Warchild

Languages: English

Summary: 5 people are being held hostage in a convenience store for 36 days. One of the demands of the hostage takers is that all TV-stations should broadcast the entire situation live. Cliff and Wendy are the only survivors, and when the are released, they are heroes. Especially Cliff is a national hero, and his apathetic ideology "so fucking what" turns into a national movement. Cliff himself is not that happy about all the fuzz.

Sound: Dolby

Comments: Other People Don't Matter

Summary: Takashi Miike (Full Metal Yakuza, The Black Society Trilogy), one of the most prolific directors in chambara today delivers a haunting tale set in the Tokugawa Era. Framed for a crime he did not commit, Eiji is subjected to the harsh realities of the Ishikawa Island workhouse. Sabu, Eiji's longtime friend, must discover who is responsible for Eiji's incarceration, before the prison life consumes him completely. Adapted from the classic Japanese rites of passage novel by Shugoru Yamamoto, Miike uses the work to his own purpose with his usual flair.

Sound: MP3

Comments: Porno jidaigeki: Bohachi bushido

Summary: In PORNO PERIOD DRAMA, Tetsuro Tanba plays a nihilistic ronin who faces down the "Clan of the Forgotten Eight", who got their name because they lost all their basic emotions like conscience, gratitude, loyalty, shame etc. With his sword Onibouchou (literally: Ogre's Kitchen Knife!) Tanba's character hacks into their ranks in ways that has limbs and severed heads fly everywhere and the blood flows in rivers! On his way, he only stops to take every woman he meets, forcefully if need be!

Languages: Italian

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Comments: Sacco e Vanzetti

Summary: In 1920, the anarchist Italian immigrants Niccola Sacco (Riccardo Cucciolla) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (Gian Maria Volonté) are sentenced to death, falsely accused of a robbery and murder. Indeed they are condemned due to their political beliefs, in one of the most shameful and hypocrite judgments of the human history.

Languages: English

Comments: Never before a motion picture Rampacked with... Suspense... Terror... Sudden Shock, as The SADIST

Summary: If you only know Arch Hall Jr from his MST3K fodder, like Eegah, you ought to give this little drive-in shocker a try. Taut atmosphere, shoestring budget, and Hall's freakish performance as a leering white trash killer really make this live in your memory. I hate the leading man, and Marilyn Manning is just weird here, but Hall and the direction overcome the cheese factor.

Languages: English

Summary: A couple of young newlyweds take a wrong turn in a Mediterranean country and discover that they have trespassed onto the grounds of a prison for women. Black transsexual Ajita Wilson plays the warden who decides to throw the blonde wife in jail and, incredibly, to let the husband go. Why, so he can come back or go to complain somewhere? Most of the gorgeous inmates are fair-skinned. They all labor in a rock quarry under the blazing sun topless with cut-off jeans. How do they keep from having their skin burned off by sunburn? The governor of the province and his wife are sadists who use the prison inmates to satisfy their perverse desires. The movie is a veritable orgy of depravity. The action includes lesbianism, sex under coercion, false imprisonment, white slavery, hunting women as sport, brutality, etc. Franco has a role as a gay pimp. Despite some obviously outrageous and even ridiculous aspects this movie works for me. It is quite similar to Ilsa, the Wicked Warden. Franco is pretty good at these WIP type movies.

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Comments: Welcome to the world of disorganised crime.

Summary: Two untalented singers (Sam Rockwell, Steve Zahn) are mistaken for a pair of major league safecrackers in Providence, Rhode Island. The two are pressed into service by the local hoodlums and quickly find themselves in conflict with their professional colleagues. Romantic interest is added by the daughter (Christina Kirk) of the underworld leader (Harvey Fierstein) who won't date the men she knows are gangsters.

Sound: MP3

Summary: A fifty-year-old prostitute, no longer able to attract men, looks back on her sad life. Once a lady-in-waiting at the imperial court at Kyoto, Oharu fell in love with, and became the lover of, a man below her station. They were discovered, and Oharu and her family were exiled. For Oharu there followed a life filled with one sorrow and humiliation after another.

Comments: with Dead And Breakfast, Camen, Real Fiction, Detour, Wonder Man

Summary: A disgraced policeman's daughter in San Francisco is busy acquiring a name for herself as a crime boss in her own right. But when Simon Templar helps her get away after a shooting in a night-club and subsequently chooses to bring down his old acquaintance Inspector Fernack from New York, the question as to who is on which side of the law becomes increasingly confused -- especially when the vital evidence, in the shape of eighty thousand stolen dollars, spends most of the film in the Saint's pocket!

Sound: Dolby

Comments: Trapped behind enemy lines. All they have is their hope.

Summary: After surviving a massacre in Malmedy, a location behind the German army in Europe, four American soldiers with only one weapon rescue the British pilot Oberon Winley (Kirby Heyborn) in a tree and they move together, trying to reach the allied forces and save a great number of allied soldiers from a German attack with the information got by Winley in his flight. While marching, each soldier discloses inner secrets to the rest of the group.

Summary:

Languages: Italian

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby

Comments: The 120 Days of Sodom
Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma

Summary: Set in the Nazi-controlled, northern Italian state of Salo in 1944, four dignitaries round up sixteen perfect specimens of youth and take them together with guards, servants and studs to a palace near Marzabotto. In addition, there are four middle-aged women: three of whom recount arousing stories whilst the fourth accompanies on the piano. The story is largely taken up with their recounting the stories of Dante and De Sade: the Circle of Manias, the Circle of Shit and the Circle of Blood. Following this, the youths are executed whilst each libertine takes his turn as voyeur.

Sound: Dolby

Comments: If You're Looking For The Truth, You've Come To The Wrong Place.

Summary: After the murder of his beloved wife, Danny Parker (Val Kilmer) is set adrift in a world where nothing is as it seems. On his journey he befriends slacker Jimmy the Fin (Peter Sarsgaard) and becomes involved in rescuing his neighbor Colette (Debra Kara Unger) from her own demons. Danny is antagonized by undercover narcotics agents (Anthony Lapaglia and Doug Hutchison) and sadistic dealer Pooh Bear (Vincent D'Onfronio).

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Jae-Young is an amateur prostitute who sleeps with men while her best friend Yeo-Jin "manages" her, fixing dates, taking care of the money and making sure the coast is clear. When Jae-Young falls in love with one of those man she surpresses her feelings towards him in respect of her friend who's jealous. One Day Yeo-Jin fails in doing her job overlooking police officers looking for underaged porstitutes. In order to not get caught Jae-Young jumps out of a window almost killing herself. On her deathbed, she wishes to see the man again whom she fell in love with and turned away from. But the man only agrees if Yeo-Jin sleeps with him. She does but as they arrive in the hospital Jae-Young is already dead. Trying to understand her best friend, Yeo-Jin tracks down every man she slept with and does the same. As her father learns about this he gets on revenge with fatal consequences...

Languages: French

Subtitles: English

Summary:

Summary: In Palestine, 1000 B.C., the Jews are ruled by the Philistines Samson, budding Jewish revolutionary, wants to marry Semadar, a Philistine, though it's her young sister, Delilah, who really wants Samson. The wedding becomes a fight in which Semadar is killed; Samson, scorning Delilah, becomes a guerilla whose strength defeats armies. But Delilah, now the Saran's mistress, believes she can discover Samson's weakness.

Languages: English

Comments: Solo un hombre de acero...de agilidad de pantera, es capaz de luchar contra las MUJERES VAMPIRO...y ese hombre es...SANTO!

Summary: of course it's a badly dubbed, mexican vampire/wrestling movie...I knew that going in. If you know anything about this movie, you know it's good for some laughs because it's so ridiculous and also it does have some nice scary, atmospheric scenes that lovers of cheesy horror will love. But my main gripe is with Amazon's format description--there's no dolby sound, there's no way this was restored...it looks like a cheap DVD-R copied from an old tape, there is no color and there are absolutely no extras.It's not a special edition and not a director's cut. It's not from Cinevue and not from 2005.When I told this to customer service their response was that if I wasn't satisfied to send it back. They don't understand the concept of correcting the description. We definitely had a failure to communicate.

Comments: Dokuritsu shôjo gurentai

Summary:

Comments: Sengoku jieitai 1549

Summary:

Languages: English

Summary: This movie has everything!!! Violence, hot nude women, guns, faux-samurais, martial arts, horrible jokes, and gut-wrenchingly low production values and budget. The acting is the worst I've ever seen and topped only by the script which the horribly written it seems by someone who hardly knew English. To make things even better the disc includes a Joe Bob Briggs commentary. Melisa Moore and Cameron have the best bodies I've ever seen. Usually the chicks in these B-movies are only so-so. A word of warning, this Chippendale's dancer type is the main character which you will get used to but at one point we see him in his bikini - and he's singing. But other than that this movie is perfect.

Languages: Japanese

Subtitles: English

Sound: MP3

Summary: Three centuries ago, a precious sword has been stolen by Kazamatsuri -- the sword, which historic and symbolic value is priceless for the clan (Shogun Tokugawa donated it to clan 80 years before that, at the same time that he established them as the local rulers). Lord's counselor's young son Heishiro goes to retrieve the sword himself to protect the clan from the shame or possible demise. He is accompanied with two friends, Shintaro and Tadasuke, and followed by the ninjas of the clan. After Kazamatsuri wounds Heishiro and kills one of his friends, the young aristocrat still wants revenge more than sword itself, but meanwhile have to recover from his wounds, in the small forest house of a lonely samurai and his daughter. At the same time, Kamazatsuri stays in nearby town in the entertainment center run by Okatsu and falls into her. The older samurai tries to dissuade Heishiro from fighting with Kamazatsuri, but is himself gradually drawn into the conflict.

Languages: Japanese

Subtitles: English

Sound: AAC

Summary: Love and Bushido

Languages: Japanese

Subtitles: English

Sound: AAC

Summary: Toshiro Mifune stars as Isaburo, an aging swordsman living a quiet life until his clan lord orders that his son marry the lord's mistress, who has recently displeased the ruler. Reluctantly, father and son take in the woman, and, to the family's surprise, the young couple fall in love.

Languages: Japanese

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby

Comments: Hakuôki

Summary: "Samurai Vendetta" is a tragic tale of two honorable swordsmen whose clans are embroiled in a blood feud, and who vie for the same woman. Betrayal, dishonor, and death ensue in this classic samurai story of love and revenge.

Sound: Dolby

Summary:

Sound: Dolby

Comments: Kiba okaminosuke jigoku giri

Summary:

Languages: Japanese

Subtitles: English

Sound: MP3

Summary: Although it boasts plenty of sword fights, martial arts combat, and odd, orange blood, "Samurai X" offers deeper and more sensitive characterizations than typical anime samurai epics. Based on the "manga" by Noboru Watsuki, the film centers on questions about the nature of Japanese society during the years following the Meiji Restoration in the late 19th century. Kenshin Himura and his friends Kaoru, Sanosuke, and Yahiko seem like an ordinary, slightly goofy quartet. But red-haired Kenshin is an expert swordsman; tall, lanky Sanosuke, a martial arts master; adolescent Yahiko, a samurai-in-training. Kaoru fills the role of outspoken anime heroine. An ugly encounter with some drunken British sailors introduces Kenshin and his friends to the noble Takimi Shigure and lovely Toki Takatsuki. Shigure leads a group opposed to the Meiji government, which they believe is corrupting Japanese culture, and his ill-conceived attempt at rebellion brings him into conflict with Kenshin. A key fighter in the Restoration, Kenshin received scars on his soul that mark him more decisively than the "X" on his cheek; he weeps for the needless bloodshed he helped to unleash. Director Hatsuki Tsuji builds subtle visual patterns of downward motions--falling tears, fluttering bamboo leaves, the deadly stroke of a sword, Kenshin's spectacular leaps--to create a film with an unusually satisfying resolution. Not rated; suitable for ages 14 and up for violence. "--Charles Solomon"

Languages: Thai

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary: He could be the next big thing in Thailand action cinema after Tony Jaa and Dan Chupong. Stuntman-turned-leading man Mike B. (a.k.a. Pairoj Boonkerd) stars opposite famous Chinese-American actor Russell Wong (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor) in writer/director Thanaphon Maliwan's second action film after Brave. They are joined in the cast by actresses Trai Charouenpura (Nang Nak) and Patharawarin Timkul (Bangkok Dangerous).

In The Sanctuary, a gang boss in modern day Bangkok hires the American mercenary Patrick (Russell Wong) who is formerly a military officer to locate a lost national treasure, an ancient holy article that is believed to possess super powers. He finds it beneath a temple near the royal palace, but there to stop him is Krit (Mike B.), the protector of the holy article - and a deadly martial arts expert.

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby

Comments: The adventure of a lifetime,the summer of their dreams...the dog of their nightmares

Summary: When egghead Scotty Smalls moves to town just before the summer vacation of 1962, his first priority is to make friends. He heads to the nearby sandlot only to humiliate himself before the local kids, but star player Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez befriends the awkward boy, teaches him the basics of baseball, and welcomes him to the team. It's a summer filled with camaraderie and fun until Smalls hits his first home run. Problem is, Smalls's home run sends his stepfather's "Babe Ruth" autographed baseball into a neighboring yard that's patrolled by a snarling, slobbering monster called "The Beast." Creativity reigns and hilarity ensues when the boys risk everything to retrieve the ball. A final heroic encounter with "The Beast" and his owner yields some very surprising results. Action, humor, and friendship permeate this 101-minute film appropriate for ages 5 and older. Rated PG due to name-calling and some pubescent behavior. "--Tami Horiuchi"

Languages: Japanese

Subtitles: English

Sound: DTS

Comments: Tsubaki Sanjûrô

Summary: A group of idealistic young men, determined to clean up the corruption in their town, are aided by a scruffy, cynical samurai who does not at all fit their concept of a noble warrior.

Sound: Dolby

Comments: Blast off for Mars... with Santa and a pair of Earth kids! Blast off for Mars... with Santa and a pair of Earth kids! Science-Fun-Fiction at its height!

Summary: Martians, upset that their children have become obsessed with TV shows from Earth which extoll the virtues of Santa Claus, start an expedition to Earth to kidnap the one and only Santa. While on Earth, they kidnap two lively children that lead the group of Martians to the North Pole and Santa. The Martians then take Santa and the two children back to Mars with them. Voldar, a particularly grumpy Martian, attempts to do away with the children and Santa before they get to Mars, but their leader Lomas stops him. When they arrive on Mars, Santa, with the help of the two Earth children and a rather simple-minded Martian lackey, overcomes the Martians by bringing fun, happiness and Christmas cheer to the children of Mars.

Languages: English

Comments: Santa Claus is coming to town, November 1

Summary: Considering how lame this sequel "could" have been, "The Santa Clause 2" makes for a pleasant holiday diversion. It's got the familiar smell of Disney marketeering, and more than a few parents will object to this further embellishment of the St. Nick legend, but Tim Allen's amiable presence provides ample compensation. As a divorced dad who inherited the jolly man's job in "The Santa Clause", Allen now faces another Yuletide challenge. According to the "Missus Clause" in his North Pole contract, he can't continue to be the real Santa until he gets married. As luck and five credited screenwriters would have it, Allen falls for the Scrooge-y principal (Elizabeth Mitchell) of his son's school, while a phony, power-hungry duplicate Santa wreaks havoc on the North Pole's overworked elves. It's all as sweet as spiced eggnog, with that warmed-over feel of a mandated sequel, but the Christmas spirit does prevail with the sound of sleigh bells and Allen's rosy-cheeked ho, ho, ho! "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Sound: MP3

Comments: He's making a list... pray you're not on it.

Summary: Never thought I would see a movie like that in my life ; Bill Goldberg, the WCW star, as Satan's son Santa coming back to earth to avenge himself by killing so many people I couldn't keep the count. A little gore, a little wrestling, but lots and lots of action. Santa even go to a strip joint to get some fun. I assure you, this movie is awesome. My english may be bad, but brotha, you gotta see this movie.

Comments: with Django, Sleeper, Tony Takatani, What's Up Tiger Lily

Summary:

Sound: MP3

Comments: Santo el enmascardo de plata vs la invasión de los marcianos

Summary:

Languages: Spanish

Subtitles: English

Sound: AAC

Comments: Santo vs. las lobas

Summary: SANTO VS THE SHE-WOLVES, as the British DVD of this film is titled, is not at all what I expected. Granted I'm not familiar with the Santo films much beyond the deliriously entertaining SANTO VS. THE VAMPIRE
WOMEN. But based on that viewing experience what was expected was a bizarre low budget superhero story about a masked professional wrestler turned crimefighter battling supernatural monsters who just happen to use wrestling moves, broken up by eerily staged & deliciously atmospheric Gothic horror scenes where the cult of female werewolves engage in blasphemous ceremonial rites involving fetching young Mexican actresses. In other words something silly but with an edge to it that's quite entertaining for those with a taste for Gothic horror, in spite of the film's somewhat unfortunate reputation as a MST3K joke.While it does check off all of the above, this film is nasty, vicious, violent, surprisingly bloody, loud, cacophonous, frenetic, and surprisingly exploitational for a national hero's seasonal film outing.
The werewolf material is very creepy with only the low budget makeup effects taking away from the effect. There's also some unexpected partial nudity making this a sort of Mexican answer to the horror/exploitation films coming out of Europe at the time. Santo updated his formula to fit with the B movie circuit needs of the era, and the result is more of an outright horror film than the previous film, with the arena wrestling scenes actually worked into the
plot rather than just diversions to satisfy Santo's fans. The overall effect was actually very reminiscent of the Paul Naschy series of Waldemar Daninsky werewolf films, and the two heroes are actually physically similar enough to have perhaps created some confusion as to
whether they might be the same guys. Both of them make low budget Spanish language films mixing horror movie thrills with a stocky hero prone to physical action where they had to fight off a horde of vampire
babes or werewolf babes or some other supernatural threat involving plunging necklines

Sound: AAC

Comments: The story of angry youths who terrorize young innocents.

Summary: This brutal drug drama (actually two films edited together) features Yoko Ono as the fiancee of a drug pusher who wants to go straight. His supplier kidnaps Ono in order to keep him selling dope, while in an unrelated story three black-clad addicts terrorize women.

Languages: Japanese

Subtitles: English

Sound: MP3

Summary:

Languages: Japanese

Subtitles: English

Sound: MP3

Comments: Daibosatsu toge: Ryujin no maki

Summary:

Languages: Japanese

Subtitles: English

Sound: MP3

Summary:

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby

Comments: Where do you go when the record is over...

Summary: "Saturday Night Fever" is one of those movies that comes along and seems to change the cultural temperature in a flash. After the movie's release in 1977, disco ruled the dance floors, and a blow-dried member of a TV-sitcom ensemble became the hottest star in the U.S. For all that, the story is conventional: a 19-year-old Italian American from Brooklyn, Tony Manero (John Travolta), works in a humble paint store and lives with his family. After dark, he becomes the polyester-clad stallion of the local nightclub; Tony's brother, a priest, observes that when Tony hits the dance floor, the crowd parts like the Red Sea before Moses. Director John Badham captures the electric connection between music and dance, and also the desperation that lies beneath Tony's ambitions to break out of his limited world. The soundtrack, which spawned a massively successful album, is dominated by the disco classics of the Bee Gees, including "Staying Alive" (Travolta's theme during the strutting opening) and "Night Fever." The Oscar®-nominated Travolta, plucked from the cast of "Welcome Back, Kotter", for his first starring role, is incandescent and unbelievably confident, and his dancing is terrific. Oh, and the white suit rules. "--Robert Horton"

Languages: English

Sound: MP3

Summary: The sociopath Roc Tremain (Luc Picard) is the Canadian version of Charles Manson. He ruthlessly manipulated those within his community of true believers. They refused to abandon Tremain even after witnessing his torturing and murdering one of their fellow members. Their own children were readily sacrificed to this mad man's lust and violent behavior. Disgustingly, Tremain had little sexual interest in the older children. He apparently preferred his female victims to be no older than five or six years old! Government officials did next to nothing until a brave social worker (Polly Walker) relentlessly forced the issue.



I thoroughly enjoyed Savage Messiah. The acting is superb along with the dialogue. Why am I among the very few who thinks so? I cannot begin to understand why this gem of a film is so ignored. It is truly a four and a half to five star film. Please make a point of seeing it. I'm sure you will agree with me.



David Thomson

Flares into Darkness

Languages: Korean

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Comments: Perhaps you, are an alien?
Jigureul jikyeora!

Summary:

Languages: English

Summary: Classic teen comedy mixes with cunning satire in "Saved!". Fervent Christian Mary (Jena Malone, "Donnie Darko") believes God wants her to save her gay boyfriend by sleeping with him. But he gets sent to an anti-gay indoctrination camp while she ends up pregnant--which starts to drive a wedge between Mary and her snotty best friend Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore, "How to Deal"). Meanwhile, they're both interested in the son (Patrick Fugit, "Almost Famous") of their Christian school principal (Martin Donovan, "Trust"). "Saved!" respects faith but gleefully mocks the excesses and absurdities of contemporary organized religion, particularly its suburban, let's-speak-the-language-of-the-kids manifestations. The actors, including Macaulay Culkin (yes, from "Home Alone") and Mary Louise Parker ("Fried Green Tomatoes"), play their parts with sincerity, which makes the fusion of humor and heart succeed. A delightful movie. "--Bret Fetzer"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary:

Languages: English

Comments: Death is a shortcut (Denmark)

Summary: "Saw" opens with a gruesome scenario: Two men are chained to the walls of a grimy bathroom with a bloody corpse lying on the floor between them. Tape recordings tell them that one of the men has to kill the other, or his wife and child will die. The corpse is holding a gun in one hand, but it's out of reach...but whoever has locked these two up has thoughtfully provided a hacksaw that can't cut through the heavy chain, but might cut through a little flesh and bone. From there, "Saw" jumps back and forth as the two men slowly unravel how they know each other and that their tormentor is one of those all-knowing, all-capable serial killers (it goes without saying that "Saw" is hugely influenced by "Seven" and the movies of Dario Argento), a fellow known as Jigsaw who disguises his voice and lets a creepy puppet (lifted almost directly from the eccentric animations of the Brothers Quay) be his visual representative. But imitation isn't inherently bad; what puts "Saw" ahead of its horror compatriots is a gleeful enthusiasm that a dozen sequels to "Halloween" couldn't muster. "Saw" has problems--it's clumsily overwritten (every detail of what's going on, no matter how visually evident, will be explained by the characters); most of the situations are static and implausible; and though the cast includes talented veterans like Cary Elwes ("The Princess Bride") and Danny Glover ("Lethal Weapon"), the acting has the depth of a puddle. The rapid pace and frequently frenzied camerawork keep things in motion and while the philosophical underpinnings of Jigsaw won't challenge Hegel or Schopenhauer, they do offer more food for thought than most contemporary horror. Discriminating fans of the genre who like their gore with a glimmer of an idea will embrace "Saw".
The "Uncut Edition" differs only slightly from the theatrical release; it reinserts a little more gore that was cut to get an R rating and tightens up the editing (the uncut version is actually a teensy bit shorter than the theatrical release). The extras are plentiful (if a bit thin): Two audio commentaries (one by director James Wan, screenwriter/actor Leigh Whannel, and Elwes), one by the producers--thankfully, no one takes themselves too seriously. Also included are a trio of typically self-congratulatory making-of featurettes ("He was amazing to work with" etc.), an animated storyboard of a sequence they couldn't afford to shoot, a DVD-ROM game in which you can construct your own puppet, a couple of self-mocking Easter Eggs, and lots of promotional stuff for "Saw II". There's a very curious faux-news show purporting to be an investigation of the "real" Jigsaw, which uses clips from the movie as if they were documentary footage--it's hard to say whether this is a misguided attempt to make the movie seem creepier or a bit of flimsy humor. Most fans will find the regular DVD release satisfactory; this special edition is largely for hardcore enthusiasts. "--Bret Fetzer"

Languages: English

Summary: "Saw II" brings back many features of the original "Saw": elaborate sadistic scenarios designed to "test" the victims' will to live; Tobin Bell as the Machiavellian (yet doomed) serial killer Jigsaw; Shawnee Smith as Amanda, a survivor of one of Jigsaw's "games", forced to play again; Dina Meyer ("Starship Troopers"), whose role as a detective is considerably expanded; and the stunningly godawful dialogue of screenwriter Leigh Whannel. The set-up this time is even more preposterous than before, as a rough-and-tumble cop named Eric (Donnie Whalberg, "Band of Brothers") watches, on video monitors, his son trapped in a house filled with nerve gas and a handful of other victims, all of whom are mysteriously connected. Eric has captured Jigsaw, but the implacable killer refuses to reveal where the cop's son is being held... unless Eric will play by Jigsaw's rules. Fans of "Saw" will love "Saw II", as the tortures are more gruesome than before; viewers who found "Saw" either detestable or laughable won't like "Saw II" either, as the characters rarely behave like actual people (even when a moment's explanation would solve a conflict, no one bothers to communicate, even though their lives are on the line). It's a festival of body fluids, agonized grimaces, and shrieks of pain--and if that's your thing, this is your movie. "--Bret Fetzer"

Languages: English

Comments: Sometimes Rules Are Meant To Be Broken...

Summary: The first "Saw" picture actually had an idea behind it, to say nothing of the ingenuity of its low-budget production; making a silk purse out of a bloody, maggot-ridden human ear, as it were. With "Saw III", the franchise pretty much settles into gore for gore's sake, as it explores newer and better ways to traumatize the body--and the audience. Events from "Saw II" are sewn up at the beginning of the film, and a detective on the trail of mad killer Jigsaw is quickly trussed up and subjected to one of the villain's sadistic games (this one has escape possible only by means of a key sitting in the bottom of a beaker of acid). Then we catch up with Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) himself, as he awaits death from his debilitating illness; once again he's tended by helper Shawnee Smith. The movie follows parallel plots: Jigsaw blackmails a doctor (Bahar Soomekh) into keeping him alive, and tortures a vengeful soul (Angus Macfayden) into recognizing the futility of revenge. Original "Saw" creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell worked on the script of this one, and it fully buys into the series mythology, referring backwards to previous events and, for all we know, preparing us for future installments. But if future installments are as pointlessly repugnant as this one, there's not much to look forward to. "--Robert Horton"

Languages: English

Sound: AAC

Comments: It's a Trap

Summary: Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda are dead. Now, upon the news of Detective Kerry's murder, two seasoned FBI profilers, Agent Strahm and Agent Perez, arrive in the terrified community to assist the veteran Detective Hoffman in sifting through Jigsaw's latest grisly remains and piecing together the puzzle. However, when SWAT Commander Rigg is abducted and thrust into a game, the last officer untouched by Jigsaw has but ninety minutes to overcome a series of demented traps and save an old friend or face the deadly consequences.

Languages: Japanese

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Comments: Sono toki wa kare ni yoroshiku

Summary:

Comments: If you want to live, tell me I can kill your girl...
Sae-yi yaeseu

Summary: After one year of marriage, things could not look better for Jeong-hyun and Yun-hie. In order to celebrate the publishing of Jeong-hyun's manuscript, the couple decide to take a winter vacation along the East Sea. It turns out to be a trip neither will ever forget...if they survive. They meet a man calling himself "M" and agree to give him a lift. His expressionless face and penetrating eyes are disturbing enough but his rude actions and speech begin to interfere with the couples happiness during there trip, although they try to have a good time in spite of him. There contentment with this situation is short lived when they learn that "M" was in prison for a brutal crime. Meanwhile, the police have begun an investigation of a series of cruel murders along the highway...

Languages: English

Sound: AAC

Summary: The editor of a New York exploitation newspaper meets the wife he had abandoned years ago, while using another name, at a LonelyHearts ball sponsored by his newspaper. She threatens to expose him as a wife-deserter, wife-beater and an impostor, and, in anger, he hits her with his fist and accidentally kills her. Later, when her body is found, he assigns his protégé reporter to the story, as a good, exploitable follow-up story to the ball. And, then, he is forced to sit back and watch while the reporter slowly tracks down the killer.

Sound: MP3

Comments: What Does A Scanner See?

with 52 Pickup, Sex Trek,The Battle Of The River Platte, The Enigma Of Kasper Hauser

Summary: In a totalitarian society in a near future, the undercover detective Bob Arctor is working with a small time group of drug users trying to reach the big distributors of a brain-damaging drug called Substance D. His assignment is promoted by the recovery center New Path Corporation, and when Bob begins to lose his own identity and have schizophrenic behavior, he is submitted to tests to check his mental conditions.

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby

Comments: The road leads itself to somewhere.

Summary: One of the great lost buddy films of the 1970s, this Jerry Schatzberg movie somehow never found its audience, despite the fact that both lead actors were riding high: Hackman from "The French Connection", Pacino from "The Godfather". They play a pair of drifters, seeing America by thumb, who hook up and discover unexpected soul mates in each other. Hackman is the loner who would rather pile on another layer of clothes than chance letting someone get close to him; Pacino is the likably funny loser who gets under Hackman's skin and teaches him to open up. Together, they hatch a plan to save up and buy their own car wash. But try as they do to keep each other out of trouble, their friendship provides only limited protection, though each take something positive away. Endearing performances that never sink to sentimentality; Pacino, in particular, proves that he could just as easily have been a screen comic as one of the great dramatic actors. "--Marshall Fine"

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Big Louis Costillo, last of the old-style gang leaders is slain, and his former bodyguard Tony Camonte is taken into custody. Since Costillo's body has never been found, the police have to release him, though they strongly suspect Johnny Lovo paid Tony to remove Big Louis. Tony begins taking over the rackets in town with violent enforcement, and he becomes a threat to Johnny and the other bosses unless they work for Tony. Meanwhile, Tony's sister wants to be more independent, but finds it difficult to escape from her brother's overprotective grasp. The dissatisfaction of the other bosses and the relentless pursuit of the police push Tony towards a major confrontation.

Languages: English

Sound: DTS

Comments: He was Tony Montana. The world will remember him by another name...SCARFACE.

Summary: Remake of the 1932 film, which follows the rise of Tony Montana, a Cuban emigre who, with his friend Manny Ray, builds a strong criminal empire in early 1980's Miami.

Sound: AAC

Comments: Holmes vs. Monster!

Summary: A village in Canada has an old legend about a phantom that years ago killed three villagers. Many residents are afraid that the monster has come back, because some of them have seen strange luminous shapes, and then some sheep were found with their throats slashed. Their worst fears seem to be confirmed when Lady Penrose is found killed in the same way. Meanwhile, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are in Quebec, attending a meeting of the Royal Canadian Occult Society, where they are involved in a sharp debate with Lord Penrose about his village's legend. Not long after Lord Penrose receives word of his wife's death, Holmes receives a letter that the dead woman had written before she died, begging for his help and protection. When Holmes goes to the village to investigate, he finds himself hunting a determined murderer who is also a master of disguise.

Languages: English

Summary: Italian starlet Asia Argento (who costarred in "XXX" with Vin Diesel, as well as several films directed by her father, horror maestro Dario Argento) wrote, directed, and stars in this story of an emotionally unstable Italian starlet named Anna Battista, who describes herself as "the most lonely girl in the world." Anna flailingly searches for love as she grapples with the pressures of life as a star (including grabby fans, lecherous producers, and abusive directors), travels from Rome to London to Amsterdam, has a drug-induced freak-out at a photo shoot, and smokes a lot of cigarettes. A tryst in Paris with an Australian rock star leaves her pregnant and convinced she's in love; but when he abandons her, she starts burning herself. "Scarlet Diva" features copious explicit sex, occasional flashes of visual razzle-dazzle, and a great deal of emotional torment. And while it lacks narrative shape, it is vivid and undoubtedly accurate. "--Bret Fetzer"

Subtitles: English

Comments: The GREAT STARS and DIRECTOR of "Woman in the Window"

Summary: Scarlet Street (1945)
Chris Cross, 25 years a cashier, has a gold watch and little else. That rainy night, he rescues delectable Kitty from her abusive boyfriend Johnny. Smitten, amateur painter Chris lets Kitty think he's a wealthy artist. At Johnny's urging, she lets Chris establish her in an apartment (with his shrewish wife's money). There, Chris paints masterpieces; but Johnny sells them under Kitty's name, with disastrous and ironic results.


The Stranger (1946)
Wilson of the War Crimes Commission is seeking Franz Kindler, mastermind of the Holocaust, who has effectively erased his identity. Wilson releases Kindler's former comrade Meinike and follows him to Harper, Connecticut, where he is killed before he can identify Kindler. Now Wilson's only clue is Kindler's fascination with antique clocks; but though Kindler seems secure in his new identity, he feels his past closing in.

Languages: Japanese

Subtitles: English

Sound: AAC

Comments: Taiyô no kizu

Summary: Katayama (Aikawa Sho) is on the way home to his wife and little daughter when he stumbles on a gang of punks beating up an innocent man. Katamaya decides to help the stranger and surprisingly wins the fight. This turns out to be a bad decision as his daughter is kidnapped and murdered by the leader of the same band of young thugs. Katayama seeks revenge and tries to trace the gangs location.

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Comments: They're coming. We need your support.

Summary: Some comedy is like a scalpel; the "Scary Movie" series is a hand grenade, spewing bodily fluids and big-breasted women in all directions as they lampoon the latest horror. In "Scary Movie 4"'s case, the main targets are "War of the Worlds", "The Village", "The Grudge", "Saw", and Tom Cruise jumping all over Oprah's couch (the scariest of the lot). Along the way, potshots get taken at non-horror fare like "Brokeback Mountain" and "Million Dollar Baby", as well as obvious targets like Michael Jackson and George W. Bush, among others. Anna Faris ("Lost in Translation") and Regina Hall ("The Honeymooners") return as the central characters wandering through a crazy quilt of horror scenarios, joined by Craig Bierko ("Cinderella Man") doing a dead-on parody of Cruise at his most manic. Cameos include everyone from Charlie Sheen to Shaquille O'Neal to Carmen Electra. Some of it's funny, some of it's not, but there's a generally buoyant zaniness that comes from director David Zucker, one of the creators of "Airplane!", which started the whole firehose-of-jokes aesthetic. "--Bret Fetzer"

Languages: English

Sound: MP3

Comments: Beyond this door the every-continuing cycle of evil is about to occur again! In the ALL NEW... BEYOND THE DOOR #2

Summary:

Languages: German

Subtitles: English

Comments: ...today I am dirty, but tomorrow I'll be just dirt.

Summary: "Schramm" is a movie that got my attention in a video store, both with the cover and the back cover that exclaimed that it was similar to Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, one of my favorite horror films. If you've seen Henry, you realize that there's actually a pretty big restraint on blood and gore. It's existent, but it's not that bad. The movie used atmosphere and Michael Rooker's performance to creep you out. Schramm goes up another level on that. In Schramm you get a no holds barred look at the life of a serial killer... And it's all done in 64 minutes, which makes it kind of impressive. This movie also is probably the truest account of what goes on behind a serial killers' door. Movies about serial killers show that they kill and, sometimes, why. But few films show the really dirty things about serial killers. This film gives us the self-mutilation, necrophilia, and sexual deviancy. The movie is in German and I got to praise the Germans for making a movie like this. I don't think an American director would touch this kind of material with a ten-foot pole. And if he did, he'd tone it down a lot. I, regrettably, don't remember the main characters name...But I know this. The movie begins with a newspaper headline that explains that the Lipstick Killer has died. He is, of course, our aforementioned killer. The movie works its way back from that. The prostitute that lives across the hall from him, whom he's actually good friends with, sets something off in his head that makes him begin to kill. In the movie, the body count is pretty low...But this is still very gory. One scene which is bound to make men who watch this cringe, involve the guy taking his d**k and pounding nails through it. There's also one of the most interesting and unique ideas I've seen. A disembodied vag**a with teeth. The movie suffers from a disjointed timeline. The movie's about an insane serial killer...But the look of the movie implies it's about a schizophrenic serial killer. The grainy, old movieish look the film has, however, also helps with the creepiness. This is not a "good" movie, but it's effective and does something that other movies about serial killers should do (instead of crap like Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Gacy, etc.). If you want to see a movie that frequently has you asking yourself "What the f**k?" This is a good movie for you.

GRADE: B-

Languages: English

Summary: Get an instant library of classic science fiction features on twelve double-sided DVDs. You’ll be transported to a time where cosmic heroes battled and prevailed in the face of cheesy special effects, implausible plots and a lot of over acting. In other words, you have all the right ingredients for endless hours of fun, all for an amazingly low price!

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby

Comments: There are no partners in crime

Summary: Robert De Niro plays a weary thief tempted by wily old associate Marlon Brando into, yes, "one last job", a plan to rob a priceless scepter from Montreal's Customs House. Director Frank Oz's heist thriller partners De Niro with hotshot upstart Edward Norton, and you'd have to be determinedly grumpy not to get half a kick out of Brando, DeNiro, and Norton--more than holding his own--coolly bouncing off one another in a Method paradise. Brando may be enormous and breathing heavily with every move, but his technique is as agile as it ever was; he still seems spontaneously clever. Oz doesn't have the most crackling visual style in the world, as the film is far too smooth for tension, and keeps tapping Howard Shore's music score to do most of the work in that department; the divine Angela Bassett is once again totally wasted in a 10-minute throwaway role as De Niro's girlfriend. "The Score" isn't anything new, and there isn't a single surprise, but if you're into this sort of thing you do respond to its polished familiarity. "--Steve Wiecking"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Comments: Warrior. Legend. King.

Summary: There's nothing original in "The Scorpion King", but this derivative action franchise gets off to a rousing start by cleverly stealing from a lot of better movies. Capitalizing on his brief cameo in "The Mummy Returns", Dwayne Johnson (a.k.a. World Wrestling Federation star the Rock) stars as Mathayus, an Akkadian assassin in the age preceding Egyptian pharaohs, who vows to avenge his brother's murder by an undefeated warlord (Steven Brand) prophesied to become the desert-ruling Scorpion King. Their battle for supremacy comprises most of the film's brisk 95-minute running time, punctuated by comic relief from Mathayus's obligatory sidekick (Grant Heslov), romance with a beautiful sorceress (Kelly Hu), and alliance with a massive Nubian (Michael Clarke Duncan) on the eve of their climactic showdown. There's no rhyme or reason to the film's depiction of ancient civilization (the costuming is particularly ludicrous), but the Rock demonstrates adequate action-star potential, and director Chuck Russell ("The Mask") wraps it all in a slick, professional package. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: Japanese

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Pharmacist Saki (Chiaki Kuriyama, KILL BILL), timid policeman Shingo (Ryo Case, LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA) and toilet-cleaner Tetsu (Jo Odagiri, AZUMI) find their lives turned upside down when their bus is hijacked by a crazed businessman. When the ride turns violent, the three strangers are forever linked by the incident. Months later, Tetsu talks Shingo into collaborating on a most unique business venture: revenge-for-hire. Anyone with a problem can come to them and they'll take appropriate, vengeful measures. Meanwhile, Saki, disillusioned and increasingly anti-social, also wishes to take out her own revenge on society. Director Lee Sang-Il follows up his critically-acclaimed "69" with this quirky, stylish, angst-filled ode to disaffected youth.

Languages: English

Comments: True horror is simply what one human being can do to another.

Summary: Leonard is a psychopath who documents his "life story" with a scrapbook of his many atrocities and forces his victims to personally write out their individual ordeals. When Leonard abducts Clara, she too must add her agony to the pages. Beaten and locked up like an animal, Clara's only hope for survivial is to communicate with Leonard through her writing in his cherished scrapbook. One of the most controversial, powerful, and often censored independent films of recent years, SCRAPBOOK is an experience like no other.

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby

Comments: "Blacula is the most horrifying film of the decade." - Count Dracula Society.

Summary: After a dying Voodoo queen chooses an adopted apprentice as her successor, her true heir is outraged. Seeking revenge, he buys the bones of Blacula the vampire off of a dealer, and uses voodoo to bring the vampire back to do his bidding. In turn, Blacula turns him into a vampire and makes him his slave. Meanwhile, a police officer with a large collection of African antiques and an interest in the occult investigates the murders caused by Blacula and his vampire horde.

Sound: Dolby

Comments: The tortured ghost who claims vengeance in the bride's bedroom!

Summary: Newlyweds Eric and Jenni Whitlock retire to his desolate mansion, where Eric's first wife Marianne died from a mysterious freak accident. Jenni, who has a history of mental illness, begins to see strange things including a mysterious skull, which may or may not be a product of her imagination. Suspicion falls on Mickey, the estate's mentally challenged gardener, who was seemingly was very attached to his former mistress.

Sound: Dolby

Comments: Now! The story that has brought joy to millions! A new screen triumph!

Summary: Miserly Ebenezer Scrooge learns the error of his ways through the intervention of the ghost of his former partner and of three spirits in this faithful adaptation of the Dickens classic.

Languages: English

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Comments: What the DICKENS have they done to Scrooge?

Summary: In 1860, the stingy and cranky Ebenezer Scrooge that hates Christmas; loathes people and defends the decrease of the surplus of poor population runs his bank exploiting his employee Bob Cratchit and clients, giving a bitter treatment to his own nephew and acquaintances. However, in the Christmas Eve, he is visited by the doomed ghost of his former partner Jacob Marley that tells him that three spirits would visit him that night. The first one, the spirit of past Christmas, recalls his miserable youth when he lost his only love due to his greed; the spirit of the present Christmas shows him the poor situation of Bob's family and how joyful life may be; and the spirit of future Christmas shows his fate. Scrooge finds that life is good and time is too short and suddenly you are not there anymore, changing his behavior toward Christmas, Bob, his nephew and people in general.

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby

Comments: Bill Murray is back among the ghosts. Only this time, it's three against one.

Summary: Most critics couldn't get behind Bill Murray's modern retelling of Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol", finding it too unfocused at times and not nearly wicked enough. Still, if you're a Murray fan, you have to enjoy his deliciously nasty portrayal of the world's meanest TV executive, who has his cathartic moment one cold Christmas night in New York City. The various ghosts lead him on a ghost-town tour of Manhattan, with stops at holidays past, present, and future and a Kumbaya moment when Al Green and Annie Lennox sing "Put a Little Love in Your Heart." The effects are otherworldly, but one wishes the writing were as sharp as Murray's edgy portrayal. "--Marshall Fine"

Sound: MP3

Summary: Humphrey van Weyden, a writer, and fugitives Ruth Webster and George Leach have been given refuge aboard the sealer "Ghost," captained by the cruel Wolf Larsen. The crew mutinies against Larsen's many crimes, and though van Weyden, Ruth, and George try to escape Larsen's clutches, they find themselves drawn inexorably back to him as the "Ghost" sails toward disaster.

Languages: Japanese

Subtitles: English

Summary: Based on Mark McShane's novel, "Séance on a Wet Afternoon" ("Kôrei"), Kiyoshi Kurosawa's international award-winning thriller stars Kôji Yakusho ("Shall We Dance") as Kôji Sato, a sound effects engineer, and Jun Fubuki ("Pulse") as his psychic wife. When a missing young girl escapes her kidnappers and hides in Kôji's equipment case while he is recording sounds in the woods, the stage is set for a scheme to promote her psychic abilities. But the couple's hoax goes terrifyingly awry in this unsettling and atmospheric shocker from one of Japan's new masters of horror.

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby

Comments: The story that sweeps from the great Southwest to the Canadian border in VistaVision.

Summary: Ethan Edwards, returned from the Civil War to the Texas ranch of his brother, hopes to find a home with his family and to be near the woman he obviously but secretly loves. But a Comanche raid destroys these plans, and Ethan sets out, along with his 1/8 Indian nephew Martin, on a years-long journey to find the niece kidnapped by the Indians under Chief Scar. But as the quest goes on, Martin begins to realize that his uncle's hatred for the Indians is beginning to spill over onto his now-assimilated niece. Martin becomes uncertain whether Ethan plans to rescue Debbie...or kill her.

Languages: English

Sound: AAC

Summary: "Secondhand Lions" follows the comedic adventures of an introverted boy left on the doorstep of a pair of reluctant, eccentric great-uncles, whose exotic remembrances stir the boy's spirit and re-ignite the men's lives.

Languages: English

Sound: AAC

Comments: What Are Seconds?... The Answer May Be Too Terrifying For Words!

Summary: There is a very secret organization that offers wealthy people a second chance at life; the customer picks out someone they want to be and the organization surgically alters the customer to look like the intended person, stages the customer's death, gets rid of the intended person and the customer has a new life. There's only one thing they didn't count on.....

Languages: Chinese

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Comments: Bu neng shuo de. mi mi

Summary:

Languages: Spanish

Subtitles: English

Sound: DTS

Summary: For 25 years a crime has remained indelibly impressed upon Benjamín Espósito's mind. Now, in his maturity, he decides to take a look back at the occurrence; to relive that past of love, death and friendship. But these memories, set free, gone over around a thousand times, will change his view of that past. And they'll re-write his future in the doing.

Languages: English Dubbed

Sound: MP3

Comments: Overpowering in savage action!

Summary:

Languages: English

Comments: with People Vs Larry Flynt, Crazy Stone, Frankenstein Created Woman

Summary:

Sound: Dolby

Comments: Da luo jian xia

Summary:

Languages: Chinese

Subtitles: English

Sound: AAC

Summary: Two rivals, Sheng from the South and Shao from the North, have one common enemy, the Silver Fox. The Silver Fox killed Shao's parents and robbed from Sheng's palace. When each one fails to defeat Silver Fox, the two decide to team up and win.