DVD & Digital Download Reviews

Submitted by dreddcucumber on Tue, 06/22/2010 - 08:36.

DVD & Digital Download reviews

Digital Download reviews sponsored by NBC/Universal & are denoted with DD by the review title. A link to the download is also supplied under the review.

Pandemic

In a Tokyo hospital, a young man diagnosed with a simple cold by ER doctor Tsuyoshi Matsuoka (Satoshi Tsumabuki) dies after suffering severe convulsions and coughing up blood. When similar cases begin to appear at the hospital it becomes apparent something far more dangerous is infecting the people of Tokyo. Initial suspicions point to Bird Flu, following on from a recent outbreak in the Philippines, leading to the appointment of World Health Organisation (WHO) doctor Eiko Kobayashi (Rei Dan), who lead the team that quashed the disease in the Philippines. As the virus spreads across Japan and panic sets in, tests shows that this is not Bird Flu but something far deadlier with the potential to wipe out the entire population of Japan - of which they have no knowledge of its origins or how to treat it.

With the various infections and epidemics doing the rounds over the past decade – SARS, Bird Flu, Swine Flu, Bieber Fever – it was inevitable that the movie industry would catch up with scare mongering dramatisations sooner or later and here is Japan’s contribution – although the timing of this UK release is somewhat unfortunate in light of the recent disaster out there. The original Japanese title Kansen Retto translates literally to “Infected Islands” which, while less eye catching and dramatic as Pandemic, becomes obvious as the film progresses. The opening recalls a Bird Flu epidemic in the Philippines with handy visual demonstrations of how easy it is to pass on a virus as adroit showers of CGI germs scatter across the screen via a hearty cough or sneeze from infected Philippine boatmen transport their livestock to destination unknown. As we learn later that destination was Japan and once the virus spreads, local farmer Shosuke Kamimura (Ken Mitsuishi) and his daughter Akane (Natsuo) face the wrath of his paranoid neighbourhood folk for spreading the disease via his chickens. Unfortunately it is on the same day Shosuke hangs himself the news arrives that this mystery virus is not Bird Flu at all. Whoops.

Thus we have a two and quarter hour race against time to discover the source and nature of the virus, give it a name – the media choose “BLAME”, complete with a western newspaper headline apparently declaring it to be a “Satanic Disease” – and find a cure. One patient Asami Manabe (Chizuru Ikewaki) may provide the solution since her doctor father recently returned from a small Asian island with a dodgy cough. Meanwhile Japan crumbles and society goes into meltdown with deserted streets resembling war torn dystopias as a result as the hospitals are overloaded with the sick. This aspect of the drama is hammered home with some unsettling scenes which see the doctors being forced to prioritise their treatment to those with the best chance of survival. And this virus doesn’t discriminate – even some of the hospital staff fall victim to it as well.

Through all of this there is still room for a romantic subplot as, rather predictably, handsome young Dr. Matsuoka was the toyboy lover of Kobayashi before an acrimonious split, and unresolved feelings resurface. To be fair this doesn’t interfere with the main plotline since the lives of the entire nation at the mercy of a relentless infection. This isn’t Hollywood, you know, and thankfully this only comes into play for an emotional, if somewhat schmaltzy denouement. Despite a failry broad cast of characters these two are the only ones afford some form of development and attention; the rest are either hospital staff making up the numbers or victims with of the disease, some with a minor purpose to the plot.

Even when films of this nature are based on genuine events there is always going to be strong elements of dramatic license present. Pandemic is no exception as explained above but the medical and scientific aspects of the script appear to have been well researched, with the hospital procedures executed and presented with much authenticity. Perhaps if the hospital staff weren’t largely made up of impossibly attractive people things may appear more convincing but this is the movies and not real life – a rather ironic statement to make considering the message implied here is just how devastating a virus like BLAME could be an entire nation especially one so ill-prepared to tackle it. Could it happen in real life? Who knows? But the makes of this film are damned sure to scare the bejesus out of you to make you think about it.

Pandemic hits hard with its messages and concerns but feels more like an American made for TV movie and a very long one at that, which lessens the impact of its intent. Its glossy production, good looking cast and occasional tacky sentiments (like the snow magically falling on the night of a breakthrough) prevent this from leaving a lasting impression, instead relegating it to a Sunday afternoon flick that may not see the inside of the DVD player again for a long time after if ever. Good for what it is but unlikely to cause any widespread contamination to DVD collections outside of keen Asian film fans.

Extras:

Trailer

Main Feature: Extras:

Man in Black

Time Traveller – The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

High school student Akari Yoshiyama (Riisa Naka) is on top of the world after passing her mid term exams but tragedy strikes when her pharmaceutical researcher mother Kazuko (Narumi Yasuda) is knocked down by a car and ends up in hospital. Before slipping into a coma, Kazuko asks Akari to fulfil a unique and unusual task for her - drink a special liquid in her lab that will enable time travel so she can deliver a message to an old flame, Kazuo Fukamachi (Kanji Ishimaru), in 1972. Naturally Akari is sceptical but not wanting to let her mother down, she acquiesces only to discover that the liquid actually works and Akari is indeed projected back in time. Unfortunately, being a bit of ditz, Akari got her dates mixed up and arrives in 1974 instead falling – literally - into the life of aspiring filmmaker Ryota Mizorogi (Nakao Akiyoshi).

The most well known of the many adaptations of Yasutaka Tsutsui’s 1963 novel in this country is the 2006 Anime feature from Mamoru Hosada, which will assuredly draw much attention to this title through association. However this is not a live action retelling of the Anime at all – in fact it is an entirely different story altogether as you may have already divined from the above synopsis. If anything this film has a case of being an unofficial sequel to the novel as Tsutsui’s original protagonist is now the mother of the schoolgirl time traveller. Also returning from the novel as adult versions of themselves are Kazuko’s childhood love Kazuo Fukamachi and her good friend Goro Asakura (Shota Chiyo), but the conceit of the story in this film is that Kazuo doesn’t appear to exist in 1974 making Akari’s mistake a rather costly one. Not even a teenage Kazuko (Anna Ishibashi) has any recollection of him in one of many inadvertent Back To The Future tributes to be found here.

Speaking of which, Ryota, the poor sap Akari relies on for help, is a sci-fi film maker (remember George McFly in BTTF was a sci-fi writer) and inevitably cupid’s arrow strikes between the two; convenient since there is no mention of Akari’s father anywhere in this film, certainly not by Kazuko when issuing her request to her daughter. Thus we have the same teasing of the time paradox problem and the existential “chicken and the egg” dilemma of Akari being in the same place and time as her mother which is an apparent concern come the final act when the big surprise twist arrives to remind us of the golden rule of time travel – you must not change the past. Kudos to director Masaaki Taniguchi and screen writer Tomoe Kanno for keeping this in mind to deliver a darker denouement than one would expect from what is essentially a fantasy romp.

Where Time Traveller is likely to falter in some eyes is the middle section plays out more like an angsty romantic melodrama than a sci-fi romp and slows the pace down a notch, but thankfully it avoids slipping into mawkish sentimentality despite teetering close on a couple of occasions. What keeps the energy going is leading lady Riisa Naka – who voiced Makoto Konno, the protagonist in the Anime version – who presents us with a likeable enough heroine although she lacks some of the charisma of her prior animated incarnation. The remainder of the cast provide suitable support seemingly aware that it is easy to ham it up for such a project and thus rein it in accordingly to ensure the right mood is achieved. Director Taniguchi, in his debut feature, decided to keep things rooted in reality as much as possible, with his realisation of 1970’s Tokyo looking exceptionally authentic in its minimalism, meaning suspension of disbelief is only required in small doses.

Overall Time Traveller is a worthy addition to the The Girl Who Leapt… franchise -just as along as people remember this is nothing like the Anime and are willing to judge it on its own merits in its own context.

Extras:

English Subtitles

Film Clips

Trailers

Main Feature: Extras:

Man in Black

Wushu

Two young brothers Li Yi (Wenjie Wang) and Li Er (Yachao Wang) are taken by their recently widowed father Li Hui (Sammo Hung) to the martial arts school where he learned and later taught the Chinese martial art discipline of Wu Shu. Having grown up and formed the Jin Wu Men gang with three other students - Yang Yauwu (Fengchao Liu), Xiao Zhang (Yongchen Liu) and Fong Fong (Phoebe Wang) – the five talented students are en route to the finals of the regional Wushu championship. When ex-student Guo Nan (Jin Zhang), now a film stuntman, pops by for a visit and enchants the group with his alternative and potential money making use for Wushu, he inadvertently draws the youngsters into the middle of a child smuggling racket, headed by another former pupil, the dangerous Ke Le (Nan Tie).

The first thing that will no doubt draw attention to this title is the legend on all of the publicity materials declaring “Executive Producer - Jackie Chan”. At the risk of bursting enough bubbles to put people off from investigating this film, a few things need to be clarified. First and foremost, Chan does not appear in this film in any shape of form; and second, he is just one of four executive producers –which basically means he fronted some of the money for this project - lessening any influence and impact his presence may have on this project. Naturally, every product needs an eye catching hook to entice the customer so one cannot entirely blame the marketing bods for exploiting which is ultimately a minor facet for maximum profit. But does having the name of arguably the biggest martial arts star of the last twenty five years attached to this film really help make it something special?

Released in Chinese cinemas just two months after the 2008 Olympics in Beijing ended, there is strong sense that the idea behind this film is to support the case for including Wushu as an Olympic sport, something the Chinese have been campaigning for earnestly for many years now, and seek international backing. This is palpable in the lightweight, family friendly script which presumably was designed to appeal to Western (read: Hollywood) audiences. Indeed, the cheeky escapades of our nine year-old heroes in the first act are accompanied by jovial Disney style comedic musical interludes to further illustrate the levity of it all. The film has also been dubbed into English (horrendously, of course) which goes some way to supporting this notion.

Evident from the onset is the fact that the story has no fixed direction and many ambitions it is trying to fulfil. Initially it appears to educate and showreel the philosophies, disciplines and skills involved in Wushu through the training our quintet embark on, before showcasing their various abilities in the competitive arena. Then there is the constant heavy handed philosophical reminders about following the right path in life. The final master the story is attempting to serve is the subplot of the child kidnapping ring. Having had one kidnapping attempt at a fairground thwarted by our Jin Wu Men heroes, the criminal group’s boss Ke Le decides to target two young twins who just happen to train at his old school. Under the guise of promising them stunt work on a film project, Ke Le cons Guo Nan to procure the twins for him but the plan hits a snag when Li Yi tags along.

Therefore the film has an uneven feeling to it as each plot point follows another with no sense of cohesion or continuity. There is no sense of one situation impacting or influencing another, so our protagonists can happily bounce from kicking the baddies’ backsides to competing in their showcases without a care in the world. Surely the fact they’ve taken time out from their training so close to this important contest to save the kidnapped twins and confront some violent criminals should have put some doubts on whether they can make it to the finals in one piece? The nearest we get is with Fong’s financial woes force her to leave the school to become a stuntwoman and Li Yi’s inability to successfully duplicate a move his mother perfected. Even though the end result is never is question the writers could have at least made the effort to add some drama.

But it’s not all bad. It needs to be explained here that most of the young cast are all highly skilled and prize winning practitioners and not natural actors - which is quite evident in some cases – but, for their first foray into the world of the thespian, they have plenty of presence and the males in particular show great charisma. Their impressive Wushu skills and abilities are best displayed in the training and competition scenes while their fight scenes are admirable and highly competent. Unfortunately even with just the one short fight in this outing, the then 56 year-old Sammo Hung shows the young pups just how it is done. Either way, it is clear this is where the films true strengths lie.

Wushu then is not a bad film but a fine example of took many cooks – or in this case, too many ideas for one film. For fans of kick ass martial arts flicks who just like to see the fists flying then there is plenty here to satiate that thirst. For anyone whose interest in martial arts runs deeper into the philosophies and mechanics of the discipline itself perhaps won’t be so rewarded as little is truly explained or revealed but the physical demonstrations are impressive and well shot. And if one craves a deep and involved storyline to become immersed in, then you truly are looking in the wrong place.

The fact that Jackie Chan’s name is attached to this and that it boasts a top star in Sammo Hung will ensure this title will do well regardless of its shortcomings. But for sheer, simple, quick fix entertainment one can do a lot worse than giving Wushu a go.

Extras:

Mandarin 2.0 Dolby Digital

English 5.1 Dolby Digital

English Subtitles

Trailer

Main Feature: Extras:

Man in Black

Death Notice: Ikigami

In a dystopian society there exists the Special Law for the Maintenance of National Prosperity, designed to counter the high suicide rates in Japan. One in a thousand people aged 18 to 24 will die from a nano capsule randomly injected into them as children – under the guise of a mandatory inoculation – which will be activated on a set date. Twenty four hours prior to this they will receive a Death Notice (“Ikigami”) from a government employee which entitles them to a final expenses free day, while their family will receive a pension to compensate for their loss. If that person should commit a crime however, the money goes to their victim or their family. The idea is to make young people appreciate the value of life and thus make the most of theirs while they can

This chilling concept is the brainchild of Motorô Mase, realised through his top selling Manga Ikigami – The Ultimate Limit. It is necessary to dispel any notions that this film is related to or a rip off of the Death Note franchise because of the blatant title change for its release here in the West. In fact, this would appear to be a cynical ploy to encourage people to investigate this title based on that premise but the truth is Ikigami owes more to Orwell’s 1984 and soon-to-be remade 70’s sci-fi classic Logan’s Run than the aforementioned Japanese phenomenon.

The main protagonist is recent graduate Kengo Fujimoto (Shôta Matsuda) whose job is to issue the Death Notices on behalf of the covert government agency. Kengo quickly feels uncomfortable about this but daren’t speak up as dissenting opinion is considered a “thought crime” which is dealt with in an “appropriate manner” as he witnesses when a colleague voices his objections. The film follows Kengo’s increasing uneasiness with the ramifications of his new job and his tacit struggle to follow the absolute “no interference” rule as he witnesses first hand the effects an impending demise has on three condemned citizens and their loved ones.

First is aspiring musician, Tsubasa Tanabe (Yuta Kanai) whose debut TV performance will take place literally minutes before his time expires. Having been forced to dump his original musical partner for a shot at the big time, Tsubasa decides to use his time to make amends. The next victim, Naoki Takizawa (Kazuma Sano), is the dissolute teenage son of political hopeful Kazuko Takizawa (Jun Fubuki) who campaigns on behalf of the Prosperity Party, holding regular rallies extolling the virtues and the honour of dying on behalf of the nation. Naoki doesn’t share his mother’s opinion and goes on a killing spree while she uses her son’s imminent death to bolster her campaign message. Finally, Satoshi Izuka (Takayuki Yamada), is a small time collector for a loan shark working to raise the money for an operation for his blind sister Sakura (Riko Narumi). Satoshi chooses to donate his corneas to Sakura upon receipt of his Death Notice, but as Sakura’s dream is to be able to see her brother’s face again she refuses the operation when she learns he will die shortly afterwards.

Mase’s story takes as its foundation the age old tenet of his Samurai forefathers that death is considered a highly honourable and prestigious sacrifice – hence how each passing in Ikigami is reported as such to the public for the good of the country’s prosperity. Of course as we have learned in recent years such didactic rhetoric is still alive and well in some theocratic nations, giving this story and unnerving air of reality. Here though the decision to sacrifice one’s life is arbitrarily taken out of the hands of that person which makes the difference all the more unsettling. Director Tomoyuki Takimoto does his best to capture this sense of unease, ensuring the building where Kengo works is an austere and foreboding workplace, with staff members of both genders all uniformly dressed in black suits or bright white lab coats with little room for individuality, while the atmosphere remains sober and officious.

Despite this pseudo sci-fi premise, this is in fact a thoughtful drama that presents an exploration into the human psyche of someone who knows their life is about to expire. Rather than employ the portmanteau format, the three stories loosely overlap each other with Kengo being the constant thread that binds them together. There are moments of decidedly deliberate cheese, most notably the climax of Tsubasa’s tale, and the plight of Satoshi and Sakura was clearly designed to tug at the heartstrings with full force – though that is not a criticism of the performances of the cast members. That said, Kengo’s slow burning inner conflict and subdued reticence towards his job enables the film to regain its composure after these bursts of overplayed emotion, reflecting the frustration of the viewer towards the seemingly nonchalant acceptance of this lottery of death by Kengo’s poker faced seniors and the general public alike.

The two plus hours running time feels a little longer with a bloated middle section, but the pace remains steady with no sense of real urgency or tension when death is imminent. Had this been a bittersweet comedy drama then perhaps the story would have allowed for at least one person to live it up in their final twenty four hours on earth, but as it is, we got three disparate scenarios that offer the most drama while giving the viewer some food for thought. Indeed for all of the incredulity of government imposed demise for a person, one does wonder how they would feel if they received a Death Notice.

By no means a classic Death Notice: Ikigami is a thoughtful and well crafted idea that is perhaps not as confrontational as it would like to be in this adaptation, but offers a sobering if sometimes slightly contrived essay on the value of life.

Extras:

2.0 Stereo

5.1 Dolby

English Subtitles

Trailers

Main Feature: Extras:

Man in Black

Black Dynamite

Black Dynamite is no jive turkey you dig? He’s a bad ass mutha the truth be told and now the uber (former) CIA agent with righteous kung fu skills is here to tear up the big screen. Delayed from a 2009 release in the states (where shockingly it was only on general release for 2 weeks before disappearing until it was released on DVD and Blu Ray in October of last year.)) Black Dynamite is a delightful nod to the Blaxploitation films of the 70’s. However unlike I’m Gonna Git You Sucka and Undercover Brother this is a homage to Blaxploitation and not a parody. It is also happens to be one of the freshest comedies to hit the big screen in a long while. Its aimed squarely to the multiplex crowd for the visual gags, but it also ticks enough for boxes to reach out to the Movie Buff as well.

Black Dynamite (Michael Jai White) is a former CIA agent on the trail for who killed his brother and who is putting out a new drug on the street. He is reinstated by his former colleague in the Agency O’Leary (Kevin Chapman) so that he doesn’t go out on a one man army murder spree. Along the way he picks up and meets a motley bunch of women, drug barons, pimps and bar room brawlers which Dynamite dispatches with pithy one liners and has the women swooning. He eventually gets to the bottom of the case, but not before he has delivered more Kung Fu, visited the mysterious Kung Fu Island and even dropped in on the White House. All in a day’s work for Black Dynamite.

Michael Jai White has delivered a labour of love here and it shows. The commitment and eye for detail on display here is second to none. His Black Dynamite looks like he has had a couple of beach balls implanted in his chest and is almost comic book styled in his muscle definition.

His delivery is so convincing you find yourself hanging on his every word. The brilliance though is in the detail or deliberate lack of it anyway. Print stock grain changes, continuity errors, cutting room mistakes, bad overdubs, boom mike dropping into shot, ridiculous plot devices, thumping 70’s groove soundtrack and hard hitting Kung Fu. The President Nixon thing maybe a joke to far, but can be forgiven when a film is this good.

The rest of the cast including a barely recognisable Arsenio Hall are clearly having a blast as well and it all makes for a better movie. If only more movies could be made this way as this is how cinema should be enjoyable escapist nonsense that delights and entertains in equal measures. It also is laugh out loud funny throughout as well, not just a little snigger, but full on out loud laughing and lots of it.

This is one movie you must make sure that you get to see, in fact take a group of friends too as this is one wild ride my bruttha. You dig?

Extras:

Commentary
Deleted/Alternate Scenes (25 minutes)
Featurette: Lighting the Fuse (23 minutes)
Featurette: The Comic-Con Experience (18 minutes)
Trailers

Main Feature: Extras:

252: Signal Of Life

Having been recently struck by a huge earthquake, Tokyo was settling back to normalcy when meteorologist Saki Umi (Kashii) notices that the temperature is rising in the Pacific Ocean. However she doesn’t reckon it will be of much concern so her boss orders her to ignore it. Big mistake, as this was a presage that a typhoon is heading to strike Japan’s metropolis. First signs come in the form of a violent hailstorm followed by a powerful tidal wave that floods the streets and the underground system of Tokyo, leaving many dead both above and below ground. While the rescue team work against the clock as the typhoon approaches, a small group of survivors trapped in the underground see their hopes of being rescued fading.

Developed to mark the fifty-fifth anniversary of Japanese TV broadcaster NTV, this big budget project will no doubt gain immediate comparisons to the Hollywood blockbuster disaster movies such as The Day After Tomorrow or 2012. However since the Japanese do not have the same budgets at their disposal that Tinsel Town do, this is less of a spectacular special effects orgy – although the tidal wave sequence is very well done - and instead a tale of the indomitable human spirit in times of danger.

The title refers to the Japanese equivalent of Morse code used by rescue workers at a disaster scene to alert others that there are survivors: 2-5-2. And as it happens, our main protagonist, Yuji Shinohara (Ito), is a former rescue worker whose past skills are about to come in very handy indeed. Yuji is on his way to meet his wife Yumi (Sakurai) and their deaf-mute daughter Shiori (Omori) in Ginza when the tidal wave hits. Mother and daughter are separated during the panic but luckily Shiori finds herself in the underground station just as Daddy arrives. They discover three other survivors – Korean woman Kim Su-Min (MINJI), small time inventor Keisuke Fujii (Kimura) and stroppy medical student Makoto Shigemura (Yamada). Above ground Yumi is constantly on edge worrying about her family while rescue worker brother-in-law Shizuma Shinohara (Uchino) is unable to offer her any hope as his superiors fear that any attempts to go underground would prove fatal and they don’t want to risk any more lives. Um…Isn’t that what rescue workers are paid to do?

It’s things like this that make this film frustrating and difficult to take seriously; that and the contrived flickers of hope that our trapped survivors are presented with. For example, Su-Min suffers huge blood loss from an abdominal rupture and needs a transfusion. Shigemura not only just happens to share Su-Min blood type but chooses now to reveal his medical history. And who happens to have the suitable equipment including a pump and water purifier? Why, inventor Fuji and his fantastic fish tank gizmo that he hopes will make him millions. How’s that for convenience? These weak plot devices deprive us of any real sense of drama or tension since a solution to a crisis is almost immediately found. And – without spoiling anything – there is a no mid film demise for any of the main characters which again would have amped up the gravity of their struggle to survive.

Another missed opportunity is with the butting of heads between the rescue team and their chief who constantly blocks any suggestion of them actually doing their job for the fear of it being too dangerous. Plenty of capitulation from the workers and not enough growing a set and defying the pompous superior for this reviewer’s tastes. Just as well Yuji is on the case, seeing is he is – literally – the hero of the hour and clearly a god amongst men if the ludicrously cheesy and groan inducing finale is anything to go by.

Since this was such a huge project, a number of faces familiar to Japanese TV audiences were drafted in to fill out the cast, either as main players or small cameos. Whilst the leading ladies, Sakurai and Korean popstrel MINJI (who also provides the closing song), manage to convey their emotional distress with some credibility, Yu Kashii sports the same blank gormless expression on her face that she has for seemingly every role she plays. Sadly the men are less heroic and by large more wooden thanks in part to their cardboard characters. The actual star of the film is young Ayane Omori as deaf-mute Shiori, who emotes for more adeptly than her adult co-stars without any dialogue and is by far the most sympathetic and believable character in the entire movie.

At almost two-and-a-quarter hours long, 252: Signal Of Life is a film with lofty ambitions that were just out of reach. It’s a valiant effort and not a total disaster (pardon the pun) but the result is a rather heavy handed attempt to put across a simple message. Definitely a film to kill some time on a Sunday afternoon if it was on TV but hardly an essential viewing experience.

Extras:

None.

Main Feature: Extras:

Man In Black

Tajomaru – Avenging Blade

In the late Muromachi period, the two young sons of the Shogun’s deputy, Nobutsuna and Naomitsu Hatakeyama take pity on a young orphan boy caught stealing food and take him in as their servant, naming him Sakuramaru. When they reach adulthood, the father of the brothers’ childhood friend and mutual love interest Lady Ako (Yuki Shibamoto) dies and a decree is issued that Ako must marry the next deputy. As the eldest son Nobutsuna (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi) will inherit that position, thus this befalls on him, fully aware that Ako is in love with younger brother Naomitsu (Shun Oguri). Also aware of his elder brother’s feelings for Ako, Naomitsu takes Ako and flees with her to the mountains, where fate is about to deal them a very life changing blow. Meanwhile, Sakuramaru (Kei Tanaka), now a retainer to the deputy, puts a plan into action to gain the power he always wished he had.

Based on the short story Yabu no Naka by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, the name Tajomaru may sound familiar to keen eyed film fans – for it is the name of the bandit from legendary tale of Rashomon, famously portrayed by the mighty Toshiro Mifune in Akira Kurosawa’s classic film of 1950. Based on the above plot summary one may be wandering how this feral thug fits into the picture. Despite being a pivotal character in the plot, Tajomaru effectively only appears briefly in the film – at first. Confused? Then I shall elaborate.

The fleeing couple of Naomitsu and Ako encounter the bandit Tajomaru (Hiroki Matsukata) in the forests of the mountains and naturally a fight ensues. Despite his impressive sword skills Naomitsu is knocked unconscious leaving Ako to fend for herself. When Naomitsu comes to he sees that Tajomaru has apparently defiled Ako and refuses to stay with Naomitsu, ordering Tajomaru to kill him before joining the bandit. Using the subsequent fight as a distraction, Ako makes a run for it. Naomitsu defeats Tajomaru and, according to the tradition, must now take the name of the great bandit as well as his powerful sword. Feeling he has nothing left without Ako, Naomitsu adopts this new persona, and along with a group of petty bandits he encounters deeper in the forest, he is now the feared bandit Tajomaru.

Got that? Because it’s about to get even more complex. Upon hearing the news that his brother Nobutsuna is dead, leaving the Shogun (Kenichi Hagiwara) without a deputy, Naomitsu returns to the capital to reclaim his rightful position as the next deputy. However, when he arrives he is thrown into prison and is only recognised as Tajomaru since there is already a deputy named Naomitsu in place. To go any further would spoil the rest of the plot but suffice to say there are plenty of swerves and developments to come.

If you have a headache from reading such a convoluted summary then allow me to assuage your concerns by telling you it is far more straightforward in execution since there are many subplots and incidences that help flesh out the picture. But at just over two hours in length, this film has a slight issue with how each part is handled: quickly rushing through some key developments while drawing others out to the point of ennui. This allows the story to fall foul of the dreaded plot hole – such a the true motives for the main protagonist which is never revealed or how the group of bandits Naomitsu leads happily go from violent reprobates to moral philanthropists in the blink of an eye. No to mention other key moments which are so contrived and too convenient, they threaten to undermine the emotional drama which is at the heart of this tale.

For some this will probably be minor grievances since the film is aesthetically pleasing with some luscious shots of the Japanese countryside and the impressive set pieces and costumes. The cast largely do their best to inhabit their roles – Shun Oguri does well enough to take his character from pampered noble boy to fearless rogue and equips himself admirably during the fight scenes, then has to wrench every drop of emotion from his body during the trial scene – while the main protagonist feels that the pantomime villain route is the best way to go. But the biggest gripe to be held against this film is the god awful soundtrack. For a historical drama modern electro J-Pop or heavy rock is not the sort of musical accompaniment expects to hear. It is not just incongruent to the visuals of Feudal Japan but serves to distract the viewer from the action onscreen. In one of the lighter moment during an impromptu knees-up involving Naomitsu’s gang and some poor villagers, one of the bandits breaks out in a rap! I kid thee not!

Ultimately Tajomaru – Avenging Blade is an example of what happens when one tries to over-think something. The ambition of this project appears to be to produce an historical epic worthy of Kurosawa but instead delivered a protracted if earnest outing where less would definitely have been more. It is not without any entertainment value but it lacks finesse and suffers from maladroit handling on the production front to be considered a genuine success.

Extras:

2.0 Stereo

5.1 Dolby

English Subtitles

The Making Of Tajomaru

Domestic Trailer

Original Japanese Trailer

Main Feature: Extras:

Man In Black

Hunt To Kill

Jim Rhodes (Steve Austin) is a Border Patrol Agent, who in a drugs bust gone wrong loses his partner (Eric Roberts). He now lives in the back woods of a small town where he minds his own business and gets on with life. Unfortunately his life gets severely disrupted and not just becuase his estranged daughter (Marie Avgeropoulos) has come to stay, but because a group of ruthless killers are on the trail of one of their own who has turned on them and hidden in the unforgiving territory that Rhodes now patrols. After taking his daughter hostage Rhodes is forced into leading the band of criminals up the moutainside to rescue the loot, but Rhodes isn't about to give up that easily and is soon using his survival skills to turn the tables on the criminals led by Banks (Gil Bellows), to rescue his daughter and get out alive. However that's easier said than done.

Hunt to Kill is the latest movie featuring 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin to hit the DVD shelves, after the vastly underated The Stranger and appearing in one of the summers biggest box office smashes in the shape of The Expendables, this is one of those films that if you are not careful you may just miss. Bearing more than a passing resmeblance to Cliffhanger/First Blood/Deadly Pursuit, this is just the sort of film back in the late 80's or the early 90's that would have sent Austin's movie career starospheric. Unfortunately though it's not and this may unfairly get passed over.]

The cast in this actioner are excellent, Austin is at his most charasmatic here, which anyone who has seen him in a WWE ring will already know about. Gil Bellows as the vicious leader of the bad guys Banks, is underplayed just enough not to err into pantomime villan and his back up, Jensen (Gary Daniels) is seethingly evil as well. You can tell there's chemistry with Austin and Daniels too as their fight scenes attest. They are pretty brutal at times and fortunately it doesn't take the easy route out and have Austin as some form of Superman who manages to throw in a stunner to appease the wrestling fanbase.

The film doesn't waste time either as the pace is relentless and cranks up the action very quickly, whether it's Austin bashing a bad guy, being thrown over a cliff face (Twice) or chasing Banks on a 4x4 all terrain bike. This is simply the stuff action films should be made of. It doesn't set out to be anything special, but in it's own way it ends up becoming that. In fact Hunt To Kill is pretty much the best action film this year outside of Kick Ass & The Expendables. Yes it's really that good.

This is a action film that deserves to be seen so make sure you do and soon.

Extras:

Trailer
Featurettes

Listen to our 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin interview here

Streetdance The Movie 3-D

Streetdance the Movie is a British effort in a similar vein to Step Up, featuring such people as George Sampson, Diversity & Flawless this should maybe be retitled 'Britains Got Talent the Movie' it centres on the story of Carly (Nichola Burley) who has to take over her 'crew' after the groups founder, leader and her boyfriend decides to leave the group to take a break from everything. This leads Carly into seeking out a place to practice as their previous venue can't be used any longer. In her part time job of delivering sandwiches, she chances across Helena (Charlotte Rampling) who is a teacher in the local ballet academy. She agrees that Carly and her crew can practice there on the premise that she works with her ballet dancers to broaden their horizons. The usual friction that turns into respect, then a team ensues and they take their bold mix of Street styles and Ballet to the UK Dance Championships where they face current champions (Flawless) and a surprise new addtion to the champions crew..

Streetdance is great fun make no mistake, while it is not about to challenge the dance movie genre with anything new, it is more than enough to challenge Step Up currently. Also, it had the added advantage of being first out of the blocks with 3-D in a dance film (Step Up 3-D came out late summer). Featuring a cast of amazing dancers and recognizable faces the film is all about the dance offs. However in 3-D and this was made in 3-D, not a bolt on effect (Such as Clash of the Titans had) Streetdance is simply stunning, the 3-D adding a whole new element that makes the film truly come alive and pop out of the screen. Unfortunately until a true 3-D version of the film is available and no just the Red & Blue glasses style, it lacks the original omph. There are some of the best dance sequences seen on film on display here too and the films climatic dance sequences truly raise the roof.

However where the film comes unstuck is in the non dance moments of the film i.e. the story, as it is very much by the numbers, formulaic and poorly scripted. As for where lowly students live (In a sprawling studio apartment, overlooking the Thames, with a wide open rooftop to practice on apparantly) is laughable. However the two leads in the shape of Nichola Burley and Richard Windsor, more than make up for this as the chemistry they share is electric at times.. Also the certification flies a little close to the mark on a few occasions when dealing with the 'relationships' within the film so parents should be advised caution for the younger viewers in the audience. But your not here to worry about the story but for the previously mentioned dance sequences.

Featuring (briefly) Diversity, teen idol George Sampson and various finalists from SKY One's Got To Dance (Akai etc.) the film will surely do decent box office. How it will play overseas remains to be seen, however for anyone who likes thier dance movies, loud, boombastic and in your face Streetdance is for you.

Extras:

Disc 1 Includes:
StreetDance 2D version
Making of
Anatomy of a scene
StreetDance Tour Video
On Set and much much more ...
Disc 2 Includes:
StreetDance 3D version
DVD also includes 4 pairs of 3D glasses for all the family to enjoy!

Overall Rating:

Extras:

Death At A Funeral

It's the funeral of Aaron (Chris Rock) and Ryan's (Martin Lawrence) father. The family are all gathering at the family home where Asaron lives with his wife and parents. Aaron has been struggling to save enough money to move out and start a family of his own. His brother Ryan is a sucessful published author and lives it up in the city. Ryan returns home and everyone is wondering why Aaron is giving the eulogy and not Ryan. The funeral decends rapidly into a complete farce from the outset when at first the funeral directors deliver the wrong body to the house. Aaron and Ryan's cousin Elaine (Zoe Saldana) and her fiancee Oscar (James Marsden) stop off at Elaine's brothers (Colombus Short) flat. To calm his nerves Oscar takes what he thinks is a valium. It turns out to be a hallucinagenic drug that Jeff concoted, which leads Oscar to believing that the coffin is moving. After an interlude becasue of the chaos Oscar has caused, Frank Lovett (Peter Dinklage) approaches the brothers to let them know that he was their fathers lover and wants some money to stop him from telling their mother the truth. This leads to yet more chaos, shocking revelations, festering resentments, ugly threats, blackmail and a misdirected corpse unleash lethal results before the days is out . Will Aaron and Ryan ever get to let their father rest in piece before the family tear themselves to pieces?

Death At A Funeral is a remake of the very weak British movie directed by Frank Oz of the same name. Peter Dinklage is the only cast member who returns from the original cast to repise his role. The film features an amzing ensemble cast... And Martin Lawrence who does his level best to derail the entire movie by being awful throughout. Chris Rock holds proceedings together aimiably, but it's James Marsden and Danny Glover who stand out from the large cast both delivering hilarious turns, especially Danny Glover in what will no doubt be remebered as one of the most gross gags of the year. Toilet humour quite literally at it's finest. Marsden as the spaced out Oliver also gets some fine scenes to play out with the endearing Zoe Saldana. Other than that it's a by the numbers remake of a below par original movie. It's probably better than the original though in large part due to the cast, despite being pretty much a shot for shot remake.

As ensemble comedies go you would probably not find anything worse currently at the cinema, so if you are looking for cheap laughs a decent crop of actors (And Martin Lawrence) the Death At A Funeral could be just the movie for you. However if you don't like low rent sex farce with some drugs and toilet humour thrown in for good measure then you probably won't like this at all. Did we mention that Martin Lawrence is not very good in it either?

Extras:

Commentary with Director Neil LaBute and Chris Rock
Deleted Scenes
Family Album
Death For Real
Death at a Funeral: Last Rites, Dark Secrets

Overall Rating:

Extras:

The Killer Inside Me

The Killer Inside Me is a film based on the novel by Jim Thompson. Directed by Michael Winterbottom it features the narrated story of Deputy Sheriff Lou Ford (Casey Affleck) who suffers from a 'sickness' as he calls it namely that unbeknowst to everyone else he is a serial killer. He moves about town and after a trail of murders some of the locals start to suspect him and as his paranoia kicks in the more bodies that mount up. Soon though things come to a head as one of his previous victims Joyce Lakeland (Jessica Alba) survived her assault and lives to tell her tale. As the net closes in Lou makes arrangements of his own to ensure he doesn't get caught.

The Killer Inside Me took a long time to make it's way ot the big screen and with good reason too. It is one of the most distatseful stories of recent years to reach the big screen. Despite outstanding performances from Casey Affleck and Jessica Alba, you come away with a bad taste in the mouth because of the violent nature of the story and the even more violent scenes set before you on the screen. Featuring one of the most uncomfortable and vile scenes, Jessica Alba's character is beaten to a bloody pulp. If this had just been a few shots and then cutaway you would still understand the nature and power of this scene however Michael Winterbottom decides that this is not enough and we watch as Lou relentlessly reigns down punches in close up into Joyce's face until she is a whimpering wreck. The as if that is not enough the scene then continues until Joyce is punched unconcious... This scene runs for about 5-10 minutes and it is brutal and disturbing even to someone with a strong stomach. Then there is the other end of the violence as Lou rapes Joyce and she is seen to actually bing enjoying, so obviously thats OK too. Then there's the moment when Lou's longsuffering girlfriend Amy Stanton (Kate Hudson) comes to the realisation of what is about to happen to her too. You get the picture. The film is relentless in it's pursuit of violence and it's not entertainment whichever way you chalk it.

The film is very much marmite as you will either love or hate it. But whichever way you look at it various sequences are wholly unecessary. The direction though is superb, with beautiful acting throughout with career performances from both Affleck (Who is outstanding throughout) and Alba who kicks off her girl next door image in real style. Kate Hudson is also great but has little screen time to do anything with her role. The pacing leaves a little to be desired as much like Lou's Southern drawl is a bit slow and the entire middle section sags.

While there's a lot to commend here, unfortunately the bad out weighs all that. This turns into a nasty misogynistic piece that is trying to be art but falls at the first hurdle and doesn't even reach the bench mark of entertainment either,unless your a sadist with psyhcotic tendencies. Not one for the weak of heart.

Extras:

None at time of going to press

Overall Rating:

Extras:

N/A

Tooth Fairy

Dwayne Johnson is Derek Thompson a minor league ice hockey player who is nicknamed 'The Tooth Fairy' on account of his opponents losing teeth after being on the wrong end of a tackle from him. After one night almost dispelling the myth of tooth fairies. Thompson is summoned to Tooth Fairy land where he encounters Tracy (Stephen Merchant) his case worker as he stands trial for being a 'dream crusher'. He stands trail in front of the cheif fairy (Julie Andrews, yes that Julie Andrews) and discovers that his penalty is that he will have to become a tooth fairy for 2 weeks. After the intial disbelief he eventually takes to the role and delivers the tooth fairies job in his own inimitable style. After a disater in a hockey game he takes his frustrations out on everyone around him and his girllfriend Carly (Ashley Judd) tells him to stay away from her children. This being a family comedy before all is said and done Thompson will mend the bridges and save the day and get his dream job - a return to the big leagues. Or will he?

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson wanders into now familiar territory of the family comedy. Although on the outside looking in The Tooth Fairy looked to be Dwayne's The Pacifier (The awful family comedy fish out of water movie starring Vin Diesel remember him?), it is actually not and turns out to be a hugely enjoyable film for everyone to enjoy. This is down in most part to Dwayne Johnsons keen comedic talents and his ability to carry the more physical parts of the role. He is also aided by Stephen Merchant who although is just playing an extention of his usual character, is a great foil for Johnsons tough guy. It also works because Johnson has done this particular type of film before in the shape of The Game Plan, which is the same formula and payoff however this also adds in the best parts of the Santa Clause too.

This being a family comedy there is the usual layers of sugary sweet moralising, happy endings and cute kids, but this is great fun with some seriously great gags in here. If there's any complaint there's a couple of moments of really bad CGI (During the Ice Hockey sequences) and did we really need the 'Here's a few of your favorite things' joke at the end (Billy Crystal to Julie Andrews)? Also you do wonder what on earth Julie Andrews is doing in this film. Billy Crystal pops up for good little extended cameo as well.

A decent family comedy which is better than most of these types of films recently. Nowhere near Dwayne Johnsons worst film (The Scorpion King), but nowhere near his best (Welcome to the Jungle) either.

Extras:

Sing Along with "Fairy-oke"
Gag Reel
Bonus Digital Copy

Overall Rating:

Extras:

Professor Layton And The Eternal Diva

Respected professor of archaeology Hershel Layton is also an avid solver of puzzles of some repute. Along with his young student Luke Triton, Layton has yet to find a mystery he cannot solve. His abilities are once again tested when he receives a letter from former student Janice Quatlane, now an opera singer. She writes that she is appearing in an opera about eternal life but is spooked about odd happenings at the theatre including the fact an old friend of hers, Melina, who passed away has returned to life in the body of a seven year old girl. Layton and Luke attend the opera which is supported by a mysterious masked man who invites the audience to play a game of wits, with the prize being eternal life. Meanwhile a number of young girls have recently disappeared in the London area. Could there be a connection?

For the uninitiated (including yours truly) the stove hat wearing Professor Layton is the star of a series of successful puzzle games for the Nintendo DS system so like any successful franchise, expansion into other mediums was inevitable. In relation to the timeline of the series this film actually appears after the fourth adventure The Spectre’s Flute but works just as well as an introduction to the exploits of the professor for newcomers to his world.

Like all good mysteries The Eternal Diva is densely plotted with many layers and twists at every crucial point leading the viewer to play along with the Professor and Luke as they strive to untangle the varies webs of intrigue and solve the puzzles set before them to solve the mystery of whether eternal life exists. Initially everything seems harmless enough aside from the somewhat remarkable claims by Janice that her deceased friend Melina now inhabits the body of a seven year-old girl. While Layton’s assistant Remmy investigates the missing girls situation, Layton and Luke attend the opera at the Crown Petone theatre in Dover, designed and built by musician Odlaw Whistler, Melina’s father ten years earlier, just after his daughter died. Once the games begin, the players are eliminated following a wrong answer and we are soon down to a cast of eccentric characters – some of which are straight out of the Agatha Christie book of familiar tropes – each of whom have their own reasons for waning eternal life, be they for vanity or purposes of self preservation.

Some of the puzzles are fairly straight forward while others are much more devious. Anyone who has played the games will no doubt have the advantage in understanding how the Professor thinks while others will be wondering how he managed to arrive at an answer so quickly from such ambiguous clues. And just when you think the conclusion has been reached things take another dramatic and rather fantastic turn to eke things out a little, serving more as an excuse for some physical action rather than the cerebral kind. Much like your brain cells earlier, prepare to have your suspicion of disbelief truly tested here. Along the way humour is provided by barrel chested police Inspector Grosky, the man who apparently has turf for chest hair and considers a punch up with sharks as “refreshing”.

Established fans will delight at the perfect replication of the images along with the same voice actors (especially on the English dub) from the games and an adventure that remains true to the spirit of its electronic predecessors. Truthfully if it wasn’t for the Japanese language sound track one would never suspect this was an Anime production as the character and set designs all coincide more with European animation than Asian. Not all that surprising considering the setting is England but nonetheless, it is not unlike Anime artists to rely on their own personal take on something foreign to them so kudos to director Masakazu Hashimoto for his success in presenting such verisimilitude. While the animation is well done the only gripe would be the blatant use of CGI that clashes quite often against the 2D painted backgrounds. Such modern application to something set in the past does ruin the overall effect a bit but ultimately doesn’t ruin the enjoyment of this film.

A quick note about the extras for this title. Manga are clearly anticipating huge interest in this film so they’ve gone all out with the gimmicks to entice the punters. The regular single disc DVD and Blu Ray have nothing else to offer but there is a special 3 disc Blu-Ray/DVD Collectors Edition Combi Pack, which offers the film on both formats and a bonus disc full of extra features. In addition to that, if you’re feeling really flush, the Deluxe Combi Pack is the same as above along with a 630 page storyboard book and artbox packaging.

Professor Layton And The Eternal Divais likely to prove a big hit this autumn as it not only satiates the interest of fans of the games but is likely to win over new fans with this clever and fun feature length outing.

Extras:

English Language 2.0 & 5.1

Japanese Language 2.0 & 5.1

English Subtitles

3 disc Blu-Ray/DVD Collectors Edition Combi Pack:

Professor Layton And The Eternal Diva on both Blu-Ray & DVD

Bonus disc:

Mystery of The Last Song

Professor Layton and the Mystery of the Production Company

Professor Layton and the Mystery of the 3DCG

Promo video for the Professor Layton games

3 disc Blu-Ray/DVD Deluxe Collectors Edition Combi Pack:

Professor Layton And The Eternal Diva on both Blu-Ray & DVD

Bonus disc:

Mystery of The Last Song

Professor Layton and the Mystery of the Production Company

Professor Layton and the Mystery of the 3DCG

Promo video for the Professor Layton games

360 page Storyboard book

Rigid Art Box Packaging

Main Feature:

Extras:

Man In Black

Tokyo Gore School

High school student Fujiwara (Yamada) has it all – good looks, good grades, sporty and is well respected by students and teachers alike. However his dark side and personal philosophy of only the strong survive sees him bullying weaker kids in what appears to be a widespread problem in Japanese schools. After the near suicide of one bullying victim Fujiwara finds himself a target of other school kids, learning that he is now part of a game in which school kids fight each other for their mobile phones. The prize at stake: to keep their deepest darkest secrets from being revealed to the world.

The first thing that needs to be addressed is the misleading title given to this English release. There is nothing gory about this film at all. There some scenes of brutality and excessive bloody violence but no severed limbs or projectile internal organs. The film’s original Japanese title “Gakkô ura saito” translates roughly to “Clandestine School Sites” referring to the many underground bullying websites that have arisen recently in the Land of the Rising Sun. As the film progresses this becomes more apparent making this shameless and arguably redundant attempt to cash in the success (or notoriety) of such recent splatter movies as “Tokyo Gore Police” all the more baffling. Indeed director Yôhei Fukuda is no stranger to the genre as he gave us the sexy zombie slice and dice fest that was “Chanbara Beauty” and the now infamous and banned in the UK “Grotesque”.

Whilst the violence is high in this film there is more of a sense of social commentary on an increasing troubling problem in Japan. Immediate similarities between this and the classic “Battle Royale” are bound to be made but are rather tenuous outside of school kids fighting each other. Whereas in “Battle Royale” the kids were forced to fight for their lives, here they are simply fighting to save face. Via their mobile phones the kids can see if their details have been added to an underground website. Once their profile has been included there are considered fair game. For every person who is defeated their secret is revealed and the winner earns points which can either be exchanged for cash or to delete parts of their profile. Since this is the younger generation we are dealing with here, the secrets are remarkably petty albeit still embarrassing – such as one lad who wet himself up until his teenage years and another who is less than impressive in the trouser department.

Our main man Fujiwara – it’s not appropriate to call him the hero – seems to have a major secret he wants kept hidden – involving a girl named Yoko - and thus goes to great lengths to ensure his profile is completely deleted. Along the way Fujiwara meets Chiori Kinoshita (Mizausawa) a girl who just happens to resemble the late Yoko that Fujiwara saves from a stalker and a group of weaker kids – the “quarry” - sticking together to survive, lead by Kamiya (Kataoka) who is the son of the Education minister who introduced the School Justice Bill. Even with his shady side Fujiwara becomes the default hero against the vicious bully Todoroki (Shiraishi).

If one can put aside any misgivings or disappointment towards the misleading title and artwork there is quite an interesting and thought provoking story to be found here. Bullying has been an age old problem and with the continuing development of modern technology it has become as sophisticated as it has more vicious. Quite how beating each other up to stop the spreading of personal information is supposed to eradicate bullying is a mystery since it not only is propagating violence but ostensibly rewarding it too. And how exactly did the instigator of the game get this information in this place? These do not appear to be questions of primary concern for this film. But what it does do is hold a mirror up to contemporary society and evening its exaggerated fashion should rattle a few cages and tweak at least one conscience.

Production wise this is fairly low budget stuff as one can imagine. The camerawork especially during the chase sequences and fight scenes is often quite shoddy and uneven and way too frenetic. What the fight scenes lack in flair and intensity they compensate for in energy and enthusiasm and the attempts at pseudo-parkour style acrobatics for the chase scenes are earnest at best. The overuse of post-production effects adds nothing to the quality other than someone apparently running through the gamut of new filters on their editing software. As the cast is made up of former J-Pop stars and budding TV actors don’t look for any break out performances here to make you sympathise with or relate to the characters in any way which should have been a key objective of the director.

“Tokyo Gore School” may not look like much and will probably be sought out by cult movie fans drawn in by the deceptive title and artwork as well as curious fans of “Battle Royale”. However it manages to keep the viewer’s attention for its 107 minute duration and has a certain ambitious charm about it which should at least ensure it rises above the status of shlock horror oddity.

Extras:

English Subtitles

Main Feature:

Extras:

MiB

Kamui : The Lone Ninja

In 17^th Century Japan a young ninja named Kamui (Matsuyama) decides he no longer wishes to use his exceptional skills for killing people and yearns for liberation from this barbaric lifestyle. Unfortunately the Ninja code dictates that the only way to leave the fold is through death. Not the most appealing of options for our young hero he goes on the run with his erstwhile clan hot on his trail. After a fateful meeting with fisherman Hanbei (Kobayashi), Kamui is taken to a small island where the respite is in danger of being short lived.

Based on the popular Manga Kamui Gaiden this live action adaptation sticks closely to the source material but sadly fails to match up to the earnest intentions behind this project. This is most telling by the narrative which feels more suited to an episodic drama and not a two hour film, robbing it of a sense of coherence. The over reliance on CGI to enhance the fight sequences and just about everything else begins to jar and become less credible as things progress as does the wire work, recalling some of Chinese Martial Arts director Tsui Hark’s more comical moments.

To flesh out the plot a little more the film opens with a flashback of a younger Kamui being party to the ambushing of a female ninja Sugara (Koyuki) also wishing to abandon her murderous lifestyle, resulting in her taking a plunge off the edge off a cliff into choppy waters below during the battle. Jump forward fourteen years and Kamui is now the renegade prey for his former ninja brethren. After some frantic but utterly ridiculous punch ups, we are introduced to the sadistic and capricious daimyo Lord Gunbei (Sato) whose sole purpose appears to be to act as a bizarre conduit for Kamui’s fateful meeting with Hanbei, who, in one of the more disturbing scenes in the film, cuts off the leg of Gunbei’s horse Lord Ichijiro for its hoof to make efficient claws for his fish bait. After a spot of mutual bacon saving Hanbei takes Kamui back to the island he calls home, discovering a familiar face, Hanbei’s wife Oshika - none other than fellow ninja deserter Sugara. And to complicate matters further their eldest daughter Sayaka (Ohgo) has eyes for Kamui.

As involved as the story might sound by now very little actually comes of it, or at least with any real satisfaction, and don’t go looking for character development or a sense of attachment to the cast as that was seemingly low on the writers’ agenda. As mentioned before the deal with Lord Gunbei is nowhere near as important as it should be, and even after Kamui and Sugra stage a daring rescue of Hanbei from his public execution the deranged daimyo becomes bored with the whole thing and moves onto other pointless pleasures! The only constant aside from the ninjas closing in on Kamui is Sugara constantly on the offensive around Kamui in case he reveals the truth about her past. Even that only surfaces every now and then, including a brief underwater fight scene that takes place at night and is almost impossible to see without boosting the brightness on your TV. Kamui and Sayaka may share the odd moment skirting around the idea of hooking up but that is as far as it goes and is prematurely ended by the arrival of the shark hunting Watari gang, who claim to also be former ninjas. Their presence supplies the film with one of its more hilarious moments as they set out to catch a group of acrobatic sharks (no really) with leader captain Fudo (Ito Hideaki) slicing one up in mid air! We know about the Japanese relationships with whales but it seems they are less clued up about their predatory cousins; either that or they’ve mistaken sharks for dolphins!

The big draw to this film for many will be the casting of Ken’ichi Matsuyama in the title role. Known mostly for playing more quirky characters as the eccentric L in the Death Note trilogy or his work in Japanese indie flicks, this is a huge departure from that comfort zone to take on an action role. While he handles the (albeit hugely assisted) physical side with aplomb Matsuyama just doesn’t posses enough of a rugged hero look and spends the majority of the film like a sullen and pouting child. The unadventurous dialogue doesn’t do him any favours either but he is not along there as everyone else suffers too. Kyouki (Blood: The Last Vampire) sheds her usual glamorous image for the role of Sugara and is arguably the film’s strongest performer while Anna Tsuchiya (Kamikaze Girls, Sakuran) is utterly wasted in her cameo as Gunbei’s twisted consultant.

The flaws present in Kamui: The Lone Ninja may be glaring but it is without question that there is audience out there who will lap this up regardless and enjoy the visceral, limb severing, claret spilling carnage in all its unfettered, ridiculous glory. For anyone with a more discerning palate when it comes to Asian cinema, this will be a disappointment to learn that the promises it makes are never fully delivered.

Extras:

2.0 Stereo

5.1 Dolby

English Subtitles

Press Conference

Premiere Screening

Special Event at Roppongi

“Cine Festa Shinjuku” Red Carpet

“Cine Festa Shinjuku” Cast & Crew Greetings

Trailer

Teaser Trailer

Main Feature:

Extras:

MiB

Centurion

After the frankly disappointing Doomsday, Neil Marshall returns with Centurion a film centrered around the story of the mysterious 9th Legion that marched north of Hadrian's Wall and never returned. This is Neil Marshall's idea of what happened and is very similar in tone to both Descent, Dog Soldiers and Doomsday. It's another movie where our heroes are up against the odds of not only nature, but a relentless enemy that will stop at nothing to destroy them. The enemy in question is the Picts. A ferocious band of Celts led by the mute Olga Kurylenko who is the woad covered tracker who chases a group of the 9th Legion back out of the north, trying to make sure they never reach their destination.

As this is a Neil Marshall film, there are pleasing amounts of gore, hacked of limbs, disembowelments and all the other staples you would expect from Mr Marshall. Unfortunately the story sometimes gets forgotten while the deaths and maimings get more creative. The cast though and what an interesting cast it is too Noel Clarke (Street style Roman) and Riz Ahmed (Asian Roman)along with the enigmatic Michael Fassbender, make sure this is never a run of the mill pursuit movie. Although at times you do wonder if Noel Clarke will threaten to 'shank' someone.

The scenery is harsh and foreboding and when we do get a break from the violence, the setting in the dank woods still keep you on edge, keeping you on the edge of your seat praying that there's not about to be a spear out of nowhere to slam into someone's head. The brief love story that is intimated late on does seem a bit strange and even a bit bolted on, but still the level of acting going on from the entire cast carry's all the quirks through. The direction is assured and the tone throughout is fairly even. If there is any complaint it would be that, that there is not enough of Domonic West, Axelle Carolyn (Mrs. Neil Marshall) and Noel Clarke, although that would have ended up with too many cast members left at the end.

Once the set up is done away with and we get into the chase part of the film, things really pick up. In places it's pretty tense as you wonder if they will make it and/or whose next for a grisily end. Also the brief running time (97 Minutes), make sure that things never get dull or slow down. All in all a solid effort from Neil Marshall, not his best film, but not far off.

Extras:

Audio commentary with director Neil Marshall, cinematographer Sam McCurdy, production designer Simon Bowles and special make-up effects designer Paul Hyett
The Lost Legion Featurette
Getting Down and Dirty Featurette
Guts and Gore Featurette
Fireballs, Stunts & Mayhem Featurette
Deleted Scenes - with introduction from director Neil Marshall
Production Design Gallery
Outtakes

Overall Rating:

Extras:

Clash of the Titans

In a remake of the 80's classic starring Harry Hamlin, Laurence Oliver and Ray Harryhausens stop motion creatures, we return to the land of Argo and Perseus (Sam Worthington), son of Zeus and his battle to save Princess Andromeda from the jaws of the mighty Kraken. But first he will have to cross to the underworld to take on Medusa and on the way take on giant scorpions, Calibos, and various other nasties. Perseus is hellped in his quest by Io (Gemma Arteton) a demi god who has watched Perseus from birth, a band of Argo soilders led by Draco (Mads Mikkleson) and a blue eyed Djin (Think mystical Chewbacca (In actual fact there are a lot of resmebelances to the Star Wars films here, the Kraken is a bit like the Rancor, Gemma Arteton makes for a very good Princess Leia and even Ralph Fiennes as Hades does a god Emperor.. But we digress)). Meanwhile Zeus (Liam Neeson) and Hades (Ralph Fiennes) are having their own battle for the control of Mount Olympus and the humans below...

Louis Letterier had a hard job on his hands with the remake of Clash of the Titans. Pretty much revered by anyone who remebered it from the 80's but has mangaged to produce a film with neither lives up to the original or ruins the memory with a bad remake. It's OK. However for the most part that can be ignored as Clash features some very fine action and CGi sequences.

The cast for the most part fit in just fine with Gemma Arteton and Mads Mikkleson coming out of the film the best. Unfortunately while not a bad actor and looking the part Sam Worthington just can't carry the film, as potentially exposed in his previous films (Avatar, Terminator Salvation), although he looks the part and does the right things, there's something about him that makes him unable to carry these films and is dependant on those around him to cover his inadequacies and help carry these films off, which once again is on display here. Although Mads Mikkleson and his band of Argo soilders are the life and soul of the quest to claim Medusa's head they collectively look like members of an 80's hair metal band and you half expect them to whip out some electric guitars and crash out a few riffs before their fates are sealed. Now to the Gods themselves in the shape of Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes. THese sequences on Mount Olympus are the most risable as it looks as Mr Neeson was only employed to deliver the 'RELEASE THE KRAKEN' line and nothing else, his weirdly shimmering armour and his weirdly reshaping beard become ever more distracting. As for Ralph Fiennes, there's a good reason why you have seen nothing of him in any of the pre release material or trailers. He looks utterly ridiculous as Hades dressed all in black with plenty of red eye makeup which just makes him look like a cery tired rendidtion of Ron Moody as Fagan in Oliver doing an impression of Voldermort in Harry Potter.. We potentially could have done without any of these sequences at all as they add nothing. Looks like Danny Houston lucked out as Posiedon as he only has 2 lines throughout the whole film and does nothing else. Easiest way to earn a paycheck for sure.

Overall it's an average action movie, with some above average performances. What should also be mentioned are the creatures. While most people will harken for Ray Harryhausen's stop motion creatures, the new renditions of Medusa and the Kraken are incredible and the when the Kraken (Finally) arrives it's something to behold. (Shame they kill it off as quick as it arrives), The battle with Calbos's Giant Scorpions are excellent sequences too. It's these sections that Letterier does himself real justice as they are staged perfectly and the big monsters work mostly from his experince on the Hulk movie.

Oh and for those of you who remember the original, yes Bubo does make an appearance...

Extras:

Maximum Movie Mode: Harnessing The Gods
Sam Worthington: Action Hero
Alternate Ending

Overall Rating:

Extras:

Green Zone (DD)

Roy Miller (Matt Damon) is a squad leader charged with being the team that goes to the suspected WMD sites during the Iraq conflict. Arriving at several of these sites and findng that they are empty and look like they have never been used for the supposed sites he starts to get increasingly frustrated with the intel his team is receiving as he believes that it is completely wrong.

At one of the sites in a playground in the middle of a town one of the locals comes forward and informs Roy that there is a meeting going on jjust down the road with some high level Iraqi officials. Roy takes the chance on the news and storms the house. They capture several Iraqis but Ayad Hamza or as he is more commonly known to the US troops the Jack of Clubs (The most wanted appeared on a deck of playing cards during the conflict which were handed out to the groud troops so they would know if they came across any of them) but he manages to escape. When bringing back the prisoners they are hijacked by a US special forces team and taken off their hands.

Even more frustrated Niller managed to hide a diary that one of the prisoners had which reveals all of the safe houses for Ayad Hamza’s people. Miller realising not is all that is seems is approached by a member of the CIA who confirms Millers thoughts. Now working alongside the CIA it’s a race against time as the Special forces seek to ‘keep quiet’ any chance of the secrets that they hold getting out and wiping out any chance of getting the truth out there.

With the whole of the team that brought us the Bourne movies you know you are dealing with a high quality level of film making here. The setting and cinematography makes Iraq look vast and labrynthian at the same time and beautiful despite the destruction that has raged during the conflict. The action sequences are handled effectively with enough crash bang wallop added in to keep you glued to the mystery that unfolds before your eyes.

The cast are solid with Damon looking especially comfortable in the lead role, which since Bourne seems to be able to just drop into. Unfortunately we don’t get to see nearly enough of Jason Issacs as Briggs the leader of the special forces team and his fantastic moustache.

The Green Zone at times is electrifying with bullets wizzing and Miller trying to just reveal the truth and prove that there is more going on here than just a simple search for WMDs. We all now know the truth about what really happened and you just can’t help thinking how much of this film is based on fact? A solid thriller with heavy doses of action. For anyone who liked the Bourne films or a decent War film then this is for you.

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Crazy Heart

Crazy Heart is the story of Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) a broken down, fading country star, who inbetween travelling to small town gigs, is slowling killing his reputation because of his drinking. Until one of the towns he plays in he meets young divorcee Jean (Maggie Gyllenahaal), an aspiring journalist who wants to run a story on Blake and find out what has become to this former country star. They soon fall into a relationship and this spurns on Blake to sort his life out and rebuild his career with a chance in a support slot with his former protege Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell).

Blake manages to hold it together for a while but before soon the cracks begin to show and Blake comes to a crossraods either carry on his self destructive path or get into rehab, sort himself out and put his life and career back together.

Based in part on Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Merle Haggard. The book is inspired by the life of country singer Hank Thompson. The film itself manages to incorporate aall of these men to create a towering perfomance in the shape of Bad Blake, thanks in no part by Jeff Bridges who lifts the entire proceedings with a masterful performance which has already garned him some awards and has him currently sitting in the red hot favorite position to carry off the Oscar at the end of March.

The story however is formulaic and would actually be pretty dull if it wasn't for the superb cast. Jeff Bridges in particular lifts this out of generic rut it could have fallen into. Add into the mix the ever dependable Robert Duvall as Blakes best friend and Gyllenhaal once again is a pure delight to watch. More surprisingly Colin Farrell can actually hold a tune and do a decent southern accent as well. Farrell only appears fleetingly but is totally convincing as the protege who has risen above his mentor and become a superstar (based on Garth Brooks?).

As mentioned about the story and direction Scott Cooper, it drags and if it wasn't for the central performnces you would be looking at a 2 star movie. Also, if you watch Walk Hard: Thje Dewey Cox Story, you can't help but think they were taking the rise out of this film. Well worth checking out though as previously mentioned due to the incredible acting performances throughout. The music is performed by the actors too and Bridges, once again scores highly as his voice sounds like he's been doing it for years.

Extras:

six deleted scenes
Theatrical trailer

Overall Rating:

Extras:

Extraordinary Measures

With two of his children suffering from a life threatning disease Pompee syndrome and being told by doctors there is no hope, a idealistic father, John Crowley (Brendan Fraser) leaves his job and takes on the risk of joining forces with reclusive medical researcher, Dr. Robert Stonehill (Harrison Ford), who has workable theories but has never brought any of them as viable medicines. Together, this unlikely pair face impossible odds as they battle the entire medical establishment and time itself to find a cure before it's too late. Inspired by the book "The Cure" by Greeta Anand.

Extraordinary Measures has the look and feel of one of those mid afternoon 'real life' tearjerkers that you would see on TV. Despite featuring a stellar cast (Brendan Fraser is outstanding, Harrison Ford however is just plain grumpy and shouty), it should work, but it doesn't. It's not that it's bad, it's not. It's just not that convincing either. If it wasn't for one of the extra features on the DVD featuring the real family, which is far more emotional in 10 minutes than the entire 1 and 40 of the film, then this would be no doubts called soulless.

However foir those of you who like their true to lkife emotional family dramas, then this is for you. Also if you liked films such as Lorenzo's Oil (Which is a far better choice) you will probably blub all the way to the end credits.

Extras:

Behind the scenes
Deleted scenes

Main Feature:

Extras:

Edge of Darkness

Mel Gibson returns to the front of the camera for the first time in 7 years to star in Martin Campbells conversion from TV to Movie version of the 80’s drama Edge of Darkness. The story follows cop Tom Craven, whose daughter is brutally slain on his doorste after she comes for a surprise visit. At first Tom is believed the intended victim but after a few anomalies come to light it seems that his daughter was embroiled in a cover up operation involving the Government and a local nuclear powerplant. His quest for answers are sometimes helped and sometimes hindered along the way by the mysterious Darius Jedbah (Ray Winstone) reaching an inevitable violent climax as the shocking truth strarts to come to the surface.

In what is Mel Gibsons first acting job in 7 years you think he would have gone all out with a full on action pic or comedy, but what he chooses here is the film that tries hard but ultimately fails as it repeadtledy is it’s own undoing with some ghastly plot devices, scripting and denoument. Mel Gibson delivers an accent which sounds like Mickey Rooney for the most part, his cop on the edge is nothing more than a collision of Mad Max and Martin Riggs from Lethal Weapon. Ray Winstone is no better, woefully out of his depth in a role that was originally intended for Robert De Niro, he is the weakest link showing up at the most inopportune moments and doesn’t add anything to the overall plot. The insistence on doing deep voice talking (made famous by Christian Bale in the Batman films) to sound scary is borderline ridiculous.

The direction however is strong enough to hold the weak movie together. It should be as Martin Campbell has been through this story once before as previously mentioned he directed the original TV series. As with these remakesthe action has been relocated to America, which doesn't necessarily add anything, maybe a bit more realism as you can imagine this kind of underhanded type of behaviour happening. Overall this is a sub par thriller featuring a bunch of characters you don’t care about. So when the ending creeps in you will know there is only one way it is going to turn out considering the people Tom is up against.

Extras:

interactive menus
WSTV enhanced
bonus footage
deleted scenes

Overall Rating:

Extras:

44 Inch Chest

Colin Diamond (Ray Winstone) is a successful car salesman, who after discovering his wife Liz is having an affair has an emotional breakdown. His friends convince him to kidnap his wife's lover and then encourage him to torture and kill him.

Diamond's partners in crime are suave homosexual gambler Meredith (Ian McShane), crotchety and bigoted Old Man Peanut (Hurt), the down to earth Archie (Tom Wilkinson) and the combustible Mal (Stephen Dillane), who by turns encourage Colin's lust for revenge and sympathise with his situation, and conspire to emotionally and mentally torture Liz's new man, Loverboy, first by locking him in a cupboard and threatening him, and then tying him up and subjecting him to humiliating verbal and physical assault.

The film has the look and feel of a stage play brought to the screen, with simplistic use of sets, a decent cast (Which are fully wasted) etc. The film is a utter mess with brief decent bits of acting buried in reams of expletive hewn dialogue doesn't offer much and the cast are left floundering.

Of the cast John Hurt and Joanne Whalley stand out from the others, in what slowly becomes a slow, turgid and expletive driven thriller that ends up going nowhere. If you have run out of all other options then you may want to give this a look. The most surprising thing around this film is that it comes from the writer and team that gave us Sexy Beast. Which is far superior to this film and you'd probably be better off rewatching that.

Extras:

Trailer
Audio Description

Main Feature:

Extras:

The Wolfman (DD)

Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) receiveing a letter from his brothers fiancee Gwen (Emily Blunt), who informs him his brother is missing and she implores him to help with the search. When he gets home he discovers he is too late as his brothers body has been found in a ditch by the road. Stricken with grief, old memory returns of the untimely death of his mother, his father (Anthony Hopkins) does little to console him. He travels to the local village of Blackmore where the locals are rife with tales of the crazy man who is doing the killing, others however feel it is the work of something entirely more sinister.

Gwen asks Lawrence to find out who killed hhis brother and his investigations take him to the nearby gypsy caravan. When he gets there a local mob also arrive intent on taking revenge on the gypsys as they believe they may have something to do with the killings as they started soon after they arrived. Unfortunately for all of them the beast also decnds on the carvan and leaves little left after tearing through the group. Lawrence escapes with his life barely, but after being bittetn finds himself undergoing the transformation into a werewolf on the next full moon. In his quest for answers he discovers that the answers to all his questions may lie closer to home than he may have wanted. With the law closing in on him led by the driven Aberline (Hugo Weaving) time is running out for the Talbot's...

The Wolfman is a throwback to the old school art form of horror school making with more reliance on the natural jumps, double bluffs and scares in a style long forgotten in a CGI age. With more than a passing resembelance to Francis Ford Copolla's take on Bram Stokers Dracula, this is briming with Gothic foreboding. The Wolfman effects are incredible and terrifying at the same time. The gore is kept in check but at the same time doesn't leave much to the imagination as the full horror of the Wolfman's rampage takes place.

The cast are superb with Del Toro leading the way with the troubled Lawrence. Anthony Hopkins is in maleovent form as Sir John Talbot in a perfomance which features some of Lecter simmering away in the background. Emily Blunt shows once again why her star is rising fast and Hugo Weaving is the glue that holds this gothic jigsaw puzzle altogether as the relentless Scotland Yard Inspector Aberline. The cast outshine the effects which is excellent as you are mesmerised by their performances as this modern gothic horror unfolds.

Joe Johnston is once again in his element directing the beasts and controlloing your emotions asyou wonder where the next scare is coming from. Jurassic Park III and Jumanji held him in good stead for this. Overall the old school and even the new school CGI gore hounds should enjoy this at times very scary gothic rollercoaster with ease. At last a remake that does it's original justice by keeping enough of the original while adding the modern film making element in.

It's time to bay at the full moon once more... OOoooowwwww!!!!!

iTunes link: http://clkuk.tradedoubler.com/click?p=23708&a=1816394&url=http%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2FWebObjects%2FMZStore.woa%2Fwa%2FviewMovie%3Fid%3D366939156%26s%3D143444%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D2003

Overall Rating:

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