DVD Watch

[Earende]

Going out to the movies too expensive?

Check out the new DVD releases out today!

[Earende]

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Abel Ferrara's cult crime drama Bad Lieutenant is given a sister film with this Werner Herzog-helmed production that takes its inspiration from the original, but focuses on new characters and plotlines. Nicolas Cage steps into Harvey Keitel's mold of a corrupt and drug-addled police officer, with the scummy setting moving from New York City to New Orleans. Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer, and Xzibit co-star in the Nu Image/Millennium Films picture.
Collector
After a stint in prison, Arkin (Josh Stewart) finds employment as a handyman. But Arkin decides to rob his boss in order to repay his ex-wife (Daniella Alonso). Venturing to his employer's remote country house to make the heist, he soon finds himself -- as well as the boss' family -- at the mercy of "The Collector." This masked menace turns the house into a maze of fiendish traps. Only Arkin's wits offer any hope of escape from gruesome death. This bloody, visceral entry in the "torture porn" genre is the directorial debut of screenwriter Marcus Dunstan, whose previous credits include Feast and Saw IV.
Jade Warrior
Writer/director AnttiJussi Annila's picture Jade Warrior (Jade Soturi) takes as its starting-off point an arresting and little-known fact -- the similarity of Chinese and Finnish mythologies -- and uses it to combine two seemingly unrelated genres: the quirky Finnish comedy drama (typified by the works of Kaurismaki) and the Chinese martial arts film. Inspired by a well-known Finnish epic called The Kalevala, the story opens with a down-on-his luck hardware merchant who gets dumped by his girlfriend. She tries to dispose of his collection of Asian artifacts at an antique dealer, but this sets off a mythical series of events that turns the merchant into a warrior prince, fated to battle a demon in icy northern Finland, responsible for enslaving all of humankind. The prince is abetted -- and then ultimately betrayed -- by a two-faced female warrior who has captured his heart and thus carries his greatest weakness in her hands. The battle involves enchanted boxes, spectacular swordfights, and supernatural events that come together -- simultaneously -- in an isolated cabin on the outskirts of Helsinki and in the rural Chinese mountains. Tommi Eronen, Markku Peltola, Zhang Jingchu, and Krista Kosonen co-star; Annila co-authored the script with Petri Jokiranta
Lord of the Rings [P&S] [Deluxe Edition] (2010)
Controversial animator Ralph Bakshi's literal adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, is brought to the screen in a reverent, stilted way, with Bakshi forsaking his sharp-edged animated looniness for a rotoscoped dullness. Although the film's title encompasses the entire Tolkien trilogy, this longish Bakshi feature, in fact, covers only the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring, and the first half of the second, The Two Towers. Given the complexity of the original story line, this unfortunately means that only those intimately familiar with the books will be able to understand what is happening in the movie. In brief, however, an evil sorcerer from a previous era created a magical ring which enables its users to call upon its tremendous powers to rule the world, but it inevitably warps them to evil. It was believed lost, but during a resurgence of magical evil in the world, Bilbo, a simple, plain-spoken hobbit, recovers it from its hiding place. The forces of good give his nephew Frodo the choice to bear the awful burden of the ring to a place where it may be destroyed.
Yesterday Was a Lie
Writer/director James Kerwin infuses Raymond Chandler-influenced noir with a metaphysical twist by tracing the story of a female detective who's tough enough to take on even Philip Marlowe in this monochromatic mystery designed to challenge the viewer's very perception of reality. Hoyle (Kipleigh Brown) is a hard-drinking detective whose taste for bourbon betrays her razor-sharp sleuthing skills. Set out on the trail of a reclusive genius (John Newton), however, Hoyle soon finds her life becoming increasingly fragmented and surreal. The only people that Hoyle can trust as she begins to uncover a series of mind-bending cosmological secrets are her loyal partner (Mik Scriba) and a scintillating lounge singer (Chase Masterson). But wherever Hoyle goes, she is shadowed by a mysterious figure (Peter Mayhew) whom she is soon destined to meet, and who may just possess the power to bend reality. In a world of black and white, Hoyle is about to take a bizarre journey into the divine gradients of grey invisible to the naked eye
Easier with Practice
A writer traveling to promote his unpublished novel enters into a bizarre phone relationship with a mysterious woman in this cellular love story based on Davey Rothbart's autobiographical GQ article of the same name. Davy Mitchell (Brian Geraghty) is a writer who has yet to realize his full potential. In order to raise awareness about his latest manuscript, Davy hits the road with his younger brother Sean (Kel O'Neill) and begins performing readings for small groups across the country. One night, while sitting in a lonely hotel, Davy's phone rings unexpectedly. The voice on the other end of the line belongs to Nicole, and before long Davy and Nicole have established a unique bond despite the fact that they've never actually met face to face. The more Davy gets to know Nicole, the happier he becomes. But when the time finally comes to meet his long-distance love interest, the itinerant writer realizes that before he can truly be honest with Nicole, he must first start being honest with himself.
Taxidermia
A strange young man takes his family's long tradition of bizarre behavior to new heights (or depths) in this wildly perverse and explicit horror comedy from director György Pálfi. Kálmán Balatony (Gergo Trócsányi) is a grotesquely fat gentleman who was fathered by an angry hospital orderly getting revenge on his boss by having sex with his wife. While the embittered husband killed the orderly when he was caught in the act, Kálmán was born as a result of the wife's indiscretion, and when he grows to adulthood he earns a modest fame as a competitive eating champion. At an eating contest, Kálmán meets a female competitor, the freakish Gizi (Adél Stanczel), and the two fall in love. Kálmán and Gizi marry, and she gives birth to a son, Lajos (Marc Bischoff), who grows up to be just as skinny as his parents are fat. Lajos studies taxidermy and takes up preserving animals as a career when he isn't busy taking care of his elderly and increasingly massive father. Lajos also raises a handful of unusually large house cats, and when they begin to turn on their master, Lajos uses his talents to keep them around the house without the danger of their bothering anyone. Taxidermia received its North American premiere at the ~2006 Toronto Film Festival.
Tony
A harmless kook turns out to not be as harmless as expected in this independent thriller. Tony (Peter Ferdinando) is a mild mannered, severely withdrawn man in his early 40s who has trouble relating to other people, doesn't communicate well with strangers and can't hold on to a job. Tony relies on public assistance to pay for his tiny flat, and he spends his days wandering the streets while watching a steady stream of action movies at night. One evening, Tony invites a pair of ne'er-do-wells back to his apartment, and we soon learn his secret -- beneath Tony's benign exterior is a man with a violent temper, and when his guests make him angry, he kills them in cold blood. This isn't the first time this has happened, and we follow Tony as he deals with the aftermath of his crime and prepares for his next outburst. The first feature film from director Gerard Johnson, Tony received its North American premiere at the 2010 ~Slamdance Film Festival.
211: Anna
Anna Politkovskaya was a Russian journalist who devoted her life and career to ferreting out corruption and wrongdoing in a nation where both had become commonplace. Politkovskaya earned a reputation for her fearless reporting of the conflict in Chechnya and the brutality of the Russian forces, as well the Beslan school hostage crisis (in which a skirmish between Chechen insurgents and Russian soldiers led to the death of dozens of school-age youngsters), an attempted takeover of the Russian Parliament, and the corruption of Vladimir Putin's administration. Politkovskaya's stories gained her the enmity of Russian authorities, and she survived one attempt to poison her as well as receiving a number of anonymous death threats before she was murdered by a gunman in 2006. Politkovskaya's assassin has never been found, though few doubt her death was a reprisal for her criticism of the Russian government and Putin's regime; she was the 211th Russian reporter to be killed since the collapse of the Soviet Union, making Russia second only to Iraq in fatalities among journalists. 211: Anna is a documentary which celebrates Politkovskaya's life and writings as well as the atmosphere of fear and vengeance which has become an inescapable part of working in the Russian media. 211: Anna received its American premiere at the 2009 ~Sundance Film Festival
Murder.com
Devastated upon receiving news that her estranged sister has been brutally murdered and frustrated that local police refuse to offer much help, a promising South Beach lawyer unearths some sordid details about her late sibling in this thriller highlighting the dangers of online dating. Stacy (Alexandra Paul) was accepting an award at a company banquet when her cell phone rang and her life was changed forever. Upon receiving the news that her sister Kate has been brutally strangled, Stacy beats a hasty retreat to her small hometown in hopes of getting some answers. The two siblings hadn't spoken since their parents died years ago, yet their sterile childhood home has remained virtually unchanged ever since that fateful day. When the local sheriff proves incapable or unwilling to offer any real answer, Stacy realizes that catching her sister's killer will be no simple task. As her investigation commences, resourceful Stacy discovers that Kate had a particularly suggestive profile on a tacky online dating site, and that her sister was scheduled to meet a number of men the night she was murdered. The deeper that Stacy delves into the profiles of the men her sister was involved with, the more convinced she becomes that she's closing in on the killer. Later, as Stacy's confidence leads to recklessness, she begins scheduling encounters with all of the men her sister was set to meet on the night of her death, in the process discovering that some are charismatic and sympathetic while others are utterly sleazy. As her investigation intensifies, Stacy begins to discover how little she really knew about the sister she recently lost.
Weathered Underground
You determine the outcome of the story in this "Choose Your Own Adventure"-style movie following a hapless musician who sets out on a wild ride through the city after being dumped by the love of his life. Eric loves Liz more than life itself. Unfortunately, the feeling isn't mutual. Will Eric spend this one wild night fighting to win back the girl of his dreams, or is the prospect of a life without Liz so emotionally devastating that it will send the newly-single rocker on a downward spiral of drugs and debauchery? With up to 1000 choices and more than 30 endings, whatever path you take, the story will never turn out the same way twice.
Irene in Time
Director Henry Jaglom explores the complex relationship between fathers and daughters, and the effects that it has on the relationships women develop later in life.
Fraternity
One of the most venerated institutions in higher learning also proves to be one of the most devious in this campus thriller, directed by veteran B-movie helmer Sidney J. Furie in the vein of 1999's The Skulls. The Fraternity stars Dawson's Creek and Skulls II alum Robin Dunne as Alex, a young college student indoctrinated into one of the more prestigious houses of Greek brotherhood at Runice Academy. But when a brother turns up dead, the fraternity's once-hallowed halls become rife with suspicion, paranoia, and fear, and it's up to Alex to find out the truth about his brethren. The Fraternity also features Treat Williams.
Gatekeeper
Adam Fields (John Carlos Frey, who also wrote, directed, and produced the film) is a law enforcement agent patrolling the Mexican border outside San Diego. He's harboring two dangerous secrets. His bosses don't know that he belongs to a racist, right wing vigilante group called National Patrol, that harasses and assaults illegals as they try to cross the border. His confederates in the National Patrol don't know that his own mother is Mexican. Adam, who easily passes for Caucasian, doesn't tell anyone about his mother, a former prostitute. Frustrated with the border patrol's efforts to curtail border crossings, Adam and the shock jock leader of National Patrol, Jack Green (J. Patrick McCormack), come up with a scheme to embarrass the border patrol into taking their concerns more seriously. Adam will go undercover as a Mexican and cross the border into the states to show how easy it is, while capturing everything on a hidden video camera. Adam pays to be brought over, but once in the U.S., the scheme goes horribly awry, and Adam winds up stuck with a hapless group of illegals, forced to work for ruthless criminals at a crystal meth lab. Unable to escape, he gets a firsthand look at the hardships the illegal immigrants endure. Frey tried to sell his script for The Gatekeeper to a Hollywood studio, but, unwilling to compromise his vision, eventually decided to finance the film himself. The Gatekeeper was shown at ~the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival and at ~the 2002 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where it won the Phoenix Award.

TV Box Sets:
Battlestar Galactica: Complete Series
Blood Ties: Complete Series
Mythbusters: Volume Five
Sharpe's Peril

[Zen Elipsys]

Yeah, 'Bad Lieutenant' is not an easy film to watch. The lead character on the surface has no redeeming virtues - he's corrupt, he's sexually and morally deviant, he is really and truly on the slide. A nun's rape is supposed to awaken his conscience in some way and affect him so deeply that he almost gets to be a decent citizen. Need that on DVD....

[Horace]

I remember Bad Lt. with Harvey Keitel, Victor Argo and Paul Calderon.

I would like to actually get that one. This new one with Cage I never heard of.

And yes, I'm getting Collector for my horror movie collection!

[Bruno]

All right let's get this out of the way. This is not a great picture. In fact I will bet 98 percent of the public would find it absolutely repulsive. Make that 99 percent. Hell, even I didn't understand it the first time I saw it. But what I realized the second time was brilliant method acting. And that ladies and gents is what makes this film shine. There is no solid plot, no supporting characters, and no reason to feel anything but disgust for Harvey Keitel. However, you find me another actor who could have dug as low as Keitel did or take as many chances and I will bet you that it will take more than the time to cook a frozen cardboard pizza. It is hard to view a soiled life like Keitel was leading without being on the road yourself which wouldn't be pretty. The backdrop of a baseball series and Keitel losing chunks of money made it even crazier. Again I have to say absolutely great acting. Keitel has so many good scenes that this may be a career role for him. I give him a multitude of credit for taking the chance to play a totally unlovable character. Watch this movie at your own risk and know going in that this is an outlier in the sense of normal movie making. Don't bother grabbing a flashlight or even a spotlight and trying to find a plot. There isn't one. Just sit back and watch Keitel spiral down like a squirrel who missed the branch.

[Assassin]

Harvey Keitel deserves 10 stars for his performance, but the film itself doesn't even deserve 1 star.

The absolute only reason for watching this film would be if you are a fan of Harvey Keitel and have to see every movie he has ever been in.

This film is as close to plot less as I've ever seen. According to the tagline it has something to with the Lt. seeking forgiveness for his bad ways of living. I couldn't tell that he necessarily straightened up and was trying to do better afterwards.

I suppose in 1992 when this film was made, it was considered shocking, perhaps for some people it would still be considered shocking.

Basically all the film consists of is Harvey Keitel as a police Lt. slogging around the city in very poorly lit scenes, doing drugs, doing more drugs, doing still more drugs, drinking, cursing, and endlessly listening to baseball games on which he has bet vast amounts of money to a bookie.

[Rigor]

What did any of you think about Collector? I like horror, but will this be to my liking?

[Horace]

Well, my opinion, for horror movie fans, 'The Collector' has everything you would want and nothing you expect. The dudes who wrote Saw 4-6 added a new chapter in America's love affair with the sub-genre known as "torture porn". To me it plays more like an R-rated 'Home Alone'. You know, if Macauley Culkin's traps were made VERY effective.

[Smokey]

Wow! The reason why I like checking out these selections, is because you tend to add some movies that are not mainstream.

For instance, I never heard of the film 'Tony'. And after reading the synopsis, I think fans of thrillers would check it out.

Thanks again!

[Assassin]

Yeah, that does look interesting---have you seen it E?

[Earende]

This is a fantastic film. Well shot, well written, well edited, well acted,effective soundtrack...and short enough to leave you wanting more.

I cant say enough good about this film, as its one of those films that is so good that it takes on a life of its own. As all great art, this is not a 'horror film' but a sociological reflection of our times.

The story introduces us to a lonely man who lives by himself and tries to form relationships with the vagrants and oddball characters but due to his inability to communicate properly, which we read into as shyness, years of repression, denial he ends up killing them.