Without spoiling a thing, “Rabies” takes place almost entirely in a trap-laden forest currently populated by the following characters:• a young woman caught in a hole, and her brother who desperately tries to get her out;• a loving couple of forestry rangers and their beloved German shepherd;• four young tennis players — two guys, two […]
DVD reviews
Posted inArts & Culture
Ocean Heaven / 1911
Namely, your body starts to fail you. No longer are you as quick, nimble and flexible as in your prime. What’s an action hero to do? If you’re Jackie Chan and Jet Li — age 57 and 48, respectively — you start turning more and more to dramas. Coincidentally (or not), both martial-arts superstars have […]
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Mad Detective
Welcome to “Mad Detective,” where the adjective in the title is an understatement. He and the “Bad Lieutenant” would get along swimmingly. And this is merely the prologue! In this huge Hong Kong hit from 2007 — now on a Blu-ray/DVD combo worth important from the UK’s Eureka! “Masters of Cinema” label — it’s explained that […]
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Elite Squad: The Enemy Within
It should have. Had I seen it before now, it handily would have made my list of 2011’s top 10 films. It matters not that “Elite Squad: The Enemy Within” is a sequel to a 2007 film I’m not certain I knew existed; director/co-writer José Padilha’s work is powerful and extraordinary on its own. The […]
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The Doors: Mr. Mojo Risin’: The Story of L.A. Woman
While those folks are certain to lap up every minute of “The Doors: Mr. Mojo Risin’: The Story of L.A. Woman,” the good news is that even the uninitiated might find their mojo risin’ in this well-oiled rockumentary. Eagle Rock Entertainment cranks out a wealth of making-of album documentaries on DVD and Blu-ray, with most […]
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The Myth of the American Sleepover
“The Myth of The American Sleepover” seems so genuine, so honest, so middle-America, there literally were parts that I thought had to be filmed in my neighborhood, at my high school. (Instead, it’s suburban Detroit.) The actors portraying the kids do so well because they’re kids themselves, precious few with any acting credits before or […]
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Yakuza Weapon
For the uninformed, the yakuza is the Japanese equivalent of our mafia — an underworld crime syndicate where loyalty is value No. 1. Break that, and there’s hell to pay! In this Sushi Typhoon offering from co-directors Tak Sakaguchi (“Mutant Girls Squad”) and Yûdai Yamaguchi (the similarly wacky but overlong “Battlefield Baseball”), Sakaguchi also stars as […]
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The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence)
Well, readers, welcome to the “much worse.” Turns out that when writer/director Tom Six promoted his original film by saying the sequel would make it look like “My Little Pony“ by comparison, that wasn’t just a good sound bite. “Human Centipede II (Full Sequence)” makes its big brother look positively innocent. To Six’s credit, he […]
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Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story
Really? Well, for those who compete in the Monopoly World Championship every four to five years, it is. After a predictable opening sequence of The Drifters’ song playing over Atlantic City tourist footage, freshman feature director Kevin Tostado introduces us to them and, unfortunately, stays focused on them. Sad to say, the “Story” promised by […]
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Talking Heads: Chronology
While official Warner Bros. compilations of the Heads’ mind-bending, envelope-pushing videos allow for a glimpse of the art-rock band at its most creative, this 18-track disc is the next best thing to catching them live — outside of Jonathan Demme’s “Stop Making Sense,” of course. “Chronology” kicks off with a 1976 mic test that captures […]