Fantastic Mr. Fox (Three-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (2009)

Ordinarily, I watch a movie one time. On rare occasion, twice. Has to be a really special movie (or highly quotable, a la Caddyshack or Pulp Fiction) for me to desire multiple viewings.

That said, I can't stop watching "The Fantastic Mr. Fox". The animation is fascinating, the voices are perfect, and the writing and vibe are pure Wes Anderson. On every subsequent viewing, more details come to light. The expressions on the faces of the characters, the way they eat (you'll have to see it), etc. Can't stop watching. Every wordless gesture invites repeated viewing. i.e., something as simple as Kylie shrugging his shoulders and grinning caused me to watch it over and over. Same with Ash turning to look at the camera after a redemption of sorts.

I'm almost embarrassed by how much I like this movie. I'm 46 years old, for crying out loud. But I do.

When I saw previews for this film in the theatre, by wife and I exchanged eye-rolls. So when I borrowed a friend's copy out of sheer boredom with the current panoply of predictable, music video children's films, my expectations were low. In fact, we began this film close to the kid's bedtime so I'd have a reasonable excuse to bail out early.

Well, the kids loved this movie and so did I. It's wonderfully paced, the animal characters are idiosyncratic and immensely likable, and the dialogue is conversational and amusing. I don't like when an animated children's film includes a stratum of adult innuendo. That, to me, is targeted marketing, and those carefully distributed oblique references that make mom and dad chuckle exist to compensate for a weak story. No gimmicks here. Funny situations, cleverly crafted characters, technically superb animation, and a novel story.

We've must've seen it 10x since that first night. Any other film and I would have accidentally lost the video by now.

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Frankly, they had me by opening the movie with "The Ballad of Davy Crockett," which by the way, is mistakenly listed in the credits as performed by The Wellingtons. Actually it is the soundtrack version by the MelloMen, but I've seen it mislabeled elsewhere too. And the highly underrated "Love" from "Robin Hood." How nice.

The entire score is as unconventional as the film -dominated by banjo and rhythm tracks to give it an "independent film" texture rather than the now-obligatory John Williams-type score (not that I don't love those scores too, this is just a fresh approach and avoids the modern factory film feel).

Even the titles are clever, all in keeping not only with a singular director's vision, but also very much in the Roald Dahl style. This particular book, by the way, is perhaps one of the most challenging to bring to film since it is one of the few Dahl stories without magical fantasy elements.

I think the overall takeaway, and the thread through all the other comments on this topic is -intelligence. That's a prized commodity in so much of today's entertainment, animated or otherwise. This is a film as smart as a fox.

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The Fantastic Mr. Fox isn't a roll of the floor funny type film, but it is one of the funniest films I've seen all year. The film moves along at a quick pace and while no one joke blows you away that fact the it remains funny from start to finish is an achievement that is seldom, well.....achieved!

The animation is quirky almost trippy, kind of like Robot Chicken and Adult Swim type stuff. The voice acting is also strong with Clooney, Murray and company giving the furry characters life. I may not have laughed so hard my stomach ached, but I had a smile on my face from start to finish and that doesn't happen often enough. The DVD transfer looks great, but the extras are pretty bland.

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I haven't seen a lot of films by Wes Anderson. I've seen (and loved) `The Royal Tenenbaums' and I saw (and found highly overrated) `Rushmore'. Even with only those two viewings though, it is apparent that Anderson has a unique style, visually as well as vocally. His humor is very dry to the point where he is either astonishingly clever or almost too gimmicky.

Ok, forget it. I was going to go into this longwinded (as usual) spiel about how Wes Anderson's style is apparent all over this film, but in a good way, but I'm getting too impatient.

All I want to say is, "THIS MOVIE IS FANTASTIC"!

If you know me then you know that I don't normally get overly excited about animated films. Sure, there are the occasional animated features that really reach me, but as a rule I'm not entirely drawn to them. There was something about this film though, that grabbed me from the first promo I saw. I just knew that I HAD TO SEE THIS! I took my daughter (my wife refused to go) and I liked it more than she did (to be fair, this is a very adult cartoon with mature humor and a bland color palate that fails to ignite the interest of a toddler). This is not you average `laugh out loud' type of comedy, but if you are familiar with Anderson then you know that that is not his style.

This humor is subtle yet totally spot on.

The story is that of Mr. Fox, a retired chicken thief who has settled into the life of husband and father, yet he still feels that aching need for adventure. When Mr. Fox attempts to get his thrills in by stealing from three very nasty men, he finds that these men will stop at nothing to destroy Mr. Fox and his family.

The voice work couldn't have been better. The deadpan delivery suits comic actors like Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman effortlessly, but even George Clooney and Meryl Streep fall beautifully into line. Anderson's direction captures the humor in every scene, and his ascetic is seen all over the place, to glorious effect. I'd easily say that Schwartzman is best in show (I never thought I'd ever say that about him). His voice work totally embodies his character (Ash is just such a brilliant creation) to the point where his every word and action is undeniably unforgettable.

I will say this, the film is not really one I'd recommend for young children, you know, when they are going through that `impressionable stage'. Some of the dialog, while not explicit, could be objectionable to parents. If you don't want your children running around using the word `cuss' in place of colorful expressions you might want to keep them away from this. This is a Roald Dahl adaptation, so the darker themes are to be expected (there are some deaths on screen and some malicious violence), but they are handled with wit and cleverness (that "soap" line is priceless).

I totally recommend this for any adult willing to embrace his inner child!

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Circus World

The copy of Circus World I had taped off the air more than 15 years ago was really starting to wear out and I was really glad to find this DVD. When I got it, I noticed the Chineese text underneath all of the English on the cover. I found the DVD had sub-titles you couldn't turn off, only an OK picture and sound that was out of phase. At times the audio sounded like it was at the bottom of a barrel. Since I can't find anything better out there, I'll keep it, but "let the buyer beware" on this one. It's really only better than no copy at all of what is otherwise a really good John Wayne movie.

Circus WorldThis dvd isn't even worth the small amount of money I paid for it. I would have paid a better price but this was all that was available to me. The quality of the sound, plus the speaking was out of alignment with the mouths moving. Over all I was displeased with this product. What is so terrible that we here in USA have far more ablity to re-product such great classics but don't. It makes no sense to me that we can't buy GOOD quality producted dvd's of great movie classics. How about doing much more about this! We are going to loose such fine entertaining movies such as this one! K. M. Kemp

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From all of the complaints about the quality of THIS Korean import release, may I suggest you check Amazon for availability of the alternate Korean version. I just purchased it, and it has an excellent fully synchronized clean sound track, presented in its original wide-screen cinamascope, and transferred from a fairly clean original print. I only saw some minor dust during the opening credits. Maybe some day Hollywood will do a much deserved full restoration on this circus classic, throw in some bonus features, and even English sub-titles for the hearing impaired and those who have a problem with Claudia Cardinale's Itallian dialect. But until then, the alternate Korean version is probably your best way to view this classic! Region "0" NTSC is playable in US and Canada.

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The DVD of Circus World sold by KNS MEDIA was the best quality I have seen for this movie. The shipping was really fast, and the DVD was accurately described. The DVD is 16 x 9 Enhanced for Widescreen TV's which is a plus and the audio was Dolby Digital 4.0 surround sound and it sounded great. There are Korean subtitles came on at first, but they were easy to turn off. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this DVD.

Circus World (1964) John Wayne, Claudia Cardinale[All Region, Import, NTSC]

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This DVD was everything it was described as. I normally don't write any reviews, but felt compelled to do so here. This is a real good John Wayne vehicle and is unreleased in America. This is a mint print of a seldom seen movie in his catalog, and I highly recommend buying this particular copy if you're interested.

50 Dead Men Walking (2008)

This story is based on the true story of a northern Irish man (Jim McGArtland) who joins the IRA and is also a informant for the government who is trying to stop the IRA's often random slaughter of people (terrorism) that was occurring during the late 1980's. To be fair the IRA was enforcing law when things were breaking down as well; but often they would target whole pubs or such for a murderous attack. And they were a terrorist organization who tortured people to death. (touts or informants in particular). The informant working the police is able to stop many attacks and he saves at least 50 men who were personally targeted. Hence the title of the movie. "50 dead men walking", men who were doomed but still alive because of the informant. Will the informant survive?, and what happens when MI-5 acts just as brutally against a IRA man? This story is one that deserves to be told and the acting is excellent. This is a solid movie featuring the always excellent Ben Kingsley as the man who oversees the informant. Rose McGowen shines in a supporting role as the ruthless head of IRA intelligence who will use her assets to kill or gain information. Every actor including the young lead Jim Sturgess play believable people who are driven by the hideous conditions (economic poverty, violence, racial intolerance, political fanaticism) of Northern Ireland that existed then. One IMPORTANT thing about this movie is that you may want to use the English subtitles because the northern Irish speak very quickly in their own slang English which is understandable but not that easy to follow without the subtitles. The bluray print is excellent and is well mastered so you won't have a problem with it in anyway. This was made by the Irish but it is as professional as any movie made by anyone else. In other words this is a gritty realistic drama that pulls no punches and is well made. It features a number of deleted scenes as well that were cut from the flick , some should have stayed in but most are character building scenes. This is not a low budget badly made movie at all, it's a good mostly TRUE story about sacrifices and about the hard choices that the informant is facing while he infiltrates the IRA. This was directed by Kari Skogland who knows how to direct a decent movie and lets hope she keeps directing and continues to improve as a director.

3.3 stars

50DMW was enjoyable on some fronts, especially Kingsley's acting and some great moments in the script, but I just couldn't buy Sturgess as Martin. He never made me feel for him one way or the other, I saw no real motivation for selling his friends out, and he just didn't seem at all believable.

Skogland's directing is solid, as is the script for the most part, but the occasionally brutal violence and tortures left me disliking both sides of the conflict equally. If Sturgess had been more sympathetic this film would have worked so much better for me. But maybe that's the point: he was what he was, neither good nor bad (or very bad, if you're pro-IRA).

I don't know enough about the "Troubles" to say who's right or wrong. My heart tends to side with home rule, but when one looks at all the innocent people dead on both sides it adds up to nobody being right. This movie could have made me feel so much more but Sturgess just seems on the fence in every way throughout, and by the end I was happy to see it all end, leaving me feeling that nothing had really been accomplished but more pain and death, despite the claim he saved 50 lives.

He sure didn't come off as much of a hero here, and ultimately all the violence just felt pointless. The film raises many questions and answers none, which may be the point. But I didn't feel like I learned much, or enjoyed it much, and without one or the other I can't say I loved any film, no matter how competent it may be. I did enjoy some of the supporting acting a fair bit, in any case, and Kingsley is excellent as always.

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Knowing the history behind this film I was looking forward to watching it. I was to be very disappointed. The film is very slanted in it's account of the war. It starts by doing a voice over amid pictures of violence suggesting that the British army was sent into act as peacemakers. This period of the conflict relates to a series of marches (inspired by the civil rights marches in the US) Irish nationalists engaged in to demand equal civil rights. The British army reacted with violence against the marches most famously in Derry when they murdered 13 innocent people and lied for years afterward about what happened. Just last year the new British government admitted the truth and apologized. This sets the films tone with the British portrayed as just trying to keep the peace and as good guys which simply isn't truthful and not backed up historically. At the end there is some additional information given about things that happened after the time frame of the film. They state that after the good friday agreement the British army withdrew it's troops. This is not true. There are still in the region of 5,000 British troops there.

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50 DEAD MEN WALKING is an unusually powerful film that brings to the screen the real life story of Martin McGartland on whose book it is based (with co-writer Nicholas Davies). Director Kari Skogland has managed to recreate the flavors of the 1980s in Ireland at war with the British. The violence in the film may be difficult for some viewers but it so integrated with the story that it would not seem as fine a film without it.

Martin McGartland (Jim Sturgess) was a fly-by-night, door-to-door salesman in Belfast in the 80s. He is bonded with mates such as Sean (Kevin Zegers) among others and they manage to get into all manner of trouble until they are united with the IRA (Irish Republican Army) to defeat the British: of note at the end of the film, the British were in Ireland as occupiers for a total of 38 years, ending only in 2008 with a peace treaty! Martin feels a sense of duty with the IRA and is observed by the British intelligence, namely one Fergus (Sir Ben Kingsley) who convinces Martin to join forces as a 'tout' or informer within the IRA. It is this play of double lives that brings McGartland to a terrifying life, a life made whole only by his love for his girlfriend Lara (Natalie Press) and their children (born and unborn). The struggle Martin endures between loyalty to his mates and loyalty to the British who see Martin's role as one that could save the lives of at least '50 Dead Men Walking' is the line of the film that never lets up for a moment of rest in its demonstration of the futility of 'war', no matter what level.

Jim Sturgess is superb as Martin and the large supporting cast is as fine as any casting director could find. This is a very intense film, a film so true to the Irish brogue that subtitles are necessary to understand much of the story. It is a film well worth viewing, especially if the confusion about the long Irish/British war is not clearly understood by the viewer. Grady Harp, January 10

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American gangster movies tend to either glorify the mafia, or make it into a joke (Joe Pesci in "Goodfellas", etc.). This movie is a very brutal and realistic view of the IRA and the situation in northern Ireland. The acting is first rate. Ben Kingsley is excellent, and I wanted to write down some of his statements (on the IRA men: "They are killers who just found something to kill for"). The violence is brutal and realistic. We see men shot dead drinking pints of ale and blown up in vans and shot dead in front of their children. We see the British military bashing teenagers with rifle butts. I agree though, that this movie, although VERY informative about the situation in Ireland in the 1980s, is really ultimately a human story, and not a political one. This story could easily be transposed to Algeria, or Israel-Palestine, or Tibet, or anywhere that there is a conflict. I think also that any American who "supports" the IRA should be "forced" to watch this movie. I now know why my local Irish pub owner where I live from Dublin and who has seen this story up close refuses to serve "Irish Car bombs", but will serve you an "Irish Peacemaker" instead !

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Stephen King's Thinner (1996)

You might not expect it from a Stephen King novel but the film is realitivly tame by todays standards. The result is a thriller of the best kind. The characters are less-than-desirable and that makes things all the more fun to watch. Robert John Burke stars as a morally corrupt attorney who we can't help but empathizing with, after all most of us are carrying a few extra pounds but he's tipping the scales at 300 lbs. and shows no sign of stopping. That's until he hits an old gypsy woman with his car and finds himself the victim of her father's wrath. You see he's over a hundred years old (the gypsies father that is), though by the looks of the cancer growing on his nose he won't be around much longer. Burke and co. conspired to make the old woman's death look like an accident and thus free him of any and all charges he could face in court. After being touched by the gypsy he finds himself on the role of his life, or so he thinks. He drops pounds like there candy which we get to see him cosume much of. Enter Joe Mantegna in his typical Mafia hitman role. The two fight back and thats when things get really good. In the end nobody's spared there just deserts (excuse the pun). The DVD offers and interesting if incomplete commentary track by it's director Todd Holland, of Larry Sanders fame, and costar Mantegna. The widescreen format keeps Burkes weight in proper perspective, instead of streching the screen like they do in those horrorendous pan and scan discs. And the 5.1 sound is very commendable. It's a Halloween treat that I've grown to appreicate more each year 'round this time.

If you are old enough to remember "Room 222"'s gentle principal in that 1960's TV hit, then you will marvel at Michael Constantine's performance as Tadzu Lempke, the centenarian patriarch of a roving band of gypsies. Considered unsavory nuisances whom the sheriff wants evicted, the gypsies legally lure curious onlookers. One of them, Billy Halleck (Burke), a dangerously overweight lawyer, ogles the nubile gypsy daughter gyrating seductively, but her unexpected vulgarity sets a sinister tone for what follows.

In this 1996 Stephen King thriller, Billy and his wife accidentally run down and kill Lempke's aged wife after she pilfers from a drug store. However, the couple is immediately acquitted as townsfolk "testify" in a stacked courtroom. Enraged, Lempke eerily grazes Billy while murmuring the curse, "Thinner."

Within days, Billy credits his new "diet" for his sudden weight loss which continues at a frightful pace. The sight of him going from obese to "normal" to gaunt are truly frightening, especially as the gypsies mockingly camp nearby. Although other townsfolk are cursed in even more grotesque ways (one commits suicide), Billy realizes all are doomed unless he can reason with Lempke, man-to-man. Still, Billy is continually mocked, and flees with a near-fatal slingshot wound through his right hand.

Now, leveraging the threat of violence against Ms. Slingshot, Billy forces Lempke to reveal that the only "antidote" is to pass the curse to someone else, as deceptively as possible. With a few scores to settle, including that of his unfaithful wife, Billy sets the trap, but forgets one very important detail.

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Let me just start of by saying that I am a huge fan of both stephen kings, and horror movies. This however really isn't scary. However it did have a few scary parts. just be warned: this is not your average stephen king movie...but its still really good.

By the way...why do people give movies bad ratings if they have crappy special features? I don't know about everyone else, but I buy my movies for the movie, not for the extra stuff!

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I just read the book a few days ago and I thought the movie was pretty good. I was a little disappointed with the special effects. He didn't really look bad at all when he was supposed to be 120 lbs, most of the work must have went into making him look 300 lbs. Stephen King does make an appearance in the movie as a pharmacist. Not a waste of time or money!

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I think the thing that surprises me the most about Tom Holland's "Thinner" is that it was released theatrically. Based on the novel by the infamous horror writer Stephen King, this adaptation of one of his better-known books feels more like a direct-to-video release than a big-screen feature, with its low production values and overall cheap appearance. Having said that, the movie itself is entertaining to a point, after which, like many of King's novels (or movies based on them), it just flatlines.

The story centers around attorney Billy Halleck (Robert John Burke), whose string of successes have made him a name in his small town. He has a wife, Heidi (Lucinda Jenney), and a young daughter, both of whom have issues about his serious weight problems. "I can't stop thinking about food," he tells his wife in the car on the way home from a celebration dinner, to which she responds with A) the statement "There's more to life than just food," and B), a timely session of... well, you'll see.

Of course, during the "act," Billy fails to notice the old Gypsy woman crossing the street, and strikes her with his vehicle. Given his status among the townspeople (coupled with the fact that almost everyone we meet in the film is prejudiced against gypsies), Billy receives little more than a slap on the wrist, after which he is greeted by the dead woman's father (her father?), who brushes his cheek and chants the word "thinner."

Now I'm sure I don't have to tell you exactly what happens to Billy, who, despite his efforts to maintain a stable weight ("I'm digesting 12,000 calories a day!" he later tell his wife), loses 40 pounds in no more than two weeks. And the fat grams just keep flying, to the point where Heidi insists he check himself into a nearby male clinic, disbelieving of his theory that he has been cursed by the old gypsy man, whom he later sets out to find with the help of a vigilante he helped set free in a case.

If this all sounds rather hokey to you, that's because it is. The problem is, if my synopsis gives you this notion, then you're much better off leaving your experience with "Thinner" at this exposition, and avoiding the movie at all costs. Even for a Stephen King adaptation, the film is incredibly tough to swallow; the beginning and mid-section fares somewhat nicely, setting us up for a third act that showcases some nifty yet under-imagined make-up tricks (like we really couldn't guess that he was wearing a fat suit from the beginning), but fails in regards to giving us a sturdy conclusion that's worth waiting for.

Aside from the low-budget look of the film, there's not a great deal of commendable acting to be dealt with, either. Burke has some effective moments of biting humor, but he fails to register much in his confrontations with his wife, nor do we ever care much for him as a person wasting away as a result of his wrongdoing. The wife and child are basically stand-ins for those pesky times when the film needs some refreshment from slingshot-wielding gypsies and subplots involving two men who share a similar fate to Billy as a result of letting him go without punishment.

There is an intriguing premise underneath the mess that is "Thinner," but the story and its execution follow a pattern very much akin to its main character's descent from obesity.

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Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (2009)

I'm going to break this review down into two parts.

The movie itself:

This is Ghost In The Shell in HD. It's beautiful, but for a smoother translation into the look of Innocence the greenish colors of the original film have been touched up and made to be more of an amber color like that seen in second film. This isn't really a change that I mind, and it's pulled off fairly well. I assume that several scenes were cleaned up digitally because the line art looks amazingly clean.

Sadly, someone felt it would be appropriate to replace some of the most iconic and stunning animation from the original with CG. A few scenes are done well like those where the CG is only helicopters or buildings, but whenever it replaces characters with crappy looking CG models it becomes stunningly bad. If you watch the making of the original movie you can see that their limited use of computer assisted animation was carefully planned and fit in with the other artwork and improved the film. The CG in 2.0 sticks out like a sore thumb in most cases. The only CG part that I liked was the pan over the cityscape at the end of the film.

If you have a bluray player and haven't seen GitS yet 2.0 isn't a bad way to see it, but fans of the original will probably be disappointed with the lack of any significant changes and the quality of what was changed.

The bluray by Manga:

Somehow Manga Entertainment never ceases to screw something pretty major up on their releases. The box lists a commentary with Oshii, an interview with Oshii and a making of GitS 2.0. None of these features are present on the bluray. You get throw away character profiles, glossary, and the old english trailer. The original making of GitS is here in VHS quality along with the unlisted bonus feature of the original cut of the movie. When I heard that I was pretty excited because in all honesty it's the only version I truly care about, but it looks to be taken from non-HD masters and only includes 2.0 audio tracks. If memory serves me correctly I believe that my GitS DVD looks better upscaled than this version does.

It would have been nice to do a re-dub of the film with the SAC cast, but I guess most of them were in the original anyway and it's a nice dub in it's own right.

This whole release just makes me want the original film untouched in HD. I can't give this less than three stars if only because seeing this movie this way is better than not seeing it at all because it's a one of my favorite films ever, but be aware of the problems with this release before deciding to buy it.

Ahh...Ghost in the Shell. The 1995 movie based on the manga that was called by some the second coming of Akira. I can't help but agree with that. So here we are almost 15 years later and we now have a sequel, a spin-off TV show, with a TV movie and it's influence is seen in movies such as "The Matrix." Now we have GitS 2.0, which is not a sequel (though I can see why people could be misled into thinking that.) but a redone version of the first movie. The colors has been changed and some CG has been brought in to replace the old animation. Its supposed to look more like the sequel, "Innocence," but honestly it looks weird since the original movie was made 9 years before the sequel. But I'm not going to review the movie itself, I'm just going to tell you why you should buy this on Blu-Ray.

The first thing all you purists need to know, the original Ghost in the Shell is included on the disc in HD. It doesn't look that great but it looks better than the DVD for sure. Also, the transfer is not the DVD master from the 2005 re-issue simply upconverted (contrary to popular belief), it is the Blu-ray master from Japan. They didn't really clean up the film but this is pretty much the best it's ever going to look unless Bandai, Manga or Production IG want to put up the money for a full re-master.

Which brings us into the new 2.0 version. This puppy has demo worthy video. The animation has been nicely cleaned-up, the new CG pops, and the re-mixed soundtrack (which I'll get back to in a minute) can bring the house down. This is one of the best animated Blu-rays out there, up there with "Cars," "Wall-E," and "Akira." While consistency is off thanks to the new CG, new colors and old animation, but this is not the fault of the transfer.

The soundtrack for the original Japanese version has actually been thrown out the window completely. Not only are there new sound effects, but the original cast has re-recorded all their lines, with one exception: the Puppet Master. The Puppet Master was originally voiced by a man, and has now been replaced by a woman. Also the song that plays in the background during the market chase with Batou has been removed. It is such a small thing that people probably won't notice (but I brought it up for a reason).

Now, I'm going to be honest, I'm a fan of the English dub of GitS in all of its forms. When this was announced I thought for sure they would re-dub the movie with the new GitS: Stand Alone Complex cast. This is not the case. They used the original dub from 1995 for this version (So Mimi Woods is playing Motoko, not Mary Elizabeth McGlynn from the SAC dub.) with the new sound effects thrown in. Which brings us to a inconsistency because in the 2.0 version the Puppet Master is supposed to be played a female, but instead, is still played by a man, since this is literally the same dub. This isn't the only inconsistency, the song from the marketplace is now back in the movie. There some other small gripes but only the hardcore fan would notice.

Now onto the extras. They consider the old version of the movie as a extra, and it is a pretty cool extra, having both versions in HD. Then we come into a couple of weird quirks. On the box, it says there is a commentary with the director, as well as a making of feature for 2.0. What we get is a making of feature....for the original movie and a theatrical trailer...for the original. Along with come bios and glossary. The features on the box are no where to be found, which is quite a big gaff. Maybe future re-prints will correct this but as of now, the features on the box are not there. To me, it isn't a big deal, but it kind of sucks that we don't get what the box promises.

All in all this is a must buy for every GitS fan. Not only do you get the new version of this movie, you get the original in HD. That way, you get the best of both worlds. Everyone else, give this one a rental, because this is really for the fans.

EDIT: 9/29/11 The included original version of Ghost in the Shell is not the HD master from Japan. It is a laserdisc master, upconverted to 1080i. Also, they've fixed the back cover in later prints to have the correct features on the back. I still recommend this if you're a fan.

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Movie: 4.5/5 Video Quality: 4.5/5 Audio Quality: 5/5 Extras: 2.5/5 Overall: 4.1/5 (rounded down in total star ranking)

This was the second genuine anime film I ever watched, and even after repeated viewings I've been confused and confounded by it. It may be short and it may boast some cool action scenes, but for the most part it is a tight, complex, and highly cerebral thriller. The combination of philosophy, psychology, technology, and politics is often overwhelming in this film.

Only recently have I been able to understand the movie's plot and issues, and I must say that it is a very sublime picture with some very deep issues concerning the human soul, technology, and society. For that matter, each viewing does reveal deeper meaning. On this basis, the movie not only makes for quintessential anime, but it is also an essential (and influential) piece of cyberpunk sci-fi.

The movie's plot and characters may seem muddled, but they have nuances and complexities of their own. I do find that other features in the "Ghost in the Shell" series (namely, "Innocence," "Stand Alone Complex," and "Solid State Society") offer easier storylines and more understandable characters, but they are not quite as original or distinctive as what's in this film. The movie is slowly-paced, but has lots of interesting visuals and some brilliant action scenes. Production design features some very interesting and original sets, props, costumes, vehicles, and weapons. Music is interesting.

For better or for worse, this disc showcases the 2.0 version, which offers enhanced CGI effects to replace certain scenes, as well as an enhanced soundtrack and a new music score. These changes do offer a different color palette than the theatrical cut, and the image overall looks cleaner, sharper, and more detailed. Above all, it is visually and conceptually more compatible with other features in the "Ghost in the Shell" series.

This disc offers decent quality. The video looks very clean, with excellent color and contrast. It is sharp with plenty of details; textures are strong and pencil lines are thin. I saw no signs of visual noise, pixilation, or aliasing. The only issue worth noting is that some scenes may have bright auras, but this is notably less intrusive on Blu-Ray than it is on DVD. A few scenes showed some slight banding as well. Sound quality is excellent (DTS-HD MA 6.1, lossless), and you have a choice between English dubbing and the original Japanese, with optional subtitles. Extras include a making-of feature, character profiles, creator biographies, and a trailer.

One of the special features is the original theatrical cut of the movie. Video quality on the original film in 1080i is notably weaker, for it shows greater pixilation, aliasing, and film artifacts. Colors are also more washed-out, but some colors are notably different than the 2.0 version (more blues and greens in certain scenes). Regardless, it is still a sharp and clean image. Sound quality is good, and it has the same language and subtitle options as the 2.0 feature.

Read Best Reviews of Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (2009) Here

Let's get one thing clear: I love Ghost in the Shell. I have everything ever released on DVD. As far as Cyberpunk goes, this is it. Plain and simple.

Let's talk about what's wrong with GITS: 2.0

They took the 2008 Japanese Bluray and ran a blur filter over it. Want your DVD to look the same? Turn the sharpness down to about 20%. Ta-da!

Added in new 3d animation that looks like something from a Playstation One or 2 at best. Low rez, crap quality that has artifacting and residue. We're talking Youtube video quality. I'm not impressed. Going from one type of animation type to another in mid movie is really painful.

On top of all that, deciding to change entire color pallets, substituting Amber for Green. Ya that's great. Thanks.

This is worse than what Lucas did to Star Wars. Far worse.

It's crap.

I am very disappointed.

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I picked this up assuming that both 2.0 and 1.0 transfers would be of equal quality -such was not the case. While 2.0 looks great -that is, if you can put up with pretty dated-looking CG -1.0 looks like it's a direct transfer from the original 480p DVD master and looks pretty awful. Buyer beware on this one.

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Massage Parlor Murders (Blu-ray + DVD Combo) (1972)

I suppose the best way to describe this movie, would be as some sort of Grindhouse version of `The French Connection'. Not only is there a strong emphasis on the whole cop business and do we get treated to an extended car chase, both movies share the same kind of loose script structure. In typical seventies fashion, instead of a tightly written scenario based on cause and effect, `Massage Parlor Murders' offers almost random vignettes creating a wonderfully sprawling epic that clocks in at just under 80 minutes. In doing so, it has created a wonderful time capsule, which captures that seventies sensibility so well, with those instantly recognizable colors, the great music (which seems a cross between early Funkadelic and the Miles Davis of the period) and of course that truly awful and ubiquitous wallpaper. With a title like `Massage Parlor Murders!' you'd probably expect a straight horror movie, but probably the exclamation mark (which is there on the title card) should give you a clue this is going to be something entirely else. So besides the wonderful sleaziness of it all, the movie is played more for comedy than horror, with some truly hilarious moments though there are some gore sequences as well. In the end, what's most beautiful about this picture is its total refusal to be categorized and its willingness to go anywhere it pleases; what it may lack in coherence, it more than makes up for with poetic logic.

For only their second blu-ray release, Vinegar Syndrome couldn't have picked a better title than `Massage Parlor Murders'. They not only rescued this gem from obscurity, somehow they've managed to make it look like a million bucks too. When I saw the trailer for this release, I was very much surprised at how good it looked, and fortunately this doesn't limit itself to just the trailer. Sure, there is the occasional odd frame and the soundtrack isn't always pitch-perfect, but this is one scrumptious looking blu-ray. Vinegar Syndrome is a new player in town (their Expectations/Confessions double bill is already one of my favorite releases of the year) and everyone who considers himself a exploitation genre nut owes it to himself to check out their releases and this one is a good a place to start as any.

In today's high-tech world, many casual viewers of films and videos have little appreciation for what came before. Clearly, some of this is due to the fact that practically every television set has a billion channels of programming available at any given hour of the day (or night), so there's very little need much less desire to seek out some of the lesser titles of yesteryear, of which I've no doubt something like MASSAGE PARLOR MURDERS (aka MASSAGE PARLOR HOOKERS) is part and parcel of. Instead, folks will pop in some cheaply-produced direct to DVD release starring any number of forgettable performers and featuring any variation of plot they've seen hundreds of times before.

I'm certainly not making the case that MASSAGE PARLOR MURDERS is necessarily a better choice. It is, nonetheless, an apt portrait for storytelling plucked from a different time a different culture with different storytelling expectations and, for that reason alone, I'd argue it's worth at least a single view.

(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and characters. If you're the kind of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I'd encourage you to skip down to the last two paragraphs for my final assessment. If, however, you're accepting of a few modest hints at `things to come,' then read on ...)

A serial killer who targets massage parlor prostitutes is on the loose. Unfortunately, the cops can't catch a break much less a legitimate suspect and the trail runs cold before the audience can say `entrapment.' (There's a brief, goofy sidetrack involved with their only possible lead, played by screen veteran George Dzundza who also happens to be the assistant director in what has to be one of his earliest appearances ever.) But when one cop falls for the roommate of a victim, it becomes a race against time to catch the murderer before he might catch her!

MASSAGE PARLOR MURDERS boasts the kind of plot that ignited so much of the early 1970's exploitation scene. It's got hot women. It's got sex. It's got nudity. It's got violence. It's got blood. It's got wicked subcultures. It's got crooked cops. It's got meaty undertones (i.e. religion). It's got car chases. It's got beer and cigarettes. And, unfortunately, it's got a lot of bad acting, but that's all meant in good, gory fun. Quite literally, every possible influence you could ever want in a respectable, B movie (or is that C-movie?) in there and more, so much so that I was a bit surprised it didn't wallow in its excess.

And how is it?

Well, it's about as entertaining as any sub-standard release could've been for its time, and that's why I'd endorse it worth a single view.

As I said in the opening, folks today certainly can't appreciate the blood and bluster that was the underground exploitation scene that populated double-bills at lesser theatres or drive-ins through-out the 1970's and early 80's. None of these were meant to be `great pictures'; rather, they were made on the cheap for no other reason than the love of making it AND the love of watching it. I've no doubt that all of this gusto maybe meant something more to the folks who threw it together because there are solid hints at some admirable ideas so often explored in big budget films (the cop-buddy film, the serial killer, etc.). Films like this don't get made all that often these days, and that's why I found much of MASSAGE to be a terrific portrait of what subversive filmmaking was like. If anything, the film screens like an hour-long police procedural with probably 20 minutes of mild gratuitousness added for the crowd appeal. Watch closely, and you'll see perhaps every lovely victim still breathing after they've been pronounced dead. Watch even closer, and you might see them blink their eyes.

MASSAGE PARLOR MURDERS is produced by Craig Nolan and Bert Cohen. DVD distribution is being handled through Vinegar Syndrome. As for the technical specifications, you might be surprised how well this looks and sounds given its age and history; yes, there's some modest grain and 2.0 channel sound isn't all that grand, but I found this better than most. As for the bonuses? There are theatrical trailers and a host of outtakes (about eight minutes) that may not add up to much more than alternate takes and `filler' cinematography, but there's a terrific essay available in liner notes by Temple of Schlock writer Chris Poggiali that's tops.

RECOMMENDED. Will a film like MASSAGE PARLOR MURDERS shatter expectations? With a title like that, need I give you an honest answer? Will it define the way movies are made in the present day and age? Of course not. Spielberg and Scorsese have nothing to worry about. Will it alter the fabric of time and space? Not very likely. But what it may do is serve as eighty minutes of film history. It's a throwback to a time when special effects were practical considerations needing to be captured in-process and not to be fixed in post. This is a B-movie with A-movie ideas, ones not all that dissimilar to David Fincher's SE7EN thematically. I've seen (obviously) far worse exploitation flicks than this one. Despite some weird pacing problems that plague the latter half, this one ends up being pretty benign by comparison.

In the interests of fairness, I'm pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Vinegar Syndrome provided me with an advance DVD copy of MASSAGE PARLOR MURDERS by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review.

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MASSAGE PARLOR MURDERS has been all but buried since the 1970s, languishing in a vault somewhere. Fortunately, Vinegar Syndrome is the Tomb Raider of video labels. They have painstakingly tweaked and tweezed every molecule of the original camera negative to its original vibrancy. In fact, you may opt to watch the DVD in this combo-pack; the Blu-ray is almost TOO crystal clear.

MASSAGE PARLOR MURDERS has no CGI, explosions, or ex-Disney bimbos. So what do you get? A pursuit featuring half a dozen or more $300 cars crashing into each other. Luscious, REAL 70s honies in their finest eyeshadow. Countless minutes of Sandra (LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT) Peabody wandering around NYC with her cop boyfriend. Lots of dead massage parlor girls who have trouble not blinking while the camera is rolling. Brother Theodore in freak-out mode. A music editor with ADHD. And above all, an ending that redefines the word "overkill." I had very high expectations for this film. While it did not deliver exactly what I had imagined, it surprised and pleased me well beyond what I dared hope.

Read Best Reviews of Massage Parlor Murders (Blu-ray + DVD Combo) (1972) Here

I applaud Vinegar Syndrome for releasing films that no one else would touch and I also appreciate that most of them are 70's explotation and sexploitation films. It's like I'm reliving my teenage years all over again. They take the utmost care in the films' restorations and always show the films in their actual theatrical ratio. They may be the new kid on the block, but they are a welcome addition to old fogies like me!

Want Massage Parlor Murders (Blu-ray + DVD Combo) (1972) Discount?

Vinegar Syndrome's release of Massage Parlor Murders will remain one of the more respected exploitation releases for years to come. What you have here is a high quality Blu-ray/DVD release of bargain basement 42nd St. fun. Massage Parlor Murders is a movie that lives up to its title; pretty girls, lots of nudity, a killer with creepy motives (think Se7en), bad dialogue, awesome location shots (check out those movie marquees), even more bad dialogue, genuine 60s/70s fashions, a sub-par car chase and of course gruesomely murdered hookers...oh I'm sorry, massage engineers. The gore effects are fairly tame and cheap but the brutality behind them is oddly effective. Many reviewers have been rough on the opening scene presented in the slightly longer "original cut" (found on both discs) but I think it's hilarious. The dialogue and acting is completely absurd. The whole film should be made in to a play.

Great image quality. Very colorful for such a feature. Those of you cranking this feature through a high end system may get irritated with the lackluster and somewhat noisy soundtrack. Its not a problem of the disc just issues inherent in the original tracks. Bonus features include outtakes, trailers, a radio spot and some welcome liner notes by Chris Poggiali (he knows his stuff). The outtakes are worth it just for the the location shots. There appears to be a problem with the radio spot on the Blu-ray disc (I checked two discs and neither had sound) but it plays fine on the DVD. Completing the package and adding an unusual touch of class is Jay Shaw's fantastic poster art, which is exclusive to this release. For a limited time you can get a high quality print of the poster on the Vinegar Syndrome website. Expect to pay a lot more for it when they sell out.

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The Lonely Trail (1936)

The picture and sound is in top class. And what a thrill. John Wayne and sidekick Jim Toney return to Texas after the civil war to experience that carbetbaggers are terrorising Texas. From here on it's shooting and riding and hiding and breathless suspence. Lovely Ann Rutherford is the lady and heavy Cy Kendall and henchmen Bob Kortman and Yakima Canutt are up to no good. What a powerfull trio of villains.This is simply the best of the best for b-western fans and others who will ride the trail with young John Wayne.

DVD came quickly and in the condition stated. I am very happy with my purchase. I am looking forward to buying more John Wayne movies.

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Samurai 7 - Box Set (2004)

Akira Kurosawa's 1954 film "Seven Samurai" is regarded as a great and influential film that is among the few Japanese films that has captivated audiences worldwide for so long. The legendary film was about a village of farmers hiring seven samurai's to protect the village from bandits has been revamped for GONZO's 2004 anime "Samurai 7'.

First appearing on the anime satellite television channel Animax in 2004 as a high definition CS-Pay-Per-View series, the series was later shown in the US on IFC (International Film Channel) in 2006. Unlike the film which takes place in feudal Japan, "Samurai 7' takes place in a cyberpunk era that blends together feudal Japan with high-technology with mecha robotic suits.

"Samurai 7' also has quite a bit of talent behind it as the series is directed by Toshifumi Takizawa known for directing classics such as "Dirty Pair", "Crusher Joe" and "Big Wars"(and also storyboards for mecha anime such as "Mobile Suit Gundam Zeta Gundam", "Mobile Suit Victory Gundam).

Character designs are by Hideki Hashimoto (known for a lot of key animation work for "Heat Guy J", "Great Teacher Onizuka" and "Mobile Suit Gundam") and Takuhito Kusanagi (known for his mechanical design work for "Blue Submarine No. 6' and "Tower of Druaga").

The series begins with the villagers of the rice village of Kanna. Peasants who are forced to harvest rice for the Nobuseri bandits. The Nobuseri are ruthless as they take nearly all the rice of the villagers and even go as far as taking their women and children.

The villagers hardly have anything to eat but the villagers know they can't live life the way they are living now and so, with the approval of their village elder, three people will take their remaining rice to find samurai's who will fight against the bandits and free the village.

The village send three people to hire samurai's with their rice.

Kirara: The village priestess who has a crystal that can read the hearts of people.

Komachi: The young sister of Kirara

Rikichi: The male villager who accompanies both Kirara and Komachi. Rikichi despises the Nobuseri bandits because they took his wife.

During their search in the city for samurai's to protect the farming village of Kanna, the city's heir to Ayamano, Ukyo, develops a crush on Kirara and wants her to join his harem of women. But each time he tries to kidnap her, the samurai's thwart him and thus leads to Ukyo trying to find ways to kill the samurai's and capture Kirara.

During their search for samurai in the city, the three eventually find the following samurai who agree to fight against the bandits.

Shimada Kambei The great samurai who is emotionless since he has been in so many battles and witnessed so many deaths that he lives in his own shadow of pain, constantly asking other samurai of why they became a samurai. The person becomes the leader of the group. Awesome fighting skills.

Katsuhiro Okamoto The first samurai that is willing to help Kirara and the others. A young and inexperienced samurai who idolizes Kambei and eventually becomes the protector of Kirara. Eventually grows as a samurai after his first major kill.

Gorobei Katayama An entertainer and former samurai from the great war who is good at detecting intruders and also has unmatched defensive skills by catching an opponents weapons with his hands and quick to dodge attacks.

Shichiroji A former samurai who fought alongside Kambei. Now runs an inn and has a fiance but decides to join his friend in battle against the bandits. Fights with a big staff with blades and has a prosthetic hand that is used as a grappling hook.

Kikuchiyo A huge cyborg who is always opinionated and always trying to prove himself as a samurai. Has great strength and carries a big chainsaw word to fight but he is not that smart. A child at heart, Kikuchiyo bonds with Kirara's younger sister Komachi.

Hayashida Heihachi A samurai who is laid back and rather eat or be cool than fight. A former mechanical/combat engineer, his knowledge of mechanics provides useful for the team.

Kyuzo A former bodyguard and talented samurai warrior for Ayamaro, an is an enemy of the samurai's in the first part of the series. Both Kyuzo and Kanbei go into battle against each other and end with a draw. With both men finding enjoyment in their battle against each other, they vow to fight again. Kyuzo eventually joins the team when he finally finds a great opponent in Kambei. Joining the group because he wants to be the person to fight and kill Kambei, so therefore he joins the team and lends them his skills as a talented samurai.

For this Blu-ray disc release of "Samurai 7', the first two discs contain a total of nine episodes each with the third disc containing the final 8 episodes plus the special features.

VIDEO AND AUDIO:

"SAMURAI 7' was originally a series shown in high definition in Japan. So, needless to say, the picture quality is very good as it is in 1080p High Definition, 16×9.

With that being said, it's also important to remind everyone that this is a television series and not an OAV or a film which have a bigger budget and much more detail in the overall animation quality.

In Japan, many of these animators have only a week to get an episode done and often are working on other anime series at the same time, so that being said, "Samurai 7' does have beautiful segments during the CG segments but in terms of the animation, character designs are simplistic, color pallet is solid with not much shading.

And for animation that utilizes less detail, this gives the animator more time to focus on the action sequences which they definitely did for "Samurai 7'.

So, you can expect to see really good detail when it comes to the CG segments especially during the two wars because there is a lot of mecha battles that utilize the CG. And the background renderings often get the most detail. But picture quality is clear and there are scenes that do showcase a lot of vibrant colors. But for those most part, there is a softness in terms of colors. More focus on earth tones and greens.

For some, a drawback is that nine episodes are put on each disc, some enthusiasts would rather have 4-5 episodes with a higher bitrate but with the style of "Samurai 7', this is a television series not an OVA or film, so one can not expect a super-detailed series. The picture quality is a step up from the DVD release but what "Samurai 7' will appeal to are the audiophiles.

For the audio, audio is presented in Dolby True HD 5.1 in English and Japanese. First, I must say that I was impressed by both voice acting in Japanese and the English dubs. For one, rarely do you get the Japanese audio track in Dolby TrueHD 5.1, so I started the series primarily watching it in Japanese and was in awe of the actual mix and the utilization of the rear channels.

You hear the people in the city chatting and talking at a distance. You hear sound of people talking coming from one side and then the other. Especially in the action scenes and hearing the explosions and blasts and bullet shots.

I switched over to the English track in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and the track also displays the same audio which is fantastic. The voice acting was very well done on the English side of things and overall, just impressed with overall audio quality.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are a good number of special features included on all three discs. For disc 1 and 2, you will need to go to the episodes listing and you will see episode 1 and episode 14 contain a commentary feature. The commentary is based on the English voice dub, so for example episode 14 would feature the ADR director Christopher Bevins, R. Bruce Elliott (voice for Kambei) and Sean Michael Teague (voice of Katsuhiro) commenting on the various characters and how they enjoyed the vocal performance of their co-actors. Of course, English voice dubs are never going into the technical commentary on the animation and why certain scenes are the way they are. But for those who enjoy commentary by English voice dubs, especially these two talents, then you'll definitely enjoy these two commentary tracks.

On disc 3, there are several special features. Included are:

* Promotional Video In Japan, their promotional videos for upcoming series are quite long and in this case, this five minute video features the CG action-packed battles and also introducing the Japanese cast involved in the overall production. The video is in Japanese with English subtitles.

* Textless Opening and Ending The textless opening and ending theme to Avex artists Nanase Aikawa's opening theme "Unlimited" and Rin's ending theme of "Fuhen".

* FUNimation Entertainment Trailers Trailers for FUNimation Entertainment anime series and film releases.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"Samurai 7' is a pretty interesting take on the Kurosawa 1954 classic but I admit that I totally dig the concept of combining feudal Japan with steampunk technology. For anime, to combine samurai battles with mecha robot suits seems unbelievable, but within the concept of what "Samurai 7' is about and the overall journey of these samurai trying to protect the peasants and their village was quite fun.

The characters all have their own unique abilities and characteristics and the series is just all out non-stop action.

This is my first experience of watching an anime television series on Blu-ray. In the past, most releases were typically film or OVA-based but with "Samurai 7' having the high definition background when initially aired in Japan, the picture quality is clean but at the same time, it's detail is mostly within the CG scenes and the overall animation, relies on simple character designs that is typical with anime television series versus a film or OVA which the animators have much more time to work on.

But like a next gen video game, an anime series is not all about its graphics, for this series, what works is the adventure, the journey, the action and its enjoyable characters but most importantly, a well-crafted storyline. During the first 18-episodes, I really enjoyed the fight for the village but then there was a short lull as the episodes started to focus on twisted, protagonist Ukyo trying to usurp in power and become the next emperor and then suddenly getting back to the action-packed storyline and setting up the ultimate war.

There are some who may not see the need for high definition with their anime, especially if you are going to watch it on a 17-24' computer monitor but for those who want to watch anime in HD on their large television screens (especially using HD projectors) and seeing more detail and of course getting Dolby TrueHD sound in both Japanese and English is a plus.

Overall, I really enjoyed "Samurai 7'. It manages to hold some of the enjoyment that made the original film so classic but the incorporate the adventure and the "other world" type of features you would expect from an anime series. Again, samurai vs. mecha suits? Who would of imagined that?

"Samurai 7' is an enjoyable television series and I'm very happy that FUNimation Entertainment brought this series to Blu-ray!

I own the collector's edition of the original series on regular dvd and I'm not sure yet if its worth getting the new one. Anime is a weird thign to put on blu-ray because it doesn't suffer from the contrast and lighting issues that plague most movies. The sound can be easily bumped up in quality to either 5.1 or 7.1 dolby surround, if thats important to you. I just don't feel that most anime does any better on blu-ray than it does in upconversion.

If you do not own this set yet however and own a blu-ray player, this is a very reasonable price for such an incredible anime series. Being a remake of a classic cultural story from Japan, its already steeped in history, but the reimagining of the series and book is just incredible. I've never fallen in love with a main character like I did in this story. He is simply one of the most tough-A-$-$-ed anime samurai you will ever meet and he is everything that epitomizes the samurai code. The story features many characters that are believable, well developed, and consistent as well as great themes that still hold true today in many respects. Whether your in for the story or the action, it doesn't matter, its worth it on both counts.

The animation technique is much like Burst Angel or the Karas movies in that they combine some cg elements with the anime to create some jaw-dropping scenes which include sword-wielding tough-guys taking down gigantic machines in ways you never thought possible. Far-fetched? Sure, but its some of the most fun I've ever had escaping into an anime world. I highly recommend this series to anime lovers everywhere.

Buy Samurai 7 - Box Set (2004) Now

I'll keep this short and sweet. My boyfriend owns the DVD version and we both fell in love with the show the first time we watched it. As soon as I saw it was going to be on BluRay I knew I had to have it. It is absolutely money well spent! Samurai 7 is by far one of the best animes I have ever had the pleasure of seeing and it holds a firm position in my top 5! You name it and this series has it; action, adventure, comedy, drama, amazing battle sequences, giant mechs and even a little romance. The characters are well developed and I fell in love with all of them (minus Kambei, the hero worship he receives is quite frustrating!). The animation is practically flawless (with the exception of episode 7) and the CG elements are outstanding in HD! The sound quality is what really blew me away though, everything is so crystal clear and I will not rest until I find a bumping surround sound to watch this show on!! Samurai's versus mechs may be a little hard for some people to swallow but trust me when I say, this is hands down one of the best animes ever created and if you have the money and a BR player you absolutely have to buy this BluRay box set!!

Read Best Reviews of Samurai 7 - Box Set (2004) Here

If you have not seen this series, you should have someone slap you in the face. Its really really good. These 7 men from different walks of life that have one thing in common, they're all samurai. If your an anime fan and don't have this in your collection, then your collection will never be complete. When you watch this series keep an eye out for "Kyuzo" he is a beast...hands down the best samurai of the 7. Lets just say if one katana is nice, then two is f***ing AWESOME!!!

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High quality packaging, slim and neat fit. This story is awesome. It has heart, it has class, it has humor, and most of all it has Samurai. Old school meets new world. The past meets the future. Its a new way to tell an old story and its beautiful. Being on blu-ray certainly helps this classic gain new life. I cannot say enough about this box set.

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Pulp Fiction (1994)

Movie 5.0

The first time I saw this I was like, 12 years old, and it was on VHS. It looked cool at the time, but my teenage brain couldn't handle anything past the loud voices and constant cussing, but kudos for style points. The second time I saw it (maybe another 12 years after the first) I believe it was supposed to be a DVD rip, but the sound encoding was atrocious, so I only enjoyed it in part. The the third time I saw it (about 3 months ago) was off of Netflix streaming with decent enough audio, but not so great video. Ironically enough, the one time I finally get to see and hear the darn thing with quality A/V is on Blu-ray. That being said, it should go without question by user vote on IMDb, critic appraisal, or any number of awards and accolades given to this film that Pulp Fiction has cemented itself as a true game-changer in the halls of cinema legend. Be it the achronological storytelling, the sassy script, the dark humor, the quirky characters, or just the amazing level of star power involved from every which way, there's a lot to like about this film. For me, personally, it's the method. I don't mean the cut-up timeline (which is enjoyable in itself and keeps you on your toes), but how so much of the dialogue is "just there" from a purely jovial or character-developing perspective. Talks of Amsterdam and their legalization of drugs, the differences between European and American culture, the frivolous comparison between a foot massage and going down on a girl, the significantly comedic monologue of a P.O.W. storing his best friend's watch up his anus for years only to deliver it to his son, and all kinds of other seemingly random stuff "capped off" by a stride at redemption would make you think otherwise about this being nominated for seven Oscars, right? Well, as most people often say about Quentin Tarantino films, "you should just see it for yourself to know what I mean." And the result after almost 20 years? It's a part of our modern day pop culture with all kinds of quotable lines, a beacon of entertainment and inspiration within the industry,and, for all intents and purposes, one really fun movie to watch. Is it for everyone? Of course not. But most would say it is.

Video 5.0

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC

Video resolution: 1080p

Aspect ratio: 2.35:1

Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

The front and back of the slipcover and the back of the cover art says that this transfer was supervised by Quentin Tarantino himself and even has a copy of his signature on the slip, so what you see here was what the director intended. And I have to say, after 3 very poor video outings (VHS, a crappy DVD rip, and Netflix streaming), I have to say I've never seen the movie look this good (literally). The production budget was only $8 million, which by today's standards would still only be about $12 million. But wow, am I glad Tarantino used some quality film stock. First and foremost, I have to commend the black levels. All the tiny little details, linings, reflections, and textures look absolutely pristine on this presentation. Particularly, the wetness of Jules' Jheri curl, as laughable as the look is intended to be, adds a nice aesthetic sense of throwback to the Blaxploitation genre that Mr. Jackson's character is portraying. And then you have the hallmark scene where Vincent is taking Mia to Jack Rabbit Slim's, which is FULL of dark lighting, and yet still manages to display an amazing amount of detail around the restaurant itself, its patrons, on Thurman's hair, and in Travolta's suit in addition to the smoke he's blowing. Colors, while somewhat muted from an art direction standpoint, are surprisingly bold. The scene where Butch is taking money from Marsellus in the bar is full of red light, but in comparison to other brightly red-lit backdrops (which isn't many), I'm pleased at how a lot of the detail still remained intact. Then, of course, is the blood. Maybe it was more so the stuff they used to be the blood, but when it splatters, it looks great. Not real per se, but it's one of those artistic subtleties that Tarantino does well in his films. I am also happy to report that there is very little, if any, hints of dirt or artifacting. There's a fine layer of grain (and I mean very fine), but it doesn't seem like any DNR was added. Edge Enhancement? Not too sure, I'm typing this review with only 4 hours of sleep and might've seen a tiny little bit, but it's hard to say when I'm not all there. Regardless, though, I can tell you everything else looks superb, especially for its age.

Audio 5.0

Languages

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Subtitles

English, English SDH, Spanish

Another big part of Tarantino's films outside of its aesthetic and literary homages is the sound, particularly the music. As soon as Surf Rider starts playing it's easy to tell that this DTS-HD MA 5.1 track will do its job and do it well. LFEs are at their most prominent when any of this great soundtrack starts playing. Even as the radio switches to Jungle Boogie in the opening sequence, there's not a discrepancy to be heard. But how do the rest of the sound elements hold up on this seemingly quaint sound design? I mean, how can 230 pages of script possibly earn a 5 point rating? Oddly enough, this film's sound scape has a LOT of immersion. Shortly after the credits have done their thing we get a great audio treat in the first scene where Pumpkin and Honey Bunny are contemplating their change in venue for an upcoming robbery. I actually wouldn't even know this if I hadn't accessed all the extras, but the trivia track says that even in this very first scene, despite the achoronlogical plot structure, if you listen hard enough during Pumpkin and Honey Bunny's conversation you can distinctly hear Jules talking to Vincent in the background from a scene to be shown later on in the film. How cool is that? And while the weak point of the sound effects may be in the meager gunshots, the sheer sense of engulfment that every other crowded scene has to offer is sonic gold. Directionality and separation sound wonderful during these parts putting you right there in the thick of things. Meanwhile, high and low ends still manage to be very well-calibrated, specifically in the scene where Mia is getting her adrenaline shot between all the paper raffling around and the eventual thump on her chest. Oh yeah, and the dialogue couldn't be any clearer. From Jules' intimidating preacher vibrato to Fabienne's sweet and sexy accented-English, the movie has never looked OR sounded better. My favorite scenes to test the audio would be the aforementioned robbery attempt at the beginning of the film and the always-exalting trademark scene of Vincent and Mia going to Jack Rabbit Slim's (when they walk to their table and when they start dancing).

Extras 5.0

Wow, I should really have taken a nap before work instead of trying to rush this review out for everyone to get a fresh take on the product, but I'm glad I at least got to learn a lot of things despite my soon-to-be headache at the crap hole at which I work. At any rate, this BD is loaded with extras. Most of them are DVD ports, but I'd never seen this on DVD anyway, and thus, am just seeing all of this for the very first time.

Not the Usual Mindless Boring Getting to Know You Chit Chat (HD; 43:01)

A new HD retrospective with most of the film's actors discussing how they were cast, how the shooting went, and all of the things that ensued after the film came out. There's a lot of information here about the movie itself, its writing, and how a lot of the actors felt working with Tarantino.

Here are Some Facts on the Fiction (HD; 20:37)

Another newly-produced featurette that shows a roundtable discussion with critics and their thoughts on how Pulp Fiction has affected the industry, their favorite parts, and some of the things that make the movie so good.

Pulp Fiction: The Facts Documentary (SD; 30:31)

Is from the Special Edition DVD (as is everything else from here on out) and is something of a mishmash of the pre-production, filming, and reception of the movie up to 2001.

Deleted Scenes (SD; 24:30)

Feature commentary for 4 out of the 5 scenes by Tarantino and are enjoyable, if you want to at least take a one-time look.

Siskel & Ebert At the Movies: The Tarantino Generation (SD; 16:00)

Is a short look at the quick rise of Tarantino's status and whether or not they think he was legit at the time. It comes off rather pretentious, though, so I wouldn't recommend it.

Charlie Rose Show (SD; 55:27)

Features a GREAT interview with Tarantino and discusses a lot of his film-making roots, his philosophy as a movie-lover, and what he believes makes a good film.

Independent Spirit Awards (SD; 11:29)

Cannes Film Festival Palme D'Or Acceptance Speech (SD; 5:20)

Marketing Gallery (SD; 16:13)

Lots and lots of trailers/teasers.

Still Gallery

Enhanced Trivia Track

A trivia track that pops up all sorts of tidbits of information in the subtitles telling you all the quirks about the film itself, if any of you like that sort of thing (and some of it being very funny).

Overall 5.0

As fervid as my review sounds, I'm actually not that big a fan of Tarantino. Aside from seeing this and Inglorious Basterds more than two times each, I've only seen his other films once. I didn't really get into Reservoir Dogs and the Kill Bills were stylish enough, but keep in mind it's been nearly five years since I've seen those, and five years is a lot of time for my brain to better develop. But to the point, yes, Pulp Fiction is definitely one of those films that somehow managed to turn a bunch of dialogue into a fun and raucous movie. It's well-written, especially well-acted, and is a good way to spend two and a half-hours. With top-notch A/V quality and over 3 hours of specials, an SRP of $19.99 is practically nothing for such an renowned title that finally made its way to a proper BD release.

Words cannot express how much I love this movie, but I will try my best. "Pulp Fiction" is one of my favorites. Quentin Tarantino is a very gifted director/writer. Although I love his directing, I must say it is his writing that really impresses me. But I will get to that later on in this review.

I think it's safe to say that the first time this movie was released on DVD, it was a little more than disappointing. There were no special features, sound and picture was so-so; I mean, my laserdisk at least had three different trailers of the movie. So, of course, I was very excited to learn that this movie was being re-released in a fully loaded special edition. Re-buying the movie was well worth it, for this edition of the movie is far superior than the other one.

The movie really consists of three different stories; not in any order. Any one of the stories could be their own little movies. The players are two hitmen, a boxer, the big boss, the big boss' wife, a crazy gun store owner, a gimp, a cop named, Zed, a man who makes problems go away, and a little suitcase with "666" for the combination. You add all this together and you get one hell of a movie.

The acting is more than superb; including one terrific cast with some heavy hitters (Travolta, Jackson, Thurman, Willis, etc.). Tarantino is a master when it comes to writing and directing. Especially when it comes to writing. I have never heard such clever and brutally honest dialogue in any other movie. I have said it before, and I will say it again; Tarantino reminds me of Raymond Carver, except with more humor.

Now, on to the special edition of this DVD. Is it better than the previous version? YES! Tons of special features, and not to forget the fact that the movie has been restored in high definition. Picture looks very clear. And the sound is also a lot better. You can watch the movie in DTS, which is always a good thing.

Special features.....where do I begin? There's a ton of them! It's not even funny how much stuff is loaded on this bad boy. And every one of them is great. Features include a documentary, an interview with Tarantino on "The Charlie Rose Show," trailers, filmographies, and many more. If you love special features, then you will not be disappointed.

"Pulp Fiction" is a great movie, and the new DVD edition is outstanding in every way. If you still have the older DVD of this movie, get this one now! If you haven't seen it yet, check it out when you can! Of course, with any other movie, there is a chance you may not like this movie. That's fine, nothing wrong with that. Don't let hype ruin your preception of the movie, just watch it as if it were any other movie. You like it, great; if not, well, at least you gave it a shot. Filled with sharp humor, great characters, outstanding dialogue, and some of the craziest surprises and twists, "Pulp Fiction" is a wonderful film, and will continue to be one of my favorites.

Buy Pulp Fiction (1994) Now

Pulp Fiction was a groundbreaking film in a couple of different ways. It was an independent release and its success opened the door up for all kinds of maverick filmmakers and companies to release films that otherwise would have never been made. It also had a profound stylistic influence. It was a hip movie with sharp dialogue, graphic violence, cool soundtrack and intricate plotlines. In the wake of its success, many movies try to copy this style, but most failed as they lacked Quentin Tarantino's unique vision. Mr. Tarantino was able to pull John Travolta out of a decade long funk and directed him to the finest performance of his career and one that garnered his second Academy Award nomination. He also pushed Bruce Willis to a stellar performance that showed he was more than just an action hero. The cast is first rate including a beguiling Uma Thurman, Ving Rhames, Harvey Keitel, Eric Stolz, Rosanna Arquette and Christopher Walken. The best performance of all is given by Samuel L. Jackson who is absolutely amazing. It was a crime that he did not win the Academy Award for the role. Pulp Fiction is broken up into three parts and includes flashbacks, flash-forwards and twists and turns and some mysteries that are never revealed. It is a rare film that is both stylish and full of substance. The new Collector's Edition is a huge step up from the original edition which offered virtually no extras. The sound and visuals are crisper and cleaner and the extra features are great. One excellent extra is a Siskel & Ebert show dedicated to the Tarantino phenonmeon, which looking at it eight years later is quite interesting.

Read Best Reviews of Pulp Fiction (1994) Here

"Pulp Fiction" is like a novel with five chapters that was ripped apart and put back together with the chapters all mixed up in random order -where does it start and where does it end? That said, it's a hilarious crazy-quilt of a movie, superbly directed by Quentin Tarantino. And yes, there is a straight story line throughout... chronologically, the actual story begins with Samuel Jackson and John Travolta on their way to a hit ordered by their boss Ving Rhames, and ends with Bruce Willis and his pregnant girlfriend zooming out of town on a homicidal maniac's stolen motorcycle. Each short story in the movie is complete in itself, and yet each makes up part of the whole. The actors are terrific. Jackson and Travolta are great as the two hitmen Jules and Vince; Uma Thurman is just right as the boss's wife; Bruce Willis is funny and yet moving as the boxer who saves the boss's life after the boss ordered a hit on him, and Harvey Keitel steals the whole movie with his performance as the almost inhumanly efficient Wolf. Even Tarantino himself can't resist joining the fun and plays the role of Jules's sometime partner Jimmie, very annoyed at being roused out of bed at the crack of dawn to help dispose of a semi-headless corpse. There are so many priceless scenes in this film that it's hard to pick a favorite. It's a wild, crazy, mind-boggling movie that gets better and better each time you watch it.

Want Pulp Fiction (1994) Discount?

Almost everyone I know who has seen this film either loves it or hates it but all agree that it is almost impossible to take your eyes off of the screen. Pulp Fiction not only attracts our attention, it demands it. Much credit must be given to director Quentin Tarantino who co-authored the Academy Award winning best original screenplay with Roger Avary. The influences on his development as a filmmaker are too numerous to list here but it is worth noting that Orson Welles, Daffy Duck, Akiro Kurosawa, Dashiell Hammett, Spike Lee, and Francois Truffaut would be on it. Many believe that this film saved John Travolta's career. His portrayal of the dangerous but somewhat dimwitted hit man, Vincent Vega, is brilliant. In fact, Tarantino assembled an outstanding cast and somehow coordinated the various plots in which they are involved. Destinies intersect, sometimes causing violent collisions. The film's accelerated pace, however, does not preclude "eye of the hurricane" moments as when Vincent dances with Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) in a nightclub or when Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) and Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) are held against their will by a psychopath. Tarantino has a very traditional view of film making: He wants vivid PICTURES and he wants them to MOVE. He also cherishes effective use of language, almost to the point that some scenes seem "talky." My guess (only a guess) is that because Tarantino seems to be a compulsive conversationalist, he and members of his cast and crew never stopped talking about Pulp Fiction from the beginning to the end of its production and that many of them are still discussing it nine years after it was first released.

This is a nasty, sometimes violent, occasionally hilarious, but never dull film. To those seeing it for the first time who almost immediately become uncomfortable, my advice is to be patient and allow the narrative to continue. You may end up being repulsed. Fair enough. But you may also find yourself enjoying what is deliberately and pre-eminently an unorthodox examination of how MOVING PICTURES can tell a story with compelling impact. For me, the vivid images and my emotional reactions to them dominate the literate, at times loopy dialogue. FYI, the special features provided with the DVD Miramax Collector's Edition include "Pulp Fiction: The Facts" (an original documentary), behind-the-scenes montages, a production design featurette, a Siskel & Ebert At The Movies feature ("The Tarantino Generation"), Tarantino's Cannes Film Festival Palm d'Or acceptance speech, his appearance on the Charlie Rose Show, and various reviews and articles which discuss the film.

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JCVD (2008)

Now like many I too accept that Jean Claude Van Damme isn't the greatest actor in the world. He's an action hero after all and much like Steven Seagal, he's someone we wouldn't usually expect a 5 star acting performance from. He's just used to kicking people in the head and looking all attractive whilst doing so. Now he's older and currently a man who's career was absolutely dying a death, at least until this film was made and now he has the possibility to be back on form and revive his career as a more serious actor.

So what makes this film different from all the rest? I hear you ask. Well for one he's not playing some clichéd character who you end up shouting "kick his head off" at. He's actually playing himself in a fictional setting and as strange as it sounds it actually allows him to display much more acting talent than you would have first thought.

So what's the film about? I hear you secondly ask. Well, JCVD's life isn't going too well and is constantly in battle to win movie roles but is constantly beaten by his rival Steven Seagal. His wife has divorced him and is in legal battles for the right to have access to his daughter. He also has quite a few tax and money troubles to boot, so to escape his troubles he decides to go home to his native Belgium only this isn't as peaceful as he'd hoped.

Upon his arrival in Belgium he goes into a Post Office, and after his fans tell a local policeman that the legendary Jean Claude Van Damme is home and in the local post office. Then out of nowhere a gunshot rings from the post office sending people into a panic and shocked that it turns out to be the movie star himself holding up the post office, or is it?

Well what entails is a film about hostage negotiation and a traumatic movie star life that is topped off with a difficult situation. It's not the typical JCVD film as it contains very little fighting karate style, but the film is made truly special with the defining monologue. Roughly half way through the film, JCVD is brought away from the story and the film in quite a strange style that allows him to deliver a monologue that gives the impression it comes straight from the heart. He talks about his life and career and how he wants to be remembered as a more serious actor. I got the impression that a lot of the monologue although in a scripted movie, was actually improvised or at least written by JCVD himself.

I would highly recommend this film to any JCVD and non-JCVD fan as it's truly his best work to date. This is seriously a possible breakthrough movie for him to bring his career back up to speed and rather than continuing to star in "straight to DVD" movies like this one, sadly, he may be given more movies that start in the cinema and give him a wider appeal as the man is still a name that captures peoples interests.

Get it, you wont be disappointed.

JCVD is just what all the other reviews claim, it is a tour de force for Jean-Claude Van Damme the actor. If you're renting this expecting anything at all in the way of action then you are going to be extremely disappointed because apart from the opening scene (which turns out to be a scene from a movie he is supposedly filming) there is a total of two kicks, an elbow, and maybe a punch. I think that perhaps as Van Damme nears 50 has realized that his career as an action star is living on borrowed time and that this film might serve as his calling card to the world of serious film-makers, at least in Europe. And it definitely does that in a most impressive fashion. With the making of this film the Muscles from Brussles proves himself to be undoubtedly the most talented thespian of all kwailo martial artists, and probably most Asian martial artists as well. Here he presents himself as amiable-though world weary, down trodden, and scrambling to hold together the last vestiges of his fading career, and he does so very convinvcingly. Its been said that the most difficult thing for an actor to play is himself. If that's the case then Van Damme deserves an Oscar.

Buy JCVD (2008) Now

I came upon a crowd outside a movie theater bearing the title: JCVD. The theater is jammed with dedicated fans having memories of Van Damme's past International super star status from the 1988 Bloodsport.

What a movie! It likely surpassing the collective expectations from the start of the entire audience. The opening scene rocks. A 4-minute film within a film begins with vintage-like Van Damme moments of high energy action. This single-shot sequence unfolds vamping up Van Damme's pre-existing persona in dynamic fashion. Then this incredible assembly of action ends with a hilarious fake wall falling over when a door is simply slammed too hard by a winded and exhausted Van Damme blithely complaining to a movie director, who couldn't care less (as in real life), that he is 47 and it is simply too hard to do these mad action scenes at his age!

The film then pivots under the young but world class directorship of Mabrouk El Mechri to the main story, where the audience is treated to a Van Damme they have never seen before acting with incredible depth and character. This transformation from a shallow bigger-than-life action hero to portraying true down-to-life emotions will be worth the admission alone.

Van Damme's dramatic performance and his featured monologue --are remarkable. The director caught Van Damme on film in a way to make any audience celebrate with rousing enthusiasm alongside Van Damme as he convincingly relates his belief in the American dream, then address his marriage and drug problems of his past, and how he wants a second chance to make a difference in the world. It is one of those cinema moments bordering on being a masterpiece; it re-invents Van Damme.

The camera floats through the chaos of Van Damme's life and caresses Van Damme's face that has taken on a good amount of character. Van Damme has stories in his eyes. Van Damme has life in his eyes. Van Damme has sadness in his eyes. Van Damme has regrets in his eyes. Van Damme has a message to deliver. The movie cleverly uncovers the pitfalls behind celebrity status with humor that Van Damme does very well.

The plot borrows on Van Damme's trying past. Playing himself, a beaten and depressed Van Damme returns to his native Belgium in hopes of getting out of the limelight. Van Damme is financially drained and makes a bee line to his home bank. But the Belgium bank is in the midst of being robbed. Van Damme is caught up in the ensuing mayhem as the police on arrival wrongly assume Van Damme is part of the robbery team. The actual criminals are enjoying extravagant good luck. Not only do they have Belgium's biggest movie star in their control, but through his ill-luck he is also taking the fall for them! In trying to find a way out, Van Damme realizes his Hollywood action roles of his past all fall flat when a real gun is pressed to his head.

This is a movie to be seen, not merely read about. Not only is Van Damme re-born but so too is the audience through a shared experience with Van Damme's factual failures and triumphs! (Dr. R. Witmer, Ph.D. co-author of Van Damme's Biography appearing )

Read Best Reviews of JCVD (2008) Here

The Jean Claude Van Damme Review Matrix (JCVD-RM)

1. Who is he? JCVD is JCVD

2. Which family member/friend must be avenged? Himself

3. Does he take his shirt off? No, but he wears his heart on his sleeve

4. Does he have sex with a C-List actress? No, but he gets screwed in the end

5. Is there a tournament? Well, court is kind of like a double-elimination tournament

6. Is training needed for this tournament? No, but law school would have been nice

7. Does he do the splits in training or in the tournament? Unfortunately not

8. Does he punch someone in the balls? Punch + Kick = SWAT officer gets carried away in agony, desperately craving an ice pack like a long lost lover

9. Does he do a series of flying or 360 kicks? More than enough to satisfy a true JCVD fan

10. Is his enemy unbeatable? How does one truly conquer one's own demons?

11. Does he overcome an injury or other hindrance? In life, in court, and in a precarious post office predicament, JCVD is constantly plagued by his own shining star.

12. Does he win? The most revealing win of his career.

Beginning with an introspective peek inside production at a JCVD movie, we learn that he is no longer the man he once was. Sure, he's still dynamic, powerful, and above all a bona fide superstar, but he's also not quite as capable as he once was at a younger age. Despite the fact that he's 47 something his new director disregards like a slave driver he still manages to put together a pulse-pounding intro in a single take, with multiple attackers, countless weapons, a wall falling over like in a Buster Keaton movie, and even his patented testicle attacks.

The plot of the movie itself is rather ingenious. It's JCVD playing himself, in a movie soaked in the realism of his every day life. What it must be like to be one of a few superstars in a smaller country. He handles his situation with class, poise, and humility. Facing a ruthless child custody hearing, he must display those traits just to maintain a semblance of sanity. All that changes when he walks into a robbery and the criminals decide to use his celebrity to their advantage. What ensues is a battle of wills and wits, as Van Damme uses his status to gain the trust of his fellow prisoners, as well as to manipulate the mind and break the bond between the trio of robbers.

Most impressive about JCVD is a lengthy, heartfelt monologue midway through the movie. He talks directly into the camera and completely exposes his innermost thoughts. Separated from the cast and the set for a moment, similar to how a play differentiates group acting and audience interaction a break from the other characters he pours out raw emotion. Directly mocking Hollywood stardom, he struggles emotionally through real life references to his marriage and drug problems; it's personal, and it's deep.

His stardom is obviously a difficult subject. How he feels both vindicated and tortured by his success at the same time why can't others be as lucky? On the verge of tears, a breakdown must have been difficult to hold back; it wouldn't be surprising to discover the scene took multiple takes. It reinforces his frailties, and it supports the script that proposes his humanism, his mortality, that would clearly take over were a real gun placed to his head.

The monologue is also where JCVD displays his acting ability. He's actually a good actor something obvious to anyone who has seen In Hell, Wake of Death, or Nowhere to Run. Speaking in his native language, it's easier to express emotions. In all actuality, it's probably the language barrier in other films that makes him less believable. When working with familiarity, the acting range flows as easily as the dialogue (the subtitles are fast, unobtrusive, and seamlessly integrated). It's hard not to side with Van Damme, from the very beginning the viewer is privy to the behind the scenes treatment he often receives, and the undeserved lack of respect he commands as an actor

JCVD deserves similar praise to the fawning Mickey Rourke has received for "The Wrestler". This film poignantly proves that he has real acting chops, and that he can truly tap into that deep-seeded trauma which all great actors grasp when needed. He's painfully sincere, and completely fascinating in this exposition. His jump may have lost an inch, his kick may have lost some power, and his splits may not be as straight as they once were, but he is revitalized in this tour de force. Even for non-fans, JCVD comes highly recommended.

Want JCVD (2008) Discount?

It's been a long time since I've willfully watched anything starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, but the premise of JCVD just kind of caught me off guard. Van Damme basically does play himself here: a washed up actor who blew his Hollywood stardom and is stuck in a bitter custody battle over his daughter. He's reduced to starring in sub-par B-movies, and on top of it all, he's broke. Now back in Brussels, Van Damme goes on his way to the post office to sort out his money situation, only to walk head first into a robbery, where the crooks make it look like he's the one behind it. Despite many of the reviews on here, JCVD is neither fantastic nor dreadful, it just falls somewhere in between. However, for Van Damme fans, JCVD is a must see. Van Damme is unusually good playing himself, and his monologue to the camera towards the end of the film is especially heartfelt. The film's main flaws lie mostly in its pacing and dialogue, but for what it's worth, JCVD ends up being more or less a shining moment for Van Damme, and that in itself is quite an accomplishment.

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