Ip Man 2 (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) (2010)

I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of this new film starring Donnie Yen (You may remember him from "Hero") entirely in Cantonese with English subtitles which will be out in theaters in the U.S. and Canada on January 28th. Donnie Yen is reprising his role here as the real-life kung fu grandmaster Ip man in this martial arts film. I never saw the original but apparently in it, he escaped the Japanese occupation of his hometown and with his pregnant wife and family have moved to Hong Kong which is living under British colonial rule.

Ip Man begins his life in Hong Kong barely making ends meet renting an apartment and trying to start a martial arts school to teach his Wing Chun style. He is challenged by several neighborhood ruffians who eventually grudgingly give him respect and ask to serve under him as students. Being a kind-hearted man and pleased with the opportunity to teach, he does not push them very hard for their student fees knowing they are also struggling financially under British rule. His school is put up against other martial arts schools in the area competitively and they all clash and fight with territorialism. Eventually all the schools must unite together in order to face the British for their honor.

The British are demanding payments from the schools in return for allowing them to stay open (like offering "protection" in gangster movies). The British do not respect the Chinese and often ridicule them in public. A Western-style boxer named Taylor "Twister" Milos comes to town to fight and entertain the British and by mocking and insulting the Chinese martial arts demonstration opening act, Ip must step up to defend the honor of his people and his own kung fu, Wing Chun.

I know that was a lot of summary, but it seemed needed to really get across the themes in this movie. This film is a delightful throwback to the good ol' days of kung fu. Though I love the wire martial arts styles in films like "Hero", "House of Flying Daggers", "Fearless", and "Iron Monkey", classic kung fu battles of men hitting and kicking each other in defense of their homes, family, country, honor, etc. still are a pleasure to watch. I loved Donnie Yen in "Hero" (basically loved EVERYTHING about that movie) and it was so enjoyable to see him in this role and to find out it was based on a real person's story who eventually went on to train a young Bruce Lee. Wow! This probably won't be a very wide release in the U.S., but if you happen to see it is in your area and you love martial arts movies, go have a fun afternoon in the theater! Yes, you will have to read subtitles, but that's ok. I felt like I could have watched the entire movie muted without subtitles and still understood easily what was going on since everything is so physical not only in the fighting scenes but in acting and reacting in conversation.

Ip Man is still the only martial arts film I've ever given a perfect score. Similar films usually throw in those silly bits of humor that come off as lame rather than actually being humorous. It probably hits its target overseas audience well, but the difference in culture probably has something to do with how American audiences don't appreciate those bits as much. Either that or the storyline is usually fairly simple or borderline atrocious while the fighting scenes are spectacular. If you're a fan of martial arts films, you see these types of films for the action scenes. A good storyline and exceptional acting are usually just a bonus. Ip Man broke those boundaries. It had an intriguing storyline and a fantastic cast to compliment its jaw dropping action sequences. The only flaws the film seemed to have was that it eventually had to end and left the audience wanting more especially the way the film ended. The desire for a sequel was extremely high and, for the most part, the sequel doesn't disappoint.

I had originally thought that Ip Man 2 wasn't able to capture the same amount of heart that the original film had, but I no longer believe that to be true. Ip Man 2 still has all the heart and emotion that the first film did. Everything from Ip Man realizing his friend Quan (Simon Yam) is brain damaged because of him to Ip Man trying to restore honor to the east by taking on a western boxer, the emotion is still there. It just isn't as strong or as powerful as it was in the first film. The same atmosphere is established quite easily, but the struggle to show the world that Wing Chun is a respectable martial art seems to take a backseat to other plot points that aren't necessarily less important but seem to take away from what made the first film so special.

The sequel is still very solid and extremely entertaining. Any scene in the film featuring Sammo Hung is gold. His adamancy for the Chinese culture is half of his character's charm. The other half is split between him trying to provide for such a large family and the amazing action sequences he's a part of. The sole reason to see this film is for the Ip Man/Master Hung match that takes place on a table top. If you've seen S.P.L. Killzone, you know how fantastic a battle between these two can be. However, the Yen/Hung match in Ip Man 2 tops the one in Killzone though. Their encounter will be the thing fans will remember and be talking about the most after walking out of the theater and for good reason.

Just a few sidenotes and nitpicks, the sound effects seemed to be off at times. The main occurrence being when Ip Man goes to meet Master Hung at his dojo after their pupils get into it for the second time. After Hung tells his pupils to leave, the sounds of their footsteps just didn't feel genuine and seemed like the sound was too loud or excessive or something. The film also features the fastest baby delivery ever in recent film memory. The woman goes into labor one scene and two scenes later, she's holding a baby. No mess and no 27 hours of labor? Why have an old fashioned pregnancy when you can just DVR it and fast forward through it later? Lastly, the film leaves you wanting even more than its predecessor did. Mostly due to the Bruce Lee tease featured at the end of the film.

Ip Man 2 doesn't sweep you off your feet and smack you in the face quite as hard as its predecessor, but it's still very worthy of carrying the "Ip Man" name and is a joy to watch. If you enjoyed the hard-hitting action of the original film, then you'll have no problem being entertained by this sequel.

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Due to the limited release of this follow up to the original Ip Man movie I wasn't able to see this in the theater. So, I waited for this to come out on DVD and also on Amazon Video Streaming. The wait was well worth it.

This is a great martial arts film, and movies along at a very nice pace, with lots of tension as you cheer on Ip Man.

Though I really liked the film, I gave it four stars rather than five because I liked the first film much better. That's because the story in the first film was a bit more original, meaning this story was predicable (reminded me of Rocky), but still worth watching.

Viewers should know that this film isn't exactly a biopic, but loosely based on the life of Yip Man, who taught Wing Chung to Bruce Lee.

If you've seen the first Ip Man, you definitely need to see this film.

Donnie Yen is outstanding. Looking forward to seeing more of him in the future.

Read Best Reviews of Ip Man 2 (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) (2010) Here

great movie if you liked the first ip man u will like the second. i personally am an Ip man fan, wish there were more movies like this one. Donnie Yen (awesome)

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I said it could be better because this Blu-ray only features 5.1 HD Surround Sound (NOT DTS-HD).

Original Language: Cantonese (Amazon list it as Mandarin Chinese).

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Coach Carter (2005)

My daughter came over to visit this weekend, and she suggested that we rent this film. Since it stars Samuel L. Jackson and is about a high school basketball coach, I thought that it sounded promising. Well, it turned to be more than just promising. It is a movie that held me riveted to the screen the entire time it was on. Samuel L. Jackson is simply outstanding in the role of a high school coach who sees basketball as the means to an end and not the end itself.

Based upon a true story that took place in Richmond, California, it centers on a man named Ken Carter. He was asked by the retiring basketball coach of Richmond High School to return as a part-time basketball coach to the school from which Ken had graduated and left his mark many years earlier. The school is one of those schools in which people barely graduate and, of those that do, most do not go on to college. The basketball team was no great shakes either, having won only four games in the entire previous year.

Finally, Carter is prevailed upon to take over as coach. He has, however, decided that he wants to make a difference. He starts off by letting the team know who is boss and by trying to instill discipline and respect. He wants to go back to fundamentals. He wants to put the emphasis on being a student athlete. To this end, he makes it clear just what his expectations are. He drafts a contract that those who wish to remain on the team, as well as their parent, must sign. Some of the conditions are that the players must attend class, do their schoolwork, and pass their classes. Those who signed the contract ended up making the best move of their lives.

Coach Carter keeps his side of the bargain, turning the team into a formidable one on the court. Suddenly, basketball at Richmond High School begins commanding attention. Notwithstanding this, he still emphasizes that they are to be just as committed to their studies. While one might expect some resistance from the student athletes to such a change, one would expect support from the educators themselves. What is amazing is the resistance that he experiences from the teaching community who are reluctant to give him progress reports on how his players were doing academically.

When Coach Carter finally gets his long awaited progress reports and discovers that some of his student athletes are not holding up their end of the contract, all hell breaks loose. Even though they have had an undefeated season so far, he basically locks the gym and tells his players that there will be no more basketball, until he sees some academic improvement. To his surprise, the school board, as well as the parents, does not support him in this matter, and the situation becomes a media sensation on the West Coast. Support comes from an unexpected source, the student athletes themselves.

This is a heartwarming story about a coach who cared and dared to make a difference in the lives of kids that had little or no future. What he did for those students was incomparable, as he basically gave them a chance for a better life. Samuel L. Jackson is sensational as Coach Carter, dynamic and totally believable in the role. The young men who play his student athletes likewise give excellent performances. Ashanti also gives a surprisingly well nuanced performance as the girlfriend of one of the student athletes. Moreover, for those who enjoy great basketball, the on court scenes are extremely well done.

At the end of the film, there is a summary of what happened to these young men. When the viewer sees what happened to them, the viewer cannot help be but touched by the turn of events. Moreover, the DVD has a featurette on the real Coach Carter and the real student athletes for whom the appointment of Ken Carter was literally a life saving measure. This is a very well acted, deftly directed, inspirational film and one that is worthy of being in one's personal collection.

I'm usually not a huge fan of the sports movie genre, but I do like them when they are well done. This movie had a lot going for it, based on a true story, the film didn't glorify sports, rather it had a solid message for living up to one's responsibilities.

A hard luck basketball team in a bad neighborhood gets a hard core coach, one who believes in honor and integrity. Because he puts his ideals above simply winning, he creates a lot of conflict within the team, the school and the surrounding community.

In the end the coaches beliefs are able to sway opinion and his behavior becomes a standard for which to strive. I believe the message here, as well as the presentation of it, made it a much better movie than Friday Night Lights, also reality based, but not really a story of redemption like this one was. I think this is a good film for the father/teenage son crowd and I'd recommend owning it as well.

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I saw an advance screening of this film, and really enjoyed it -Samuel L. Jackson was very compelling in this "White Shadow"-like role. Uplifting story about a man who takes over as high school basketball coach for an inner city school. He turns the team around from a team that can't win, to one that goes virtually undefeated, and along the way instills discipline and an emphasis on studying that impacts the players lives in a much deeper way. The ending was a little surprising, but given that it was a true story, sometime hollywood endings need to take a backseat. I'd highly recommend this movie to high school students and for those who enjoy sports and stories about beating the odds.

Read Best Reviews of Coach Carter (2005) Here

As far as how many stars this movie gets, I agree with reviewer William Weaver. Coach Carter features Samuel L. Jackson following the real-life story of Ken Carter, who took on the job of head basketball coach at Richmond High School (in California, not Virginia). He soon discovers that the kids on the team are pretty ghetto, to say the least, but that doesn't stop him from trying to whip the kids into shape by issuing basketball contracts that he expects them to live up to if they want to play on the team. I won't go into the details of the contract because most of the other reviewers already did that, but what I WILL say is that some people won't believe the consequences that occur after all the students don't live up to the guidelines of the contract.

The movie's subplot is pretty interesting, too: one of the boys on the team, Kenyon Stone (played by Rob Brown, which I believe is his first big role since the overlooked Finding Forrester), is rationally trying to figure out how he's going to play basketball and go to college when he has a baby coming with his girlfriend Kyra (played by Ashanti, who actually does a good job in her role; as does former 3LW lead singer Adrienne Bailon, who still looks SEXXXY...*clears throat*). Anyway, this storyline may look played-out on paper, but it's a lot more interesting than it sounds, especially what happens at the end.

It was also interesting to see Ken Carter's son Damien (Robert Ri'chard) transfer to Richmond High and join the basketball team as a freshman, and his having to serve the same consequences that every other team member had to. I was kind of hoping that there would be some scenes depicting the Carters at home and Damien complaining about how harsh the daily practice exercises were. Oh well, Coach Carter is still a truly extraordinary movie. You have to be trippin' NOT to see it.

Anthony Rupert

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When my daughter came over to visit, she suggested that we rent this film. Since it stars Samuel L. Jackson and is about a high school basketball coach, I thought that it sounded promising. Well, it turned to be more than just promising. It is a movie that held me riveted to the screen the entire time it was on. Samuel L. Jackson is simply outstanding in the role of a high school coach who sees basketball as the means to an end and not the end itself.

Based upon a true story that took place in Richmond, California, it centers on a man named Ken Carter. He was asked by the retiring basketball coach of Richmond High School to return as a part-time basketball coach to the school from which Ken had graduated and left his mark many years earlier. The school is one of those schools in which people barely graduate and, of those that do, most do not go on to college. The basketball team was no great shakes either, having won only four games in the entire previous year.

Finally, Carter is prevailed upon to take over as coach. He has, however, decided that he wants to make a difference. He starts off by letting the team know who is boss and by trying to instill discipline and respect. He wants to go back to fundamentals. He wants to put the emphasis on being a student athlete. To this end, he makes it clear just what his expectations are. He drafts a contract that those who wish to remain on the team, as well as their parent, must sign. Some of the conditions are that the players must attend class, do their schoolwork, and pass their classes. Those who signed the contract ended up making the best move of their lives.

Coach Carter keeps his side of the bargain, turning the team into a formidable one on the court. Suddenly, basketball at Richmond High School begins commanding attention. Notwithstanding this, he still emphasizes that they are to be just as committed to their studies. While one might expect some resistance from the student athletes to such a change, one would expect support from the educators themselves. What is amazing is the resistance that he experiences from the teaching community who are reluctant to give him progress reports on how his players were doing academically.

When Coach Carter finally gets his long awaited progress reports and discovers that some of his student athletes are not holding up their end of the contract, all hell breaks loose. Even though they have had an undefeated season so far, he basically locks the gym and tells his players that there will be no more basketball, until he sees some academic improvement. To his surprise, the school board, as well as the parents, does not support him in this matter, and the situation becomes a media sensation on the West Coast. Support comes from an unexpected source, the student athletes themselves.

This is a heartwarming story about a coach who cared and dared to make a difference in the lives of kids that had little or no future. What he did for those students was incomparable, as he basically gave them a chance for a better life. Samuel L. Jackson is sensational as Coach Carter, dynamic and totally believable in the role. The young men who play his student athletes likewise give excellent performances. Ashanti also gives a surprisingly well nuanced performance as the girlfriend of one of the student athletes. Moreover, for those who enjoy great basketball, the on court scenes are extremely well done.

At the end of the film, there is a summary of what happened to these young men. When the viewer sees what happened to them, the viewer cannot help be but touched by the turn of events. This is a very well acted, deftly directed, inspirational film and one that is worthy of being in one's personal collection.

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Life is Beautiful (1998)

Put the children to bed, unplug the phone, get out the tissues and refuse to watch this movie with anybody who likes to talk during a movie. You will be blown away.

Holocaust and comedy. Two words never spoken in the same breath before "Life is Beautiful." To smiply label this movie as such, would do it injustice. Every emotion comes into play during the viewing. You soon begin to empathize with Roberto Benigni as he portrays a father trying to keep the harsh realities of a German concentration camp from his young son. Benigni protects his son with two weapons that the German's could not seize: Humor and Imagination.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and yes I cried. But I also laughed and smiled.

I recommend the Sub-title version of the movie. After five minutes the reading becomes natural and the depth to which you become involved with the movie is well worth it.

I so enjoyed the music in this movie, that I purchased "Tales of Hoffman" by Offenbach. The second playing of this piece in the movie will not allow you to maintain dry eyes.

Okay, a few folks have said they did not like this film. Fair enough, I didn't like Good Will Hunting.

But let's take a look here. If you know what this film is all about, then the first half of it will astound you. I mean, egg on faces? It comes startingly close to Benny Hill for 'want of a laugh track'.

Ahh, but the warmth grows on you, and then...

The second half.

Few scenes are as emotional as when Guido has to reassure his son that the Jews 'aren't going to be made into soap.' The film takes a turn for the harshness and doesn't let up.

Schindler's List was a phenomenal film, showing the utter horror of the holocaust, but it missed one thing: the notion of hope. No one in Spielberg's masterpiece continually believes that 'life is beautiful'. All we see is the horror, the downfall, the pain. And while that makes for a fantastic dramatic punch, it negates any humor or spirit the prisoners may have had to blanket themselves from the harshness, and this humor surely existed.

Guido knows very soon that he is going to die. But, the love for his son outweighs the need to DISPLAY hopelessness. If nothing else, he must protect his son. So he convinces him it's all a game. Simple, buffoonish...

and damn identifiable. Who here can honestly say they wouldn't do anything they could to protect their sons/daughters from knowing the biggest evil on Earth? Guido manages to keep his son involved in 'the game' while he himself knows it will most likely end according to an evil thought.

The end scene, where Guido realizes he is going to be killed, and yet does a goofy march to make his son laugh, is one of the most powerful sights to ever be associated with the trauma the Nazi's inflicted on the world.

If you didn't like this film, fine. But don't say it mocked the Holocaust. If anything, it's a tribute to the flame of life that wouldn't be blown out.

Laughter seeps into any tradegy, if the love for life is there. Anne Frank said something to the effect that 'in spite of all this, I still feel people are good in heart'. She had hope.

She knew life was beautiful.

-CS

Buy Life is Beautiful (1998) Now

(2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)When Roberto Benigni burst onto the Hollywood scene with this acclaimed film and his over-the-top enthusiasm, I couldn't bring myself to watch this film. Instead, I waited for the DVD. However, what I perceived as hype was truly deserved. "Life is Beautiful" is a wonderfully inventive tale that seems fresh even today, years after its first release. Part slapstick, part drama, part romantic comedy, part tragedy this story of an Italian family during the Holocaust defies categorization.

The films opens with Guido (Benigni) and his friend arriving in town on a car with no brakes and being mistaken for facist officials expected for a parade. This slapstick scene ends with Guido catching the future love of his life, Dora (Nicoletta Braschi), as she jumps from a barn window. The clownish Guido sets out to win her heart despite the odds against him. These early scenes set the stage for the rest of the movie: Guido will rely on invention, humor, and persistence to protect his loved ones despite the obstacles he faces. What begins as slapstick becomes heartbreaking later. Like all stories of the Holocaust, this film has its grim side, but Benigni relies heavily on exaggerated humor, running gags, and an early circus-like atmosphere to set up the emotional power of the time's reality. Most of the atrocities are implied, not witnessed, and the viewer's own knowledge of the time period creates an additional layer of tension.

Roberto Benigni is superb as Guido; his antics are hilarious, but during more dire moments, emotions flash across his face, revealing both the depth of his character and the reality of his position. Nicoletta Braschi is also good, and little Giorgio Cantinini as Guido?s son Joshua is adorably spunky, especially as he questions his father's stories.

I always advocate watching foreign films in the original language, with subtitles, but I understand that some viewers may not like "reading" a movie. In this case, however, the dubbed version was distracting, as Benigni provides the English track for his own character while American voices dub the rest of the cast. His Italian accent amid the American accents completely broke the illusion for me. Still, if a dubbed version is the only way you'll watch this movie, please do it.

I highly recommend "Life is Beautiful." Its offbeat approach remains unparalleled in the canon of Holocaust movies. Because of the absence of explicit violence and sex, viewers as young as thirteen should admire this extraordinary film.

Read Best Reviews of Life is Beautiful (1998) Here

First, my impression of the film-I don't think I laughed and cried so much in a long time. Buy it, own it and share it with others!

Now my input on the DVD experience. The disc contains a dubbed version of the film in English. We tried watching this version first, but found the dialogue and story were actually harder to follow than the subtitles! When we started the film over again with the English subtitles "on" we discoved we were missing Roberto's energy and punctuation. Even if you don't understand a word of Italian you need to hear the impact in the actor's voices to appreciate what is being said. Still, if you can't deal with the subtitles you have a choice. Incidently, the sections of the film which feature German dialogue are not dubbed so we still have the same experience as our characters do.

The bonus materials area on the disc features several TV spots (commercials) for the film. No real bonanza here, but there is a brief documentary, "Making Life Beautiful". It features footage from various programs where the film has won awards, etc. It also contains a mini-filmography of other Benigni films and interviews with his various costars. The documentary tone is very promotion oriented spending most of its time patting Benigni and company on the back-deservedly so.

Picture clarity is excellent (what you would expect from a new film) and sound very good as well.

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("THE")This movie is absolutely all it's cracked up to be. Hysterically funny and simultaneously a tear jerker -it's ultimately very uplifting. The cinematography is also fantastic -amazing use of color.

The DVD has dubbed english as an option, but I strongly recommend going with the subtitles instead so you can hear Benigni's amazing acting and passion.

Too bad the DVD doesn't include any deleted scenes. With Benigni, I think it would be particularly fun to see out-takes.



Absolutely a great movie!

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Killing Bono (2011)

This movie is based on a true story. There were 2 friendly rival bands playing in Dublin. One of them changed their name to "U2" and we know the rest of that story. Bono, wanted the guitar player off the rival band. Rather than directly ask the guitar player, Ivan, he asks his brother Neil, the band's leader, who refuses. Neil believes his band will become better than U2 (who haven't cut their first album) and he is doing Ivan a favor. Ivan doesn't realize he had a chance to play for what will be the world's most popular band until...

Meanwhile, in order to become big, the band gets involved with the Irish mafia. They end up playing strip joints before borrowing money to go to London. Finally near the end of the movie, we understand the title. Neil believes all his problems are caused by Bono...if he could just kill him. The movie title is a hook and has little to do with this extraordinary film, a must for rock fans.

Martin McCann did an excellent job playing Bono. The movie was funny and entertaining.

"Remember only this: the measure of a man is what's left when fame falls away... oh, and another thing: get as much sex as you can!"

F-bomb, sex, nudity.

No members of U2 were harmed in making this film.

This 2011 comedy-with-a-hard-edge derives its screenplay from Neil McCormick's semi-autobiographical 2003 book `Killing Bono: I Was Bono's Doppelgänger'. Shot mainly in Belfast (which doubles for the film's 1980s Dublin and London locations) and directed by Nick Hamm, the result is clever, witty and entertaining.

The core of the story is that, contemporaneously with the embryonic U2 who initially called themselves `The Hype' another schoolboy band in Dublin led by the McCormack brothers, Neil (the older, played by Ben Barnes) and Ivan (the younger, talented, guitar player played by Robert Sheehan) was starting up. Neil believes his band to be better than Bono's outfit, so when Bono asks Neil to release his brother Ivan from his band because he wants him for U2, Neil declines the first in a long line of poor decisions on Ivan's behalf which costs his younger brother an `A-list' musical career.

The story then develops as in parallel with U2's rapid international success, Neil and Ivan stumble from one hilarious episode to the next and suffer continuous frustration and disappointment in `making it big'. Invariably, Neil makes poor decisions even when opportunity comes knocking and always believes his band `Shook Up' can make it with no help from U2, who offer to get them a recording contract and a place as support band on their tour, which Neil declines without ever consulting his brother. The tribulations include becoming indebted to a psychopathic Irish mafia gang leader; playing sleazy strip joints to an apathetic audience; scheduling a breakthrough gig to coincide with The Pope's mass in Phoenix Park; and escape to London where they again miss the chance of a recording contract but rent a run-down loft apartment from the excellent and extremely camp Pete Postlethwaite (in his final film role) who opens up a whole new social life for the boys.

Success in a small way did come eventually to the McCormacks' band but they might have been better known, and sooner, without Neil's self-confessed blunders. The story is fast-paced and the script good with plenty of laugh-out-loud dialogue, especially when involving Peter Serafinowicz as the frequently lethal but narcissistic Irish Mafia king, making a great success of a difficult role. Martin McCann is particularly convincing as Bono: he even looks like him, and has his persona to a `T'.

`Killing Bono' is a good way to spend a couple of hours and almost everyone I know who has seen it is of the opinion that it deserves a wider audience. You don't need to be a U2 fan, or even a rock music fan, to enjoy it.

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Killing Bono is one of those films which has received surprisingly little public recognition, but which has been rated highly by nearly everyone who has seen it. It certainly deserves a much wider audience.

The story line is based on Neil and Ivan McCormick, who were contemporaries of Bono and the other members of U2. Like U2, they had a sixth form band and high aspirations. Neil always felt that his band should be at least as successful as Bono's and as U2 became the most successful band on the planet, this rivalry prompts him to make a series of disastrous mistakes as he seeks the success he craves. As the older brother he tends to make decisions, normally bad ones, without consulting Ivan. Ivan is also blissfully unaware that Bono wanted to recruit him for U2, but Neil vetoed it, and is understandably less than delighted when he does eventually discover this. Neil seems to have a special talent for getting Shook Up booked for the most inappropriate gigs. The one which clashed with the Pope's visit to Ireland and another in a sleazy strip joint being particularly hilarious.

This is quite a light hearted film, at times very funny and the sound track is excellent. When we hear the music of Shook Up, the McCormicks' band, it is actually rather good which really makes you wonder why they sunk without trace and were not more successful. There are some very good performances, notably by the late Pete Postlethwaite making his last appearance as Karl, the landlord, and Peter Serafinowicz as Hammond, the wonderfully insincere agent. Highly recommended!

Read Best Reviews of Killing Bono (2011) Here

"Killing Bono", one of the better films I saw at the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival, is a darkly funny, bittersweet and thoroughly engaging rock `n' roll fable from the UK, based on a true story. A cross between "Anvil: The Story of Anvil" and "I Shot Andy Warhol", it revisits familiar territory: the trials and tribulations of the "almost famous". Dublin-based writer/aspiring rock star Neil McCormick (Ben Barnes) co-founds a band called Yeah! Yeah! with his brother Ivan (Robert Sheehan) right about the same time that their school chum Paul Hewson puts together a quartet who call themselves The Hype. The two outfits engage in a friendly race to see who can get signed to a label first. Eventually, the Hype change their name to U2, Hewson reinvents himself as "Bono" and-well, you know. In the meantime, the McCormick brothers go nowhere fast, as the increasingly embittered and obsessed Neil plays Salieri to Bono's Mozart. There are likely very few people on the planet who know what it feels like to be Pete Best (aside from Pete Best)-but I suspect that one of the players in this particular drama knows that feeling-and my heart goes out to him (no spoilers!). Nick Hamm directs a wonderful cast, which includes a fine swan song performance from the late great Pete Postlethwaite.

Want Killing Bono (2011) Discount?

I really wasn't expecting much from "Killing Bono", but it's a nice surprise: very well made with terrific acting! The music is terrific, too. Sure, they could have left out use of the tobacco drug and still had a great movie, but besides that flaw, I'd recommend this hidden gem to nearly anyone over 18. And even if you'd never heard of U2, it would STILL work.

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Enter the Dragon (2007)

So here it is... more than 30 years since the original theatrical release of Enter the Dragon, Warner Brothers releases the definitive 2 DVD Special Edition. It's a fine offering, long overdue, and considering the reasonable price, really offers a lot of nice extras, though most of them have been available elsewhere and have therefore been seen before (at least by rabid fans like me).

To start with, there is of course the movie Enter the Dragon (ETD) Bruce Lee's magnum opus that was not released until after his unfortunate death in 1973, but sealed his immortality. The plot is simple enough Bruce is a modern day Shaolin monk who is somehow enlisted by the British/Hong Kong government to infiltrate the island of Dr. Han (Shieh Kien), a crusty old renegade Shaolin gone bad who holds a yearly martial arts tournament to recruit talent for an international opium and prostitution racket. Roper (John Saxon), or "Loper" as Bruce says his name, is the established Hollywood caucasian star brought in because of reservations about Bruce's ability to carry the film, while Williams (Jim Kelly) is the token blaxploitation character who, this being the 70's, is kind of a Shaft/Superfly ass-kicker and, in the spirit of horror movies, is the first to die at the hand of Han actually, at his artificial, interchangeable, iron, and oftentimes bladed hand. Even Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, as young Hong Kong stuntment before they became stars in their own right, make infamous appearances as guys on the receiving end of Bruce's wrath. But the real point, or value, of this movie is that Bruce Lee shines throughout with his incredible fight sequences he once again casts Bob Wall as whipping boy, hitting him with lightning fast punches, an insane skip side kick, and a great groin shot that still makes me wince despite hundreds of viewings; he has some fantastic weapons sequences with staff, double escrima sticks, and nunchaku; and he more than lives up to his reputation as the "man with three legs" as he demolishes armies of scrawny Asian guys whose gung fu is pitiful in comparison (check out the guy laughing in the background as Bruce connects three successive roundhouse kicks to one sap's head in the final mob fight). This was totally innovative and amazing in 1973 as the first ever martial arts movie made in Hollywood and despite all the subsequent copycats and modern day wire-fu flicks, no one has ever matched Bruce's intensity, charisma, and moves. There are some classic dramatic sequences as well with Bruce speaking English in his own voice (unlike all of his Hong Kong movies whose English versions are horribly dubbed), such as Bruce teaching a student and rapping him on the head as he expounds some homespun Zen philosophy or Bruce poignantly asking "why doesn't someone just pull a .45 and settle it?" Incidentally, this is the uncut version of the movie with some extra scenes not included in the theatrical release basically Bruce talking quasi-philosophy (well, actually, it's someone else dubbing in Bruce's voice) with his Shaolin elder that he later recalls in the final fight sequence.

Of course, few people who buy this DVD don't know all this already, so what's new? Well, there is a commentary track by producers Paul Heller and Fred Weintraub there's some interesting tidbits, but overall it's disappointingly uninspired. Then there's "Blood and Steel: The Making of Enter the Dragon" a newly produced documentary short that includes some rare and new footage a clip from Bruce's Hong Kong TV appearance in which he breaks 4 dangling boards; an interview with John Saxon, Lalo Schifrin, and the kid who gets smacked on the head by Bruce in the movie (now apparently a well-known Hong Kong director); and several minutes of on-location footage shot with Ahna Capri's handheld Super 8 camera that has never been seen before (it's short of amazing, but it's new and therefore gold to diehard fans). On disc 1 there's also a soporific Linda Lee (Cadwell) interview, another "making of" featurette with on-location footage shot by the AD, John Little's short "In His Own Words" featuring most of the Pierre Burton interview, and some old black and white movies (with sound) of Bruce kicking his buddies and hitting his heavy bag in his Los Angeles backyard though these have all been previously available in one place or another (including the 25th Anniversary ETD DVD).

Disc 2 includes all of the TV and theatrical trailers for the movie (somewhat repetitive) and two previously released Warner Brothers documentaries Warrior's Journey, which captures and knits together the lost Game of Death footage (GOD) in its available entirety, and Curse of the Dragon, a George Takei (Sulu of Star Trek fame) narrated documentary released around the time of Brandon Lee's death. These are both decent films, with Warrior's Journey a real gem with the GOD footage the definitive way to watch Bruce in widescreen duel nunchakus with Dan Inosanto and try to deconstruct Kareem Abdul Jabbar's fighting style while sporting the iconic yellow and black tracksuit revived by Uma Thurman in Kill Bill Vol 1. Curse of the Dragon is interview heavy (Kareem, Taky Kimura, Paul Heller, James Coburn, etc.) but also includes clips from Bruce's childhood movies, his Green Hornet screen test, his appearance at Ed Parker's Long Beach Karate touurnament, and some backyard work-out footage with Coburn. But once again, these films have already been released before on their own, so while decent, they're less than revelatory.

And so, what we have here is by far the best available version of ETD that now exists and probably ever will, complete with a lot of nice extras, most of which have been available elsewhere. It's nice to have it all in one package (there's no apparent need to sell Warrior's Journey as a standalone product anymore) at a reasonable price. On the other hand, Lee worshippers will no doubt wish that there was more why not include the complete Green Hornet screen test, or a Jim Kelly or Jackie Chan interview or commentary track, the complete James Coburn training session footage, all of the Ahna Capri film, more ETD outtakes, or maybe even "Kentucky Fried Movie," a parody of ETD released many years ago... but what can you do Bruce died 31 years ago and this is the legacy he left behind.

I recently watched Enter The Dragon on the Voom HD Kung-Fu network, and it looked relatively good, but not great.

The Blu-Ray version obviously got a lot more attention, care, and cleanup. It is by far the best looking and sounding version I've ever seen of the movie. It sounds like the bass was tweaked quite a bit, because whenever Bruce would hit one of his signature punches, my subwoofer put out one heck of a thump. It sounded great, if not a little over the top.

Some of the signature grain of the original is still there, but the images are much more crisp and sharp than any other version.

Definitely worth it for the Bruce Lee fans out there.

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I recently purchased a Playstation 3 and an HD LCD TV, and this is the first Blu-Ray disc that i have bought. Ive seen this movie dozens of times on TV, VHS and DVD and i thought i knew every fight scene back to front. Since seeing it today, i discovered how much i was missing in those old video formats. There really is that much more detail and smoothness in the images. Its a great showing for a 30yo movie. There is also a great deal of documentaries and extras if you dig that kind of stuff.

As for the movie itself...its a classic action movie with fantastic fight scenes, a convincing bad guy, funny bits, armies of dumb henchmen, hot chicks and Bruce Lee in his prime! What more could an action film lover want?

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I've watched the recent HD DVD version of this movie and found the picture quality excellent. The colors are richer and the overall quality appears to make the picture jump out at times when viewed with the Toshiba A x1 player.

I don't think it is fair to give the movie a low rating, as one reviewer did, based on the fact that it is an older movie. Comparing any older movie to modern day production values is misleading and inaccurate. Following this comparisson, one would have to give a low rating to all movies not done in the past few years.

Enter The Dragon was innovative for its time and utilized production methods that were top quality for its time.

The transfer itself is the citeria that the review should be judged on, which in this case is done quite well.

As for the comparrison to the 60's James Bond movies, the HD version of You Only Live Twice is superb. Yes, the fashion, music, dialogue,... are not modern day; how can a film escape it's own time period. However, the Connery Bond movie screenplays far outweigh the childish, comic book portrayals in the curent Bond films with only protracted stunt sequences to amuse a child like mentality.

It is interesting that for an "outdated" film like Enter the Dragon, it's character depictions, plot and fight choreography are most often duplicated by today's style of martial art movies.

Have today's "highly evolved" movies no original ideas other than replacing Lee's actual fighting skill, speed, gracefulness and charasmatic screen presence with acrobatic clowns whose abilities are enhanced with wire work.

The picture and sound quality of the HD Enter the Dragon is most striking when viewed on the Toshiba player. It is certainly more entertaining then watch a highly detailed HD version of the inane Pitch Black or recent Jackie Chan, Jet Li films whose silly plot lines and poor acting are to be ingnored just to impress friends coming over to view how amazingly life like the picture quality is!

Once the novelty of watching films on the superior HD DVD passes, classic movies will always stand on their own merit.

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This movie is a classic of any genre. It has such a great dated fill to it like other classic sixties and seventies films such as Goldfinger, Deliverance or Dirty Harry. I love the cast and their interaction. A Chinese, African American and white guy all fighting together like there's nothing out of the ordinary about it, which is how it should be. These days you would have to have some joke where the Chinese guy makes some "innocent" crack about the 'hood or the black man calling the white guy cracker. In this film everyone is treated with equal respect. It seems to me this is something that was more common place in films in the early seventies or maybe it was the influence of Bruce Lee's own philosophies. Whatever the cause, it's nice to see three different races represented as equals.

The plot is a cross between a James Bond movie and the standard Kung Fu pictures. Bruce Lee is recruited by a shadowy government organization to infiltrate a mysterious island as a participant in a Karate tournament. This is basically a character and action driven movie because there isn't much suspense. It's pretty much a given that Han is up to something.

Where this movie shines is the martial arts action. I originally saw Enter The Dragon as a double feature at the drive in in the early eighties. I remember thinking as I watched the first feature (Kill Or Be Killed) that the fighters were fast. That is until Bruce Lee came on. I had never seen anyone move that fast before or since. The final fight in the house of mirrors holds up well and is every bit as thrilling as any fight scene of today.

As for the bonus features, the trailers are interesting if for no other reason then it's amusing to see how far commercials have come. The interview with Bruce Lee is particularly poignant. It makes you wonder what would be next. He had a powerful personality and very definate views on fame and movie making. I think his films would have only gotten better and may have even brought equality and better roles for minorities to the movies decades sooner.

Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola (2013) (Hindi Movie / Bollywood Film / Indian Cinema ) - BLU RAY (2013)

I like Vishal Bhardwaj's films. I believe it can be said that he is an intelligent director. MAQBOOL, OMKARA and KAMINEY are very impressive compelling films with wonderful actors who obviously love to have the chance to work with Bhardwaj. Wiki says that Bhardwaj came to Mumbai to become a music composer; he took to directing films only to create the opportunity to compose music. He collaborated with Gulzar, the Indian poet, lyricist and director.

Interesting that Bhardwaj began in music, he also sings and his wife Rekha Bhardwaj is a wonderful Indian 'playback' singer with her own recognizable, haunting and soulful sound. Musicians don't often possess a keen visual ability, but Bhardwaj's painterly frame compositions and use of color transfer his films' feelings beautifully.

Although MATRU KI BIJLEE KA MANDOLA does not hold together as well as the other three I mentioned, what did interest me is that Bhardwaj is using this film to expose the use of bank loans to appropriate land from the farmers who have no understanding of usury and debt. One might say that he has revealed the true nature of the corporatization of India and the world in this whimsical often silly and absurd comedy.

In this film Bhardwaj is an activist who gives his audience a lesson in corporate economics explaining the recycling of money flow from the corporations who pay the workers, who spend their pay in shopping malls filled with seductive stuff made by the same corporations, and therefore the money flows right back into the corporations. Here Bhardwaj is an activist who lectures with humor and farce honey with medicine so to speak.

I admire Shabana Azmi, but she is a bit out of character as the evil politician. I expected more from Pankaj Kapur it seemed to me that he never got deeply into his character's soul searching suffering. He was better in DHARM. Maybe the pink buffalo outstaged him? Never perform with an animal. I'm getting used to Anushka Sharma who is quite pleasant, joyful and really can get up and dance shake that...! Still I perceive no real depth in her yet.

The film is definitely entertaining fun and if you are beginning to mistrust the corporate take over of planet Earth worth it! The Indian environmental activist and anti-globalization author Vandana Shiva might have laughed along with the humor in this film, if she wasn't too busy saving land and lives.

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Eden of the East: The King of Eden (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Well if you enjoyed the series this movie is more of that but better, the animation is there and perfect, the focus on Akira's life before becoming a selecao, and Juiz gets more attention in the 2 films. King of Eden begins 6 months after the NEET Missile Crisis with Akira having his memory erased again. From there the identity of Akira is investigated and his search for answers about his past begins.

A must buy for those who watched the series.

Product Review: To clarify what exactly you get in this product. You get the movie King of Eden on DVD, Air Communication Film on DVD also on the same DVD are some extras. You also get King of Eden and Air Communication on Blu-Ray and the extras included on that disc. So you get 1 Blu-Ray, 2 DVDS, and the extras that come on each disc respectively. Probably one of the best values I have seen in a long time and hope to see most Blu-ray anime releases package a DVD copy with it. Also something to note is the case for this release is a DVD size case and not the thin and short Blu-ray case.

Blu-Ray: Contains King of Eden, Air Communication, and Extras

1st Dvd: Contains King of Eden

2nd Dvd: Contains Air Communication and Extras

After watching the series, I was really looking forward to this movie. Don't get me wrong, it was alright; just not as memorable as the series itself. This combo pack comes with the King Of Eden movie (DVD and blu-ray), dubbed, some special features I didn't look into, and a movie version of the series with subtitles. I prefer having subtitles most of the time, but the dubbing in the series kind of grew on me, so I was disappointed that Air Communication (movie version on the series) had subtitles instead. Overall, I guess it was worth the purchase.

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Calling this a movie is probably not correct, it is just a longer episode in the series. Trying to watch it as a stand alone movie would not be practical, as the first episodes of the series contain all the character development, and develope the story. The negative reviews sadly did just this, watching only the movie. What they did was open a book half way through it, then complain the characters weren't developed and you know nothing about the story. The movies end without explaining because it was already explained, and there is another movie coming out to tie up the loose ends in this one. Please, do not pick up the movie believing you can watch it without watching the series. If you loved the series, you will love the movie. It picks up where it left off and moves on, and the end (just like the series) leaves you wanting more. Luckily, the next movie is coming soon. Here we even learn more about the "hero's" past, that make you go o yeah from things that were said in the first episodes.

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This movie picks up where the first left off. We start to see the plans of the other selacao put into motion. Although this film is good, it has a very disappointing ending. Actually it has no ending. This anime just freakin stops. Just like His and Her Circumstances, Tsubasa, Spiral, and my beloved Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. I want to sing praises for Eden of the East. I loved the series; but if this is it, they may as well have not made it at all. That's my only complaint. Everything about this anime is great. It just needs to be finished very badly.

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This is "King of Eden" the first "Eden of the East" movie, part two of "Eden of the East" over all. "Paradise Lost" will be the last part of the series. I liked the TV series, it had a very unique premise and was gorgeous looking. The movie still looks fantastic, but it feels like it's treading water until it can reach it's conclusion in the next movie.

The movie picks up six months after the end of the TV series with Saki in New York looking for Takizawa. There's very little to say without resorting to spoilers. Will Saki find Taki? Will Taki return to Japan? Were you born yesterday?

Nothing happens. Or it feels like nothing happens.

The TV series felt like a long movie. Ironically, the movie feels like a long episode. Again, the plot is so thin, I can't say anything without it being a spoiler.

The problem with series like these is that it can feel like "in for a penny, in for a pound." You already got the series, you're going to talk yourself into spending money on the movies. But, if you're one of those people that HASN'T bought the TV series, and you're waiting to see if the whole series is worth owning, this movie doesn't automatically put "Eden of the East" into the "must buy" pile. Unless "Paradise Lost" caps the series off with something great, I think Eden is going to be a middling "maybe" show.

Lastly, I have to complain about the packaging. This is a Blu-Ray, but it comes in a DVD box. So, when I stand this next to the TV series, they don't match. There's currently no option to get this in a blu-ray box. Plus, my arch-nemesis, tiny-blu-ray-menus, continue to run unabated. Who is the hawk-eyed bastard that programs these things?

I gave the series a Four. This isn't as good as the series. Three-Stars.

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The Lookout (2007)

So this is a warning to anyone who likes this movie and has seen it before. There are two versions of this film on Blu-ray! The one originally released back in 2007 with the silver swoosh running down the cover and the words "Beyond High Definition" in the bottom right corner is the one to get. This new one released by Echo Bridge has manipulated the aspect ratio of the movie so that there are no black bars on top or bottom! Essentially they've zoomed in on the image so you lose part of the picture on the right and left side of the screen. Don't let the low price fool you! This is a corrupted version of the film, and if you have any respect for the filmmakers' intentions for the look of the movie you will not purchase this version! Or, if you're like me and find out once you watch it for the first time, I implore you to return it and send Echo Bridge a message that we will not support the altering of films! Of course, if you haven't seen the movie before you would never notice the difference and this may not bother any of you... Just a warning for those who care.

"The Lookout" got overlooked when it was released earlier in the year. This unusual thriller directed and written by Scott Frank focuses as much on character as it does on the tense, moody atmosphere. Chris (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)had it all; he was a bright kid who also displayed talent in the hockey rink. Chris, his girlfriend and another couple are involved in a terrible car accident that leaves Chris brain damaged. He's unable to do anything more than simple tasks and can't even remember what change he should get back after buying a beer.

SPOILERS AHEAD**

When Chris gets sucked into a plan to rip off the bank where he is a janitor by smooth talking slime ball Gary Spargo (Mathew Goode), he finds himself over his head and with nowhere to turn. Initially Chris believes this will provide him with the start up money for a business he wants to start with his blind roommate Lewis (Jeff Daniels)but things spiral out of control and suddenly he has nowhere to turn.

END OF SPOILERS**

The film looks terrific with a crisp and detailed transfer to DVD. Audio sounds solid as well. The main extras we get here are a terrific commentary trackby writer/director Scott Frank discussing the making of the film and a 20 minute featurette that covers much of the same ground with cast and crew interviews. Scott discusses how the script had been shuffled from one studio to another as he watched in frustration eventually deciding he had better do it himself. Frank is rather blunt about his shortcomings as a director in the commentary track but honestly he did a terrific job on his first time in dual roles as writer & director.

We also get a 9 minute featurette with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and director Frank discussing the development of the character of Chris. Gordon-Levitt reveals that he did quite a bit of research prior to shooting the film on the mentality disabled.

You should be on "the lookout" for this fine film which got lost earlier amid some of the other films released at the same time. Although not perfect, "The Lookout" has strong performances and is well made by first time director Frank. I'm not surprised that the film got lost though as it isn't the type to lend itself to the hype machine of Hollywood as easily as, say, "Transformers" or other blockbuster films. "The Lookout" is well worth picking up not only for its well written script and deft direction from Frank but also from the terrific performances of everyone in the cast.

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Within the traditional crime drama genre, it has become increasingly difficult to find serious minded films that don't play as "hip and ironic." Add a young leading man to the equation, and it's twice as likely that you'll end up with a movie filled with artifice and self-awareness. In fact, reading the description of "The Lookout," I was sure that this picture would be just another film where clever one-liners were more important than generating actual suspense and drama. I couldn't have been more wrong! "The Lookout" is a tough and believable entry in the arena of heist films. Bolstered by a powerful lead performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, this film is both true to the conventions of crime genre and surprisingly different. The film succeeds with strong character development and provides an intriguing twist on the traditional protagonist.

Here, Gordon-Levitt plays a man coping with severe memory loss, control issues, and occasional motor skill inconsistencies. Sounds scary, huh? But don't worry, this is a real character dealing with real head trauma issues--not some cliche'd portrait or movie-of-the-week caricature. As a former "golden boy," Gordon-Levitt struggles to adjust to his disability. But he's also trying to cope with a monstrous grief--the car accident that impaired him (he was driving) also resulted in the death of two others. One day, he meets a mysterious stranger who claims to know him and seems to accept him in his present condition. Excited to belong, to be normal--he is drawn into a new world of friendship, women, and living life free and on the edge. But he soon questions the motives of his new friend as he is pulled into a plot to rob the bank in which he works. What follows is a hard edged story with real consequences--a riveting and suspenseful drama made even stronger by its attention to characterization.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt seems intent on becoming a serious thespian as opposed to just a big "star." With smart and unusual roles, he has certainly set himself apart from most actors in his age group. With "Mysterious Skin," "Brick," and now "The Lookout"--Gordon-Levitt has put himself on a short list of performers who can be counted on to make interesting choices. These diverse performances demonstrate a great versatility, a willingness to take chances, and (most importantly) the opportunity to really showcase what a great actor he has become. But "The Lookout" also benefits from a great supporting cast. Jeff Daniels gives an understated, humorous and quietly moving performance as Gordon-Levitt's blind best friend. And I found Isla Fisher ("Wedding Crashers") to be enchanting--complicit and innocent at the same time, what might have been a stereotypical role is refreshingly free of cliche.

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Lookout." One small note--the skeptic in me wondered how Gordon-Levitt was mentally (not to mention legally) able to handle a car due to his circumstances. In all honesty, it's unlikely that he would have been licensed based on what happened and on his current state of health. But it's a small point in an otherwise exemplary film. Smart, tough, and unexpected--"The Lookout" works as a caper, as a drama, and as a character study. A remarkably complex entry into what has become a fairly routine genre, this film packs an emotional punch and provides another great Gordon-Levitt performance! KGHarris, 03/07.

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Chris Pratt (a getting better with each role, Joseph GordonLevitt) was a golden boy: a high school Hockey star, an entitled child of wealthy parents. And then one night he decides, with 3 other friends, to seek out a shower of fire flies on an empty Kansan highway when tragedy strikes and he is rendered impaired both mentally and physically. His life is now more about "sequencing": ordering his life in such a way so as to recall what he needs to do on a daily basis in order to survive. Chris's golden sheen is tarnished, dented and made worse by the fact that, though his memory is spotty, he unfortunately can recall the high points of his young life: winning the hockey championship, cruising the highway in his convertible Mustang with his beautiful girlfriend, Kelly who survives the accident and appears every so often as a touchstone plunging Chris back to that fateful evening under a clear, Kansan night sky.

Chris works as a night janitor at a bank and it is this job that brings him in contact with some crooks (mainly an amazing, deadly Matthew Goode, heretofore known as eye candy in Mandy Moore movies...as Gary Spargo) who take advantage of Chris' impairments in order to rob the bank: "Whoever has the money, has the power," Gary intones and this mantra will echo throughout the film.

Director/Screenwriter ("Out of Sight") Scott Frank audaciously centers the "action" on the who's/the why's and the where fore's of Chris' search for his basic morality: he's not the man he was before, this much is clear, this much is unassailable. So who is Chris now and more to the point how will he allow the accident to dictate his future: will he let it swallow up all that is good and humane in him...or will he not?

"The Lookout" is an effective, nail-biting at times, little thriller filled with the minutiae of lives well observed particularly that of Gordon-Levitt's masterful Chris: behind a veil made from the opaque cloth of befuddlement and embarrassment, he manages to project vulnerability and the injured remains of an ego he can only periodically recall.

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With his adaptation of Elmore Leonard's novel, Out of Sight, Scott Frank demonstrated a knack for crime thrillers with plenty of plot twists and double crosses. Now, he's finally gotten the chance to direct his own movie and the result is The Lookout, a neo-noir that evokes other crime movies like Charley Varrick and Fargo.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt continues his knack for offbeat roles. He does a great job portraying someone with neurological damage and the frustration that comes from not being able to do simple things like opening a can of food or remembering someone's name. He also conveys the guilt his character feels over the car accident that robbed him of a promising future. We see how he tries to hide his disorder and the frustration of not being able to do basic things. It's a performance grounded in realism that is in contrast to this stylized noir world. It doesn't hurt that he is surrounded by cold, detached characters, and this makes him very sympathetic as well.

Jeff Daniels steals pretty much every scene he's in as Chris' genial roommate. The actor displays a dry sense of humour that is very funny to see in action. He and Gordon-Levitt's character make for very unlikely roommates to say the least but the two actors make it work thanks to the excellent chemistry they have together. Along with The Squid in the Whale and Good Night, and Good Luck, Daniels is turning out to be quite an excellent character actor appearing in several well-made independent films.

Frank has a keen visual sense, adopting a predominantly dark colour scheme in keeping with the neo-noir tradition. He has crafted a clever little thriller with a fascinating protagonist at its centre. What could have easily been a forgettable film is anchored by yet another riveting performance by Gordon-Levitt.

"Behind the Mind of Christ Pratt" features an interview with the film's star, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He was drawn to the complexity of the character and ended up living with the role for almost a year. He talks about how he portrayed Chris and speaks intelligently about his take on the material.

"Sequencing The Lookout" takes a look at various aspects of the movie: the script, casting, the look, and so on in an interesting way. Frank says that he was influenced by European thrillers that emphasized character. He talks about the origins of the story as well.

Finally, there is an audio commentary by writer/director Scott Frank and his director of photography Alar Kivilo. Frank isn't afraid to point out the mistakes he made as a first-time director. With Kivilo, their comments tend to be about filmmaking techniques like the cameras they used, the type of shots for a given scene and locations used. This could come across as kind of dull if you're not into the technical aspects of film.

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Jerusalem Countdown

Jerusalem Countdown is one of the most intense, realistic, suspenseful, believable end times thrillers that I've ever seen -I might even put it at the top of the list. I could feel my own heartbeat growing stronger by the end of this film. Be aware -you're not going to see this one on the Hallmark Channel. I recommend this movie for mature teens on up.

This is a story about end times, based on the book by the same name. Things get off to a very slow start, but there are some parts of the story that were so intense that I almost wanted to leave the room. I can't really compare it to other end-time movies, because I usually don't watch them, but this one appears to be pretty much the way the Bible describes it.

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Great Movie! I feel everyone needs to see this one ASAP. I've never heard so many people in my life time within the last six months say, "He's Coming Soon" so much! The signs are everywhere. After watching this great movie I went to shut down my computer and before shuting down, all I seen was what this movie was telling us. It's everywhere! Our #1 goal in life should be making sure everyone around us knows our Father and is ready for this great event coming sooner than we think. We should live each day like we're going Home any second because that's what will happen. Please watch the movie and share this one.

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An all around great movie. I've seen a lot of reviews bashing every aspect of this film just because of its Christian overtones. Honestly, the fact that it brings to the screen a story that reminds me why I praise and give glory to OUR Lord is the main reason I've enjoyed this film so much.

Great acting, a well written story and the excellent production value in this film as well as in the other films PureFlix offers gives me great hope of getting more decent movies that can compete with the big screen blockbusters.

And the rapture scene is amazing, I found myself watching that part over again several times.

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I rented this one from Red Box. The story could have easily been a great movie. As it turned out, it was an okay movie. The production was low level and made a negative difference. The actors probably would have looked a lot better if the director and producer had done a better job. The cutting and splicing was a little sloppy and the cuts that made it into the movie sometimes looked like they shouldn't have made it. No matter how low your budget, a good director can make a masterpiece. Here we have a movie that easily could have been a masterpiece but ended up being overshadowed by poor production decisions. The Rapture seen towards the end was the best Rapture seen ever. Too bad the rest of the movie didn't mimic that level of quality. Still, it is worth seeing.

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Tears to Tiara

Having gotten other fantasy series like Tower Of Druaga, Sands Of Destruction, Rune Soldiers, an the like after seeing a few episodes of this entertaining series I knew I had to add it to my anime collection. The series is a nice mix of action, magic, drama, romance, and comedy put together nicely also the storyline is very well done for the most part. At first I was going to get the two box sets that were being sold but after seeing that this one would have the added features of and English dubbing with a voice cast I've heard before and knew were very good I decided on this set. The animation is very good as well as the soundtrack for the series and the voice cast as expected for the Japanese cast and English cast did their characters roles very well. The series comes in four dvd's put into one dvd case with a center spindle to stack all four dvd's on top of one another, I'm sorry I know everyone of the U.S. anime production companies is trying to reduce cost and save money but almost all the other companies at least have better cases for the anime series sets I mean they could spend a few pennies more and at least get a better case for some of these anime series box sets. Still regardless I'm very pleased to have added this enjoyable series to my other anime sets to watch and enjoy anytime I wish, but if you're still not sure or are on the line about the series I suggest checking a few episodes out on HULU or other sites to see and you might get shocked at how entertaining you truly find the series to be...

First of all the description of this anime is WRONG....The series IS ENGLISH DUB,not just Japanese audio. That was keeping me from buying this until I clicked the image of the collection and noticed it on the back of the case, I am now going to buy this series since I just found out and hope you do the same.

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In 2005, the Japanese PC tactical RPG video game "Tears to Tiara" was developed by Leaf and then released on the Sony PlayStation 3 console in 2008. It was not long after an anime adaptation of the video game would be shown on Animax Asia and then released by Sentai Filmworks.

"Tears to Tiara" is produced by White Fox, known for their work on Katanagatari and also their in-between animation work for series such as "Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl" and "Mobile Suit Gundam 00'. The anime series is directed by Tomoyuki Kobayashi ("Ichigo 100%", "Rozen Maiden", "Utawarerumono") and a screenplay by Touko Machida ("Lucky Star", "Wolf's Rain", "Samurai Champloo"). Music is by Takayuki Hattori ("Battle Athletes" "Slayers" films, "GTO", "Sister Princess") and character designs by Masahiko Nakata ("Utawarerumono, "Love Hina, "Sou Nanda").

Originally released earlier in the year on DVD from Sentai Filmworks with a Japanese soundtrack, the Blu-ray release has now been released and features a brand new English dub.

VIDEO :

At first, I wondered how the animation and art for "Tears to Tiara" would be, mainly for the fact that they have not done a major series before but only supplying in-between animation for major anime series. But overall, animation and art production by WHITE FOX was actually quite solid. One thing that helps with this series is that the tribe is constantly on the move, so there are a lot of scenes that are new for each episode. Character designer Masahiko Nakata has had experience working on adventure-based series such as "Utawarerumono" but has experience working on anime series such as "Comic Party", "Love Hina", "Soul Nanda" and many other titles.

So, for the most part, I think that the fact that the series has experienced people working on this series and that WHITE FOX is trying to promote their name as a major anime production company, it works in the favor for "Tears to Tiara" as the company doesn't have a their artists working on too many titles all at once. Overall, the animation and art backgrounds are well done and is featured in 1080p High Definition 16×9 Anamorphic Widescreen.

On the original DVD, I did notice some compression artifacting during some scenes and it appears that on Blu-ray, the series looks much better than its DVD counterpart. I do wonder if the episodes were split up into three or four discs, would the picture quality be any better? I did notice some areas where I saw a little artifacting but I was look for haloing and edge enhancement jaggies and I didn't see them. But overall, picture quality was very good and much better than the DVD.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

As for audio, the series is presented in English and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Dialogue is clear and understandable and found it much better to have my receiver set on stereo on all channels. Voice acting is well done and a good number of talent with Makoto Ishii, Toru Ohkawa (known for the voice of Roy Mustang from "Fullmetal Alchemist" and Rufus Shinra of "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children) and Yuki Goto (voice of Mikiru Asahina of "Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya") providing the voices of the main characters. There is more use of surround channels for the second half of the series. I didn't notice any LFE but for the most part, dialogue is crisp and clear.

As mentioned, the Blu-ray release features a new English dub soundtrack. And this is where I have a problem with this Blu-ray release. I am a believer that if you are used to doing British or Scottish accents or born speaking that way, that's great! But if you are not a native speaker of the language and you don't speak in an accent at all, then don't do it. Otherwise, forcing yourself to speak with an accent is not going to turn out well.

Earlier I mentioned, The story of "Tears to Tiara" is loosely based on the storyline of the Dark Age of Brittania, when the Gaels, Britons, Celts and Scots took on the Roman Empire. And I figured the ADR made the decision to have the voice talent speak in a British and Scottish accent. And unfortunately, I felt that the voice talent were not ready for this because some talked as if they went from speaking with an accent to vocals without one. It didn't work at all.

And as for Arthur...the Scottish accent was not too my liking. Some other accents for other characters didn't work, it wasn't working and unfortunately, I couldn't listen to the English dub track anymore. But with that being said, the English voice talent, these are veterans to anime series but when it comes to accents, no veteran is going to get the accent right if they are not used to talking that way for long periods of time and they get a hang of it. Many actors and actresses for major films are able to immerse themselves in the culture and eventually feel comfortable to speak that way but I'm guessing with schedules, nailing down accents were probably difficult to accomplish in a short amount of time.

Subtitles are featured in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Tears to Tiara" features the clean opening and closing animation and Sentai Filmworks trailers.

JUDGMENT CALL:

For the first half of "Tears to Tiara", the anime series has been quite enjoyable. It does remind me a lot of "Watarerumono" and also a little bit from the OVA series "Bastard". But one thing the series has done well during the first half is establishing storylines for the supporting characters.

Although the first episode featured a good amount of blood and violence, the other character driven episodes are more lighthearted, fun and humorous. I did enjoy the series and felt the first half was more lighthearted and fun, while the second half of the series became much more serious and in some ways, a different anime series because things become more glum and serious.

I haven't played the previous video games, so I can't comment on how close the anime series is to the video games but I have read that the anime series utilizes the voice actors for the Playstation 3 video game and the adaptation is quite close to the PlayStation 3 video game. As mentioned earlier, the artwork and animation is quite solid and the anime production studio WHITE FOX did a wonderful job for their first major anime series.

The Blu-ray version of "Tears to Tiara" definitely is an improvement over its DVD counterpart. It still is pretty much barebones in terms of special features but this time, the Blu-ray does feature both lossless soundtracks in English and Japanese. While I enjoyed the Japanese voice acting tremendously, I can't say the same about the English dub. Not because it was bad but you can tell the actors felt uncomfortable with their accents. It's not projected well in the anime series and at times, I felt the talent were going in and out of their accent back to their natural way of speaking. So, as much as I'm happy to know that the Blu-ray does come with an English dub, it's unfortunate that the poor accents for some of the characters didn't go so well with the series.

Overall, I did enjoy "Tears to Tiara". It's actually a pretty fun, adventure-based anime series in the first half and becomes another kind of beast with it becoming more serious and gloomy for the second half of the series and part of me wanted to see some of that fun, humorous style that I watched in the first 13 episodes.

If anything, Japanese RPG video game fans will more than likely appreciate the series because you can tell there will be many characters but how the writing definitely spends time with certain characters and getting them involved in the series, especially during battle.

But if you are looking for an adventure anime series and also enjoyed series such as "Utawarerumono" and "Bastard", definitely give "Tears to Tiara" a try !

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On the isle of Erin (Ireland) during the medieval era, there lived a tribe called the Gaels lead by the brother and sister team of Arthur and Riannon. One day while most of the village was out on a hunt, Riannon gets captured by the Goidelic people to be used as a sacrifice to revive the Demon King Arawn. Unfortunately for the summoners, upon awakening, Arawn decides side with Riannon instead of eating her. He then joins the Gael clan as their leader in the rebellion against the Divine Empire (Rome).

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this show. After I started watching it I found it was based on an Ero game and wondered if I was setting myself up for disappointment by continuing to watch it. But I was enamored by the often terrible accents and by Arawn, who continued to be an interesting and likable character throughout the series. The accents were darn fun to listen too, and they did get better as the actors got used to speaking with them. Riannon and Arawn were the worst offenders, but by the end of the series Riannon had one of the best accents, though Arawn was still inconsistent. Fortunately with Arawn, he speaks with such a light accent you almost don't notice when he stops using it for a bit.

The accents were my favorite part of the series, but even they wouldn't have been enough if the story had been bad. But the story was actually quite entertaining and surprisingly well developed. It is drenched with Welsh and Gaelic mythology with its own unique twists. As I said before, Arawn is a great character and surprisingly, Arthur is too. I even grew to like Riannon. Most of the rest of the cast is disposable and could have easily been cut out entirely *cough* all of the elves *cough*.

For a show based on an Ero game, I expected more romance and fanservice. I was pleased to see both kept to a minimum. Morgen is very scantly clad and Llyr's top rather form fitting, but this is about all the fanservice there was. And despite Riannon's obvious attachment to Arawn, nothing ever happens between them. I admit I found it quite weird, but refreshing.

There was plenty about this series I didn't much care for *cough* all of the elves *cough*, but the good outweighed the bad and I am glad that I watched it to the end. If you have any interest in Welsh and Gaelic mythology and don't mind a bunch of whiny cutesy elves, then I recommend giving this series a shot. And make sure to give the English dub at least one episode :)

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I like sorcery anime's with abit of hack and slash like Slayers and this is no exception, but I feel the dub takes the accent thing abit too far, but that's only a minor detail, the main character having all the women around him falling head over heels for him is intresting as well^^

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Young Bruce Lee (2011)

This is a very well done production dealing with the Bruce Lee legend/legacy. It shows what daily life was like in Hong Kong during the early years of Bruce Lees life. This is an authentic Asian production whose special features section shows other well done Asian productions which are available such as Confucius and Ip Man. This is a highly recommended movie.

This a great movie about a Great Man, it's not a Kung Fu movie, its about his life and how he became so Great!If your a fan of Bruce Lee this is a most for all collectors.

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The movie was awesome ... Learned alot of things about his life I didn't know about him ... The guy who played him did a awesome job

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I don't see anyone who knows, admires, and follows Bruce Lee's inspiring life and discipline not liking this one. It is a well done production. It is not an action movie, it is Bruce's story before he came to USA. I was touched, and inspired. The actor they casted, looks so much like him,and screams just like him. One thinks for moments that it was actually Bruce himself. Definetly a must have for Bruce Lee followers and fans.

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This is a must,for any fan of bruce Lee. Intro by his brother Robert, is the best I seen on a Bruce Lee story,it is not a kung fu movie, though it does have it, it is beautifully done, not fantasy like so many others, you learn about his youth,how it all began,excellent film quality, hope some day it will be english dubbed so others can enjoy,an amazing story of Bruce as a human being,and you believe the actor is really him.

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A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (Movie-Only Edition + UltraViolet Digital Copy) (2012)

This movie was a lot better than I was expecting. It's dirty, raunchy, hilarious and will put you right in the Christmas mood. You don't need to re-watch the first two movies to understand this new one. They spoof the claymation genre as a tribute to the classic Christmas specials we grew up with. They give a dirty twist to that infamous scene from 'A Christmas Story'

Harold and Kumar aren't hanging out anymore and have new best friends with new lives. When Kumar receives a package meant for Harold, he takes it to him, and that's when the chaos begins. Throughout Christmas Eve night, they must find the perfect Christmas tree, deal with the Russian Mafia, befriend a robotic waffle-maker, and ride with Santa Claus in his sleigh. If you love dirty raunchy movies and Christmas movies, this is the perfect blend for you. I highly recommend A VERY HAROLD & KUMAR CHRISTMAS!!!

This is a movie designed for 3D as things fly into the camera. The story line picks up 2 years later. Kumar (Kal Penn), the med student, isn't a doctor because he can't pass the drug test. Harold (John Cho) is rich and successful. He has a beautiful Latino wife (Paula Garcés) who has a lot of baggage, mainly Danny Trejo is her dad. Trejo's mom was killed by Asians. Harold and Kumar both have a new sidekick. We have a competition of sidekicks. Through a mishap involving a huge joint, Danny Trejo's 12 foot home grown Christmas tree gets burned down and now the foursome are on a quest for a new 12 foot tree in the heart of the city on Christmas eve. They carry with them an infant who seems to like illegal drugs.

On their quest they encounter Adrian (Amir Blumenfeld) the daughter of a crime boss desperate to lose her virginity; an evil clay-mation Frosty the Snowman; the Russian Mafia (who play Mafia Wars on-line); a Waffle-bot; the real Santa; and of course the resurrected Neil Patrick Harris.

The humor, while low-brow and crude works in this film because it adds some originality to it.

F-bomb, sex, heavy drug use, nudity [Cassie Keller,Chernise Yvette, Paula Garcés (butt)] 5 star low brow comedy

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I bought this because I was hungry for another 3D movie and it looked funny. It didn't disappoint! I haven't seen the first 2 Harold & Kumar movies, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this one. I laughed my butt off, and the 3D effects were plentiful. I'm always bummed when a 3D movie only offers added depth but no pop-out effects. This flick has both. If you're looking to add another 3D movie to your collection, I think you'll be happy with this one (unless you don't like like raunchy, politically incorrect humor and nudity in your movies).

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The 3d in this movie is wonderful. I have a real3d tv and the experence was just like it was in the movies. When things pop out of the screen you feel like it is in the room. The movie is fun and for a short good laugh that can be viewed over and over with friends this is a must buy for anyone that has a 3D TV. I am not sure why they would even release a 2D version b/c the movie really plays on the pop out 3D in most of it's jokes so watching it in 2D is pretty pointless. The only thing that is bad about the blu ray combo is that the longer version of the film is only on the 2D copy. Not sure why they did that but I am sure it is b/c the studio did not want to spend money converting it to 3D for the 4 or 5 extra minutes the film is in the longer version . Anyway if you want to have a fun 3d experience then get the 3D blu ray.

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A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas(released Nov/11)stars John Cho as Harold Lee,Kal Penn as Kumar Patel,Neil Patrick Harris as "Neil Patrick Harris",Danny Trejo as Mr. Perez and many others.Everyone's favourite dysfunctional duo are back,and this time they're taking on Christmas.Nothing is sacred here as Santa,the Catholic religion,Neil Patrick's gender question,some off colour humour with some naughty parts exposed,and their usual fun with pot smoking are all topics for the comedy fodder machine.It's not your usual Christmas movie,but it's something a little different and off the wall,which will please most if not all H&K fans everywhere.

The story here finds that Harold and Kumar have not been talking for at least two years.Harold has a really good paying job and is married to a Hispanic girl.Kumar on the other hand is still bonged out and out of a job.His girlfriend of old has come by to tell him she is pregnant with his child but he is so out of it that she leaves in disgust.Harold meanwhile had his wife's relatives arriving for Christmas.The father is intimidating Danny Trejo,whose face looks like the dark side of the moon.Seems the father in law has brought his own Christmas tree and takes Harold's away,to Harold's chagrin.

What brings the two disparate plots,and guys,together is a package that comes to Kumar's place by mistake,that he delivers to his old friends house.Harold invites him inside,but Harold's popsin-law's tree catches fire and is tossed through the front window.Harold is beside himself and Kumar leaves.Harold reserves a tree at a local lot,the last one left,and goes to get it.In the meantime Kumar has by happenstance seen said tree at the lot,and feeling sorry for his old buddy he stops and bribes the seller with triple the price and off he goes with it back to Harold's.But Harold just arrives after Kumar leaves and when asked where the tree is,the seller points to a speeding van.In the ensuing chase,the van flips over several times.Kumar is alright but the tree is gone forever when the van explodes.

The scene shifts to a party going on in an apartment across town where there is a tree available that Harold's friend said(lying)that he could have.Turns out the girl who is hosting the party is the daughter of a local Russian mobster,who comes home in not too good a state of mind.Everyone leaves and Kumar and Harold are suddenly on the guys hit list.They escape for the time being and seek out Neil P.Harris who is putting on a Christmas show in New York.They end up in his chorus line and hiding in his change room.They eventually are exposed,with Neil pretending he knew they were there all the time.It turns out the show has trees Neil is willing to give to the guys.

But this isn't to be as the two get kidnapped by the Russian mobster's gunmen.They manage to escape and standing outside they fire a shotgun into the air.It accidentally hits a passing Santa,who falls to Earth.As he lies there bleeding Kumar performs surgery on him and patches him up.Kumar returns to his ex girls home,apologizing for his behaviour and said he will even give up pot and return to his medical studies,for the chance to marry her.Harold returns home to find an anxious father in law awaiting his return.When questioned about the missing tree Harold tells him in no uncertain terms who he is and what he won't stand for any more.The father immediately comes around and he is now welcomed into his wife's family.The next morning a tree magically appears courtesy of Santa and Kumar and Harold are reunited again at Harold's Christmas party.

Along with all the aforementioned issues that H&K make fun of,there is always an undercurrent of love and respect between these two friends.If that wasn't there these movies wouldn't work.There are,as always,plenty of sight gags,some in good taste,others not.This is NOT a movie anyone under 18 years of age should be watching.Sometimes also the plot threads that connect one incident to another are so threadbare as to be see through,but you pardon those moments because you know these characters will either turn things around or screw up even more.This film was originally in 3D and the makers have obvious fun putting in,not subtle,but deliberate moments for the 3D film goers.

Technically speaking this film is in its w/s a/r of 2:35:1 and is clear and crisp.Extras include a couple of additional scenes.

All in all,the fans of the H&K franchise should not be disappointed when they view this newest entry.It contains all the irreverent humour they have come to expect from a H&K film and with just that much more of their fun filled antics.The film is not Academy Award material,but it's not trying to be.Just have fun with it.Recommended.

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