samurai Cop: Special Edition State of Emergency Tales from Mutantville Whispering Ghosts
NEW MULTI-FILM COLLECTIONS ON DVD Quentin Tarantino's Rolling Thunder Pictures Triple Feature Contains: Detroit 9000, Mighty Peking Man, and The Switchblade Sisters.
This week is chock full of genre cinema from our friends in the "Far East." Martial arts insanity, womanizing wizards battling demons, murderous sporting events, and lots of cheap movie 4-packs await your bank account this week. Here's what's new:
NEW TO DVD AND BLU-RAY Crush Deadball Father's Day The Four The Massage Parlor Murders (DVD/Blu-ray combo) The Sorcerer and the White Snake Womb Woochi: The Demon Slayer
NEW TO BLU-RAY Naked Lunch (Criterion Collection)
NEW TO DVD Azumi 2: Death or Love Dragon Wasps Expiration Fangoria Presents: Entity Holla if You Hear Me Kill You! Infected Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Land of Demons Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx Luster Naked Weapon President's Day The Suckers / The Love Garden
NEW MULTI-FILM COLLECTIONS ON DVD 4-Film Legion of the Dead Set Contains: Day of the Dead, Vampire Clan, WolvesBayne, and Ring of Darkness.
4-Film Snake Attack Pack Contains: Python, Python II, Boa, and Venemous.
4-Film Ultimate Disaster Set Contains: Lost City Raiders, Storm Cell, Polar Storm, and Quantum Apocalypse.
20-Film Horror Pack 4 Contains: Secrets of the Clown, The Fear, Chamber, Curse of the Wolf, Netherworld, Keepsake, Venom, In the Dead of Winter, Vampire Journals, Wes Craven Presents: Dracula III: Legacy, Beneath Loch Ness, Doll Graveyard, Halloween: Resurrection, Wages of Sin, Dangerous Worry Dolls, The Legend of Sorrow Creek, Hell's Highway, Shaded Places, Feeding Grounds, Dollman, and Descendant.
Note: This review is for a screener sent to me by Shout! Factory. "Woochi: The Demon Slayer" hits DVD & Blu-ray on Tuesday, April 9th wherever discs are sold!
MOVIE REVIEW: I am a sucker for Asian cinema, so I was super excited to check out WOOCHI: THE DEMON SLAYER when it arrived in my mailbox a few weeks back! The film is based upon the Korean folktale of Jeon Woochi, a Taoist wizard that is crazy about the ladies and likes to pull tricks on the aristocracy. (He's kind of like Korea's version of Wong Fei-hung.)
After coming across a magical flute that holds the key to defeating a race of goblins, Woochi is framed for the murder of his master and imprisoned within a scroll for 500 years. Eventually Woochi and his human/hound sidekick Chorangyi, are released from their parchment prisons when a "rat goblin" and a "bunny goblin" appear in modern Korea. (Though they sound kind of ridiculous, both CGI monsters actually look pretty cool!)
Though he's freed in order to help capture the monsters, Woochi is more interested in wooing the possible reincarnation of an old flame from centuries ago, and is also enjoying the finer things in modern society. Will he pull himself together and become the hero he needs to be in order to defeat the goblin menace and an old enemy from his past? Well, I suppose it'd be a much shorter movie if he didn't...
WOOCHI: THE DEMON SLAYER is one of South Korea's biggest blockbusters, and offers up some impressive CGI, especially considering that budget for the film was only twelve million dollars or so. The story is interesting, and there are some really fun moments in this movie. (e.g.Woochi "cloning" himself with the aid of his Taoist "amulets," in order to fight two goblins, is probably my favorite sequence in the movie.) However, this film is just way too long and has a really uneven pace.
Every time you think that it's building towards a big battle between Woochi and his foes, the movie kind of fizzles out; it really takes it sweet time in moving things along and lacks any real tension. There's no moment in the film that warrants an "Oh no, he won't succeed and he is sure to die! C'mon Woochi, you can do it!" reaction. It's like the heroes and villains were in no rush to see things through, even during the end when Woochi has his climactic wizard battle against the man who framed him 500 years ago.
And that's my main gripe with WOOCHI because everything else in the film works fairly well. It's an action/fantasy/comedy that contains all of the necessary ingredients of each genre (there are some great stunts and the comedic moments typically hit their mark), but what it really lacks is a "race against time" element to move things along at a brisk pace. Despite that, the film is pretty decent, though there were times I was left scratching my head because I'm not too familiar with the legend of Jeon Woochi. Maybe if I had read the Woochi folktale prior to watching this, or was at least a bit familiar with Taoism (guess it's time to hit Wikipedia), I'd probably have a better comprehension of some of the film's stranger moments. (WHY DO THE WOOCHI CLONES TURN INTO BROOMS WHEN DEFEATED?!)
I wasn't totally impressed with WOOCHI: THE DEMON SLAYER (which is a misleading title because he doesn't slay a single demon over the course of the film), but I had fun watching the special effects and Woochi's interactions with his goofy sidekick. Along with a great soundtrack, and inventive wire-stunts, I enjoyed WOOCHI enough to grant it:
THREE 'RADS'
BLU-RAY REVIEW
The Packaging: The Blu-ray cover (seen above) is generic and a bit misleading (due in part to the flying ninjas in the background) and comes in a standard Blu-ray case with a cardboard slipcover. Actually.. after looking at the original movie posters for the film, the Blu-ray cover is a definite improvement.
Audio & Video: WOOCHI: THE DEMON SLAYER looks great in its 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen HD transfer, particularly since its a recent movie. The disc comes with four audio choices: Korean DTS-HD 5.1, English Dubbed DTS-HD 5.1, Korean Dolby Digital 5.1, an English Dubbed Dolby Digital 5.1. I switched back and forth between the Korean and English DTS-HD audio options, and the dialogue, sound effects, and music all sound great!
My only complaints are minor ones really: While watching the film in its native language, there were a few moments where the subtitles moved a bit too fast. Also, the English dubbed version is atrocious; but then again, I've never been a big fan of dubbed foreign films. (With the exception of Toho's kaiju flicks.)
The Extras: Holy cow! This disc is packed with special features which include: The original theatrical trailer, thirteen minutes of deleted scenes, a "making-of" featurette, the "Newest Korean Style Hero Movie" featurette, cast and director interviews, six production featurettes that cover everything from the training of the film's stars to the lighting and shooting of key scenes, "The Magic of CGI" featurette, and four more featurettes focusing on the CGI effects in the film! The huge amount of behind the scenes material gives you a really comprehensive look at the making of WOOCHI and I'm pretty surprised this much love was given to this movie. The only downside is that all the extras are in standard definition.
Final Ruling: WOOCHI: THE DEMON SLAYER is an OK movie with an above average Blu-ray release. The audio and video presentation is top notch, and the disc is packed to the gills with extras covering every aspect of the film's creation. If you're a fan of Asian cinema, and/or like to get an in-depth look at how films are made, then this Blu-ray disc is worth picking up. I hereby give Shout! Factory's WOOCHI Blu-ray:
FOUR 'RADS'
WOOCHI: THE DEMON SLAYER comes to DVD & Blu-ray on Tuesday, April 9th! If it sounds like something that's up your alley, pre-order it now from Amazon.com:
MOVIE REVIEW: Until just yesterday, I had never seen FUTUREWORLD before, but I have seen its predecessor, WESTWORLD, numerous times. When a copy arrived in the mail from Shout! Factory, I was extremely excited! Finally I could see what happened after the events of the first film. Would the park be opened again, and if so, would everything work correctly this time with no loss of human life?!
Beginning several years after the rampage of a murderous Yul Brenner-bot, FUTUREWORLD follows two reporters, Chuck Browning (Peter Fonda) and Tracy Ballard (Blythe Danner), who are invited to Delos' reopened adult theme park in hopes that they give it the OK and provide a some positive media coverage. Tracy thinks it's all grand, but Chuck, ever the suspicious reporter, believes that there is more going on than meets the eye.
After spending a bit of time in Futureworld (an outer space-themed addition to Delos' park) the two reporters begin to poke around and discover that something diabolical is going on behind the scenes, involving murder, villainous doppelgangers, and one of the most insane attempts at controlling the press I have ever seen!
FUTUREWORLD is a rather dull followup to the totally awesome WESTWORLD but still does enough right to be a worthy sequel. Instead of being a retread of the previous film's events, this movie smartly goes in another direction while staying firmly rooted in the world the first film created. Instead of having robots going insane and murdering Delos' clientele, there's a mystery afoot involving the giant tech company, and a secret that is worth killing over. While this is an interesting spin, the movie waits too long to deliver the big twist, which you'll easily figure out way before it happens.
Though it plods along at a lethargic pace, the film has some really cool moments: Yul Brenner makes a cameo as "The Gunslinger" within Tracy Ballard's really weird and none-too-erotic dream sequence. Though it's cool to see him reprise his role, I was really hoping he'd pop up in the abandoned ruins of Westworld to give our characters a fright! Instead, the only robotic character we get is Clark, a rebuilt automaton without a that emotes better than the majority of the cast. Oddly enough, this background character, who has no lines and only a few brief scenes, proves to be a captivating, and sadly tragic figure. Clark's reaction to the departure of his repairer/friend Harry (a rebellious maintenance worker at the resort) is heartbreaking.
Then there's the final act of the movie, where it becomes a race against time for Chuck and Tracy to escape with their lives! It's like someone shot a huge dose of caffeine into the seemingly sedated film, and we get nothing less than an old-fashioned wild west showdown, and an acrobatic battle around the outside of a space shuttle launch platform! And after all is said and done, after the bad guys think they've pulled off a big win for their (not clearly defined) evil machinations, this happens:
YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE FONDA B*TCHES!
While a far cry from the fantastic WESTWORLD, FUTUREWORLD boasts a great cast, an awesome soundtrack by Fred Karlin (listen to some of it here), and does something different while continuing to build upon the storyline and mythology created by the previous entry. It's slow paced, but hang in there if you watch it because it all builds up to a worthwhile ending!
FUTUREWORLD may be a bit on the dull side, but its definitely worth checking out. I am more than happy to give this WESTWORLD sequel:
THREE 'RADS'
BLU-RAY REVIEW
The Packaging: Nothing special here folks. Typical Blu-ray case with a yellow-tinted version of the original theatrical poster art. (Blu-ray cover art located at top right of this post.)
Audio & Video: FUTUREWORLD is showcased in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio in 1080p HD! Though I haven't seen it prior to its Blu-ray release, I'm sure it is safe to say that this is the best the movie has looked in a long time. The film comes with only one audio option: DTS HD Master Audio 2.0. Fred Karlin's score, the dialogue, and sound effects all come through nice and clearly. There's really nothing to complain about here!
The Extras: This is where the disc totally strikes out. We get a theatrical trailer (featured in 1080i), two short radio spots (together they make up approx. one minute of audio), and a minute-long Still Gallery that features concept art from the film as well as domestic and foreign poster designs. (No behind the scenes photos from the set, or lobby cards, or screenshots from the movie? Tsk tsk, Shout! Factory.)
Final Ruling: Though I was hoping for more special features, overall I can't really complain about this Blu-ray release. The disc is going for under fifteen dollars at most retailers, and the movie looks and sounds great! Plus the cover art actually complements that of the Warner Bros. WESTWORLD Blu-ray that came out on March 5th. It's a serviceable Blu-ray disc for an oft-overlooked sci-fi classic that isn't overpriced, therefore I'm content to let it slide and give it:
THREE 'RADS'
As stated earlier, Shout! Factory's FUTUREWORLD Blu-ray is now available wherever DVDs and Blu-rays are sold. Currently it is going for just under fourteen dollars on Amazon.com, as is Warner Home Video's WESTWORLD release. You can order one or both of them from the following links.
The internet is a huge and nearly infinite place, filled with the bulk of humanity's knowledge... and cat photos.... and lots and lots of porn... and viral videos... and memes... and, well, you get the idea. Because of all the info floating around out there, a lot of stuff gets overlooked, especially on Youtube (trust me on that, I know from experience).
Case in point, tonight I was introduced to a newly started web-series called THE DEAD DUCK'S DUCK HUNT, an odd little show that focuses on cult, horror, and exploitation films. It's weird, but I definitely dug it, and think some of you frequent readers and cult film fanatics will dig it too. Thus far "The Dead Duck" has two videos out there on the Youtube. The first covers numerous Shout! Factory DVD releases (mainly their awesome selection of Roger Corman Cult Classics), and the second gives a brief overview of the films of Lucio Fulci!
Give the Dead Duck's Duck Hunt a little love by watching the videos below. If you like what you see, be sure to give them a thumbs up, subscribe and/or comment on the videos, and share them too! I know these guys would love to hear what you have to say, plus they could use the extra traffic!
Holy Hell! Your bank accounts are about to take an ass-whoopin' this week fellow hoarders of digital versatile discs and Blu-rays! Mill Creek has unleashed numerous bargain-priced double feature Blu-rays and Scream/Shout! Factory are hitting us with some awesome new stuff, including a new MST3K DVD set and two new Horror classics hitting Blu-ray for the first time ever! Scroll down and see what's new this week!
NEW TO DVD & BLU-RAY Bangkok Revenge The Collection From Beyond (Collector's Edition - DVD/Blu-ray combo) Phantasm II (Collector's Edition)
NEW TO BLU-RAY Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back Dead Collections Dead Sushi Futureworld Hollow Man / Hollow Man 2 Jezebeth Star Trek: Enterprise - Season One Terminator Anthology When a Stranger Calls / Happy Birthday to Me
NEW TO DVD 6 Dead Souls Alleycat (Remastered Widescreen Edition) Angels Brigade (a.k.a. Seven from Heaven, Angels' Revenge) Animus Bad Meat Bled White Bloodline: Vengeance From Beyond Darkest Corner of Paradise Deadly Karma Death From Above The Death Wheelers Dinosaur Project Discipline The Frankenstein Theory Ichi: The Killer Pack Johnny Sokko and His Giant Robot: The Complete Series Kill the Ugly TV Loved Ones Mad Cowgirl (Gourmet Edition - 3D & 2D) Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXVI Population 2 Possession in Japan Sexsquatch: The Legend of Blood Stool Creek Stagnight of the Dead To Live and Die in Hollywood Virtual Weapon Zombie Genocide: Legion of the Damned
Hey fellow DVD/Blu-ray hoarders. Fear not for there's not a whole lot of NEW genre stuff hitting DVD & Blu-ray this week! THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY comes to DVD, Blu-ray, and Blu-ray 3D, GORGO gets the royal treatment in VCI's new high-def release, and there's also a slew of martial arts films on DVD courtesy of several distribution companies (like Bonzai Media Corporation). Here's what's new this week:
NEW TO DVD & BLU-RAY GORGO The Great Magician The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Shadow People
NEW TO BLU-RAY Timerider: The Adventures of Lyle Swann Zeta One (a.k.a. The Love Factor): Remastered Edition
NEW TO DVD The 10th Kingdom Bangkok Adrenaline Black Eagle Bodyguards & Assassins Dark Feed The Edgar Wallace Collection Vol. 1: Mad Executioners The Edgar Wallace Collection Vol. 2: The Curse of the Yellow Snake Grave of the Vampire Hanzo the Razor: The Snare Hellgate Ip Man 3: The Legend is Born Jackie Chan Beginnings: Killer Meteors & New Fist of Fury The Jitters The Jurassic Terror of Unknown Island Legendary Assassin Legend of the Wolf New Fists of Fury Police Story Shaolin Strange Frame NEW MULTI-FILM COLLECTIONS ON DVD Action-Packed Movie Marathon Contains: Alienator, Eye of the Tiger, Cyclone, and The Exterminator 2.
Creepy Creatures Vol. 1 Contains: Monster From the Ocean Floor and Serpent Island.
Creepy Creatures Vol. 2 Contains: The Crawling Hand and The Slime People.
Note: This is a pre-release review for a screener obtained from Shout! Factory. This double feature Blu-ray will not be available until April 16th, 2013!
MOVIE REVIEW(S): Though retired from doing his own stunts in recent years, Jackie Chan's past efforts are still spectacular and unmatched to this day. (Though admittedly, many of the young new action stars coming out of Thailand in the past decade could have given Jackie a run for his money in his prime.) Case in point, Jackie Chan's POLICE STORY features the martial artist's amazing physical prowess while providing an engaging storyline and some kick-ass action sequences.
In this film, Chan plays officer Chan Ka Kui, a young detective that makes a name for himself after single-handedly nabbing a drug baron named Mr. Chu Tao, during a botched police raid that reduces an entire shantytown to rubble! (This scene was later cribbed by Michael Bay for Bad Boys 2.) Chan becomes the poster boy (literally) for the police department and is given the cushy job of protecting a witness named Selina Fong (Brigitte Lin), but things go awry and a vengeful Mr. Chu is soon back out on the streets.
Eventually Selina comes to her senses (after Chu's thugs attempt to frame Jackie and kill her), so she hacks in to Chu's computer and gets proof of his dirty dealings. She is quickly accosted by Chu's kung-fu henchmen, but is luckily rescued when an insanely angry Chan Ka Kui arrives on the scene, and starts pummeling Chu's men in a series of awesomely choreographed fights! The climactic battle between Jackie and the baddies is fantastic, with tons of glass displays, windows, lighting fixtures, and bodies being broken throughout a mall. It's probably one of my all-time favorite Jackie Chan battles; give it a look below. The action starts at the 9:05 mark!
POLICE STORY 2 takes place right after the events of the first movie. Chan Ka Kui is getting rebuked by his superiors for all the damage he caused in the first film, but dammit.... HE GETS RESULTS! After being demoted to a traffic cop and sort of out of the limelight, Chan and his girlfriend May (Maggie Cheung, with a much larger role) try to relax. But between Chu's men making constant idle threats, and the cops needing Jackie's assistance all the time, it seems like things just won't work out for the two lovebirds.
Then disaster strikes as a group of terrorists begin a campaign of terror in order to extort money from a wealthy businessman. Chan and a group of young detectives are on the case, but just can't seem to capture the criminals. That is until May is kidnapped. With his woman in the hands of dangerous crooks, Chan Ka Kui springs into action and battles the quartet of bombermen (in a fireworks factory no less), which leads up to a tremendously explosive ending. (Pun intended.)
POLICE STORY is an awesome Jackie Chan flick with some highly memorable action scenes (e.g. the police raid in the opening; Jackie rescuing Serina; the throwdown in the mall during the big climax), several silly (but funny) slapstick moments, and a serious dramatic turn in the final act. It all culminates into one of the best Hong Kong action flicks you'll ever lay eyes on, and is rightfully considered a classic! For making me laugh, cheer, and wince (man, some of these stunts must have hurt) I award this film:
FOUR 'RADS'
POLICE STORY 2 is fun, but a far cry from it's predecessor. The story gets a bit convoluted, with Jackie's exploits focusing far too long on his rivalry with Chu. (Who is on his deathbed at this point.) Most of the fight scenes involve Chan beating up on Chu's annoying henchmen, leaving the final act to Jackie's big showdown with the film's real villains. Speaking of which, the bombers are sort of boring bad guys, with only one of them turning out to be awesome. The "weakest link" of their group is a scrawny little dude that's a deaf-mute, but he's agile, feisty, and throws a variety of incendiaries at Jackie during their brawl.
In the end, the movie runs a bit too long and doesn't have enough action to fill up the running time in my opinion. (Though the fight scene in the playground is pretty awesome!) And the bad guys just didn't rock my world aside from the weird little mute guy. Still, there's a lot of great stunts by the Chan-man here, and I love his interactions with his superiors this time around as they are mainly played for laughs.
Though it's a half hour too long, and one fight scene short, I still enjoyed POLICE STORY 2 and gladly give it:
THREE 'RADS'
BLU-RAY REVIEW
The Packaging: Both films come on one Blu-ray disc in a standard Blu-ray case. The over art, which you can check out at the top of the post, isn't anything fancy.
Audio & Video: Each film has four audio choices: ENGLISH DUBBED 5.1 DTS-MASTER HD, ENGLISH DUBBED 2.0 DTS-MASTER HD, CANTONESE 5.1 DTS-MASTER HD, and CANTONESE 2.0 DTS-MASTER HD. I watched both films with 5.1 English dubbing and was more than happy with it, though sometimes it seemed that the dialogue was a bit too low at times in POLICE STORY 2. Naturally I cranked up the surround sound to hear better, which resulted in some much louder-than-anticipated explosions and gunshots at times.
The video quality of both films is good, though POLICE STORY 2 proves to be the better-looking of the two. It has a much cleaner video presentation with far less grain than POLICE STORY. I'm guessing that this is the best Shout! Factory could do with the film elements that were provided for their use? Come to think of it... I actually own POLICE STORY on DVD (the Dragon Dynasty Special Edition) and may pop it in at some point to compare the picture quality. Even if it's not as good or at least on par, I may keep it because it has more extra features.
The Extras: On the back of the Blu-ray cover, it states that the only extras are "Outtakes" and "Theatrical Trailers." This is mostly true as there are a few other goodies hiding on the disc. POLICE STORY has the original Hong Kong trailer, the U.S. trailer, Outtakes, Deleted Scenes (most of which run only a few seconds), an extended opening sequence, and an "alternate ending." The video quality of most of these extras is not very good (the gents at Bluray.com seem to believe that it was sourced from a video transfer) and are oddly shown in a "windowbox" format.
POLICE STORY 2 fares a bit better (some of the extras are actually in HD!) and boasts outtakes, the international trailer, the original Hong Kong trailer, and alternate outtakes.
Final Ruling: For fifteen bucks, you really can't complain about this double feature Blu-ray. You get two cool Jackie Chan flicks with a better than average video presentation and good audio. On top of that, you get a handful of extras and cool menus that blare the franchise's theme song, HERO STORY, as sung by Jackie Chan himself. Speaking of which......
It's not a perfect release, but it's probably the best we can expect for these two Jackie Chan classics. I'm more than content with the presentation of the films, and though I'm not a fan of the windowboxing on the bulk of the extra features, I think this double feature release is worth picking up and worthy of:
THREE 'RADS'
Shout! Factory's POLICE STORY/POLICE STORY 2 DOUBLE FEATURE comes out on DVD & Blu-ray on April 16th and can be pre-ordered relatively cheaply on Amazon.com:
Hello there fellow movie collectors (and hoarders)! This week has a handful of worthy titles that you NEED to own, but for the most part, you can hang on to your hard-earned cash. (Unless you're a... shudder.... TWILIGHT fan). Some highlights include: The long out of print JOSHUA TREE makes its Blu-ray debut, Redemption Films delivers remastered Blu-rays of ZOMBIE LAKE and OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES, and the underground cult classic SAMURAI COP (with MANIAC COP's Robert Z'dar) gets the Special Edition DVD treatment from Cinema Epoch. Here's the full lineup of what's new:
NEW TO DVD & BLU-RAY 500 Mph Storm Girls Against Boys Joshua Tree (DVD/Blu-ray combo) Oasis of the Zombies: Remastered Edition She Devil (Olive Films) Silent Hill: Revelation 3D (3D Blu-ray/Blu-ray/DVD/digital copy) Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (Extended Edition) Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 Zombie Lake: Remastered Edition
NEW TO DVD Bio-Slime Celia: Child of Terror Crawl (Bloody Disgusting Selects) Gerber Syndrome The House That Dripped Blood (Henstooth Video release) Kiss the Abyss Lady Ninja: Reflections of Darkness The Loneliest Planet Mad Bull 34 Man From Shaolin MindScans Monster From Bikini Beach Nobody Gets Out Alive Red Tears Samurai Cop (Special Edition) Suzune Genesis Total Retribution Zombie Massacre: Army of the Dead
NEW MULTI-FILM COLLECTIONS ON DVD Midnight Horror Show: Master Collection Contains: Bane, Nina: Crazy Suicide Girl, Crowbar: The Killings of Wendell Graves, The Defiled, Lady of the Dark: Rise of the Serpent Vampire, One Hour to Die: You Have All Been Poisoned, and Fast Zombies with Guns.
Paranormal Haunting: Ultimate Collection Contains: Paranormal Haunting: Curse of the Blue Moon Inn, The Stone: No Soul Unturned, Wildman of Kentucky, Mystery of Panther Rock, Greenways Farm: Journey into the Heart of England's Most Haunted Farm, The Ram Inn: Journey into the Heart of England's Most Haunted Inn, and Strange is Normal: The Amazing Life of Colin Wilson.
Ultimate Zombie Feast Volume One Contains: Zombies and Cigarettes, Plague, Bitten, Arise, Not Even Death, Fear of the Living Dead, Kidz, ZomBeer, and The Book of Zombies.
On May 21st, YOU can own CAPTAIN AMERICA on Blu-ray, thanks to those magnificent bastards at SHOUT! FACTORY! Previously available on DVD, this Blu-ray will feature better picture and audio (well, no duh!) and have a few extras. And for only $10 - $12, Albert Pyun's rubber-eared first avenger flick is most definitely worth it.
Synopsis: Long ago, Steve Rogers (Matt Salinger) was a true American hero, a brave super soldier created by scientists to help the Allied Forces fight for freedom in World War II. But during a battle with the sinister Red Skull (Scott Paulin), he was lost, entombed in ice. Decades later, his body has been found and revived and Steve must again don the mantle of Captain America to help save the President of the United States (Ronny Cox) — and the world — from his arch-nemesis once and for all.
Press Release: Steve Rogers happens to be the best candidate out of six hundred volunteers. He has the power to save millions. Only he could defeat a superhuman madman. But saving the world let him trapped in an icy grave until fate released him to finish a battle that started decades ago. Now an evil genius in on the verge of global domination and only Captain America can stop him! On May 21, 2013, Shout! Factory will unleash the long-awaited 1990 action sci-fi movie classic CAPTAIN AMERICA, starring Matt Salinger (What Dreams May Come), Ronny Cox (Total Recall, RoboCop), Ned Beatty (Toy Story 3, Superman), Darren McGavin (The X-Files), Michael Nouri (NCIS, Damages) and Scott Paulin (Castle, JAG), in a special Collector’s Edition Blu-ray.
Available for the first time on Blu-ray, CAPTAIN AMERICA COLLECTOR’S EDITION features a widescreen movie presentation in astonishing high-definition and insightful new interview with director Albert Pyun and actor Matt Salinger. This is a must-have for movie collectors, comic book enthusiasts and young aspiring heroes to complete their pop culture library!
You can pre-order the Captain America Blu-ray HERE at Amazon.com for the low, low price of $10.48! I know I'll be picking it up because I have a soft spot for this b-movie version of Cap, even if he is kind of a wuss. (The paragon of human strength, virtue, and democracy fakes being carsick twice in order to steal a vehicle!)
