DVDs I Own

Not the best Willis action movie, but certainly worth renting if you like a decent film.

Second film that makes up the the 'Duel Project' - other film being Aragami (see my review). This film tells the story of two actresses/flatmates who find that they are rivals for the same part. One is anal in everything she does from cleanliness to marking food and has a love for theatre while the other is ruthless in getting what she wants. When the action eventually starts with swords, chainsaws, hot water and even electricity coming into play, it's not as exciting as it could be. There are some savage punches thrown but, for instance, when Nonami's character attacks with the chainsaw and the knife, she moves really slow giving the other character ample time to react. I didn't find the action or dialogue as sharp as Aragami's was although comparing a duel between two women to the duel between the samurai and demon isn't really fair. The movie was worth seeing but entirely average. Winner of the 'Duel Project' goes to Aragami.

Finally got to watch this, dubbed as the 'French equivalent of Heat' of which I can make no comparison as I have not yet seen Heat despite the nagging from my friends. Two cops compete for the same promotion by chasing down a group of armoured car robbers before they strike their next target, however, both men cross the line at one point and make choices that lead to the final scene. A great thriller.

As some have said, it's 'Sin City Meets Gladiator' - it has incredible action scenes with slow-mo and sped-up effects (which benefit the action) and the dialogue just suits the style. It's cool, stylish and I'm finally glad to have seen it.

Amazing movie that first introduced me to Chow Yun-Fat and John Woo

Cool sequel

Where it all began - one of the few sci-fi films I'd watch.

Part of a Bruce Campbell Double-Pack DVD alongside 'Man With The Screaming Brain', Alien Apocalypse could have been a lot worse. Returning to Earth after a 40-yr cryogenic sleep in sleep, four astronauts find Earth in a very primitive condition where those born during the apocalypse know nothing about Earth. Doctors. TV. Bowling. Everything is new to them. The new rulers are an alien termite-like race who have forced the survivors of mankind into slavery at sawmills worldwide as wood is a delicacy...next to human heads! Captured, the astronauts decide to form a breakout plan in order to locate the may-be-alive-may-be-dead President who is said to be building a rebel army, to which all the slaves hopes are pinned. This is a low-budget sci-fi but has a few decapitations and green-blood spewing corpses for good measure. Enjoyable film and has a great one-liner by Bruce throughout it - was expecting a really bad film but was definetely fun to watch.

The best in the series

Everyone has been recommending this to me and there have been a lot of high reviews for it so being a fan of World Cinema I had to see what the fuss was all about. Amelie is a quirky film about a quirky girl trying to help everyone be happy with comedic mishaps and events along her path. It is funny and charming and makes a nice change of pace from other films.

Aragami is one half of 'The Duel Project' (the other film being 2LDK - see review), the result of a challenge between two famous Japanese directors. In making their films, they had a set of rules to abide:

1. Only a minimal cast
2. The entirety of the film must take place in one set.
3. The two lead characters must fight to the death.
4. Must be shot in seven days.

Aragami is from the director of Versus - a film that, for me, had potential but never done it for me as a movie. Two badly wounded samurai end up at a temple but only one wakes up alive. The host invites him to spend the night as a heavy storm is overhead but as the night goes on, as a favour for helping the near-death samurai, he asks him to kill him and reveals a few sinister secrets to motivate the samurai into battle. The samurai forms are fantastic to watch and true to the style, and although the battle takes a while to come to, the script is sharp with the interaction between the characters being spot on and the humour played out really well. Watching the helpless and often baffled samurai laughing at the ridiculous scenario he's in is as amusing as the hosts' response to it. Worth checking out if you like swordplay without all the wire-work.

Set in a different time than the other two, the tormented hero finds miself captured by knights who believe he is the Chosen One that'll bring an end to the Deadite threat but unwittingly unleashes the army of the dead led by his evil twin! Cue hilarious exploding skeletons, brilliant one-liners and the best ending to any trilogy, or possibly any film! Any wonder why this series will go down in history! Hail to the king baby!

Slow in parts but has some nice scenes overall.

After the disappointment of Batman & Robin and Batman Forever with their neon lights and suits with nipples, it was up to Christopher Nolan to revive the franchise and not destroy it further. With Christian Bale, an actor praised by many, taking up the caped crusaders' role this time, it got many people excited. A darker film than the last two, like Batman should be, it focuses on how a disillussioned Bruce Wayne disappears for years after his parents' deaths in order to learn how to fight the injustice within his city and ultimately face his childhood fears, eventually becoming Batman. Bale does excellently as Wayne/Batman and is backed up by an impressive cast. Great story and some awesome action scenes, especially the tumbler chase scene. This is how Batman should be.

Japanese cult-classic with cult icon Takashi Kitano playing the dark-humoured teacher of the ill-fated class. Delinquents are about to be taught a harsh lesson for their behaviour: kill or be killed. There can only be one survivor and a remote island is their playground. Friends soon turn to foes, lovers hang each other and the killings begin all the while a countdown ticks down. In order to prevent escapees everyone is fitted with an explosive necklace that detonate in certain areas, if took off or if there's more than one survivor. An awesome film and an instant must-see. Could you kill your best friend?

Decent sequel

the only film I really like Owen Wilson in

Wesley Snipes at his best! The martial arts, the action and the music make the coolest film around.

Brendan Fraser at his comedy best

A short animation following schoolgirl vampire Saya as she infiltrates a high school in order to track down a number of bloodthirsty creatures. Intended as the start of a series, this well-made anime did not become a pilot episode but a on-off. However, Japan have started a series called Blood which is a retelling of this story and having seen an episode, is a worthwhile anime to seek out.

Legendary! Car chases and cool music galore!

Great stunts, some pretty cool action scenes but is nothing on Tony Jaa. Also some OOT football and random flag waving!

Awesome film with great action scenes

Less on the action and more on the mystery but worth the watch

I didn't realise that this was done by Johnnie To, the director of the disappointing 'Exiled' but I gave it a look anyway. It quickly dawned on me that cops and criminals can't shoot for their life whether they have pistols or machine guns. The opening action scene with about 30 cops exchanging fire with 6 criminals and ending with about 1 fatality was unrealistic to say the least. However, looking past this, it was a good film. The film is set in a large apartment complex filled with many winding corridors - the criminals are trapped inside and the cops - slammed for making Hong Kong an unsafe place to live in due to prior events - are working their way around the building. With a plan to shake the negative image of the police force, they mainpulate the media into showing they're on top of the situation using pin-hole cameras on every officer and craftily editing the bad footage before giving it to the media. However, the leader of the robbers plays his own psychological game using the Internet to fight back and upload the truth but who will come out the true star?

The only survivors of the hospital massacre in the first film, Dr. West and Dr. Cain have found that not only is it possible to re-animate the dead but the serum can re-animate lone body parts too! Working on a way to re-animate Dr.Cains' dead girlfriend, they find themselves hounded by a police officer on their trail and their decapitated rival Dr.Carl. Throw in a lot of zany experiments, a load of gore and it all comes down to a final battle between the living and the dead. If you enjoyed the first film, you'll enjoy this but for all newcomers there should be enough here to satisfy your horror curiosity.

Story of two brothers trying to survive the Korean war - awesome

French fantasy horror based on a true story where a killer beast roamed the French countryside and the king turns the matter to a hunter and his friend (Mark Dacascos) to track and stop the beast before more bodies pile up. While Mark Dacascos is the fiction-in-the-fact, put in for the kick-ass martial arts scenes, a very sexy Monica Belluci is there for the eye-candy although she does play an important role in the film. A great mix of fantasy, horror and adventure rolled into one package. Ass-kickingly great film from the director of Crying Freeman and Silent Hill.

A fun film with some nice twists on the fairy tales - the Gingerbread Man scene is by far the creepiest scene in the film.

This is a new side to Bond - a hard-hitting one but still one with the wit of the other characterisations. Everything is present - the girls, the action, the stunts and the cars. However, no gadgets in this and no dodgy CGI thankfully!

Following the trail of counterfeit bills - Lupin is led to the Castle of Cagliostro in which he plans to rescue a princess he has past connections to with the help of his gunman and his samurai friends. Rival thief Fujiko and determined police Inspector Zenigata are also standing in his way of the master thief though so how will it all pan out? This is not a typical Miyazaki movie, it's wacky and comedic and is great fun to watch from the car chases in the mini to the swimming-upwards scene - just simply great fun!

Full-on comedy with ingenious fight scenes and some perviness! WAHEY!

Korea scores with another triumph! Martial arts mayhem with a group of friends searching for their friends' killer and getting into scruffs with large street gangs and another nasty people until the final showdown. Best part is the end carnage with the pair storming the enemy stronghold and kicking much-needed ass. Funny in parts but def much entertaining mayhem throughout.

Wasn't a big fan of the series despite it having its moments but the movie looked more interesting and it was a really good movie - even if you've never watched the series.

A low budget gorefest, which is more put-you-off-dinner than jump-off-the-seat. Detective Neilson is on the trail of a murderer with no solid leads and as the murders mount up, he finds them related to a psychopathic child killer called Kemper who he got locked up in an asylum years ago. Four stories unwind throughout the film: the story of Melissa's (Emily Booth) one night stand, the story of two girls breaking into a mans house to steal his money, an amputee desperate for a new leg to make him feel whole again and a internet surfer obsessed with disturbing content on the Net. Each person ends up in a nast way thanks to The Man, a mysterious killer (Dani Filth) who is carrying out the work of Kemper. Blood, guts, nudity and swearing from start to finish. It's got an interesting storyline, bad acting and a decent soundtrack. Not my favourite horror or gorefest but I did enjoy it if not just for Emily Booths' cameo.

I've always been a big Chow Yun-Fat fan, A Better Tomorrow made him my favourite Asian actor and I've followed his films from Hard Boiled and The Killer to God of Gamblers and Tiger on the Beat. However, one thing in movies I've never been a big fan of is wire-fu. Jet Li annoys me so much with his constant defiance of gravity - I like my martial artists to have solid fights without the trickery so I can see what they're really capable of. So I was torn when I heard of this film - Chow Yun-Fat and wire-fu but despite my sense of dread, it played out perfectly. This is miles ahead of the likes of Hero and House of Flying Daggers, sure this has the odd flying scene but nothing compared to the others and the action scenes are top-notch, Chow showing he's not only capable with guns. This is the best wire-fu film ever!

I'm officially a fan of Korean cinema, they just make great films. After Oldboy, I was glad to see 'Min-sik Choi' in this film and keenly rented it but unfortunately never got to see the end! For the first time, last night, I got to see it all the way through. The plot follows two people - a hot-headed juvenile delinquent desperate to show his family that he isn't a lost cause and an ex-olympic boxer who has resorted to being a human punchbag for money, but both find a chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of their family. The problem is that as you follow their stories, you really want both of to win but when they finally cross paths in the boxing ring - who will come out the champion?