Dacascos, Mark

Only the Strong

Ex-Special Forces soldier Louis Stevens (Mark Dacascos) returns to Miami to find his former high school overrun by drugs and violence. A master of the Brazilian martial art, capoeira, Stevens pledges to straighten out a dozen of the school's worst students by teaching them this demanding and highly-disciplined fighting style. Slowly, his program begins to work, giving the students new hope and purpose. But the local drug lord, himself a martial arts expert, vows to stop Stevens' positive influence. Now Stevens must fight to save his own life, as well as the lives of his rebellious young students.

Brotherhood of the Wolf

If you crave an over-the-top historical kung fu-fantasy epic with a good dose of voluptuous nudity, bravura machismo, and passions so intense they verge on ridiculous, then Brotherhood of the Wolf is your movie. Based (loosely) on an 18th-century legend, this French film follows a hunky scientist (Samuel Le Bihan, who's sort of a second-string Christopher Lambert) and his Iroquois sidekick/spiritual partner (Mark Dacascos) as they pursue a monstrous wolf ravaging the French countryside. Along the way Le Bihan gets entwined with a beautiful noblewoman (Émilie Dequenne) and a gorgeous prostitute (Monica Belluci) with secrets. The plot grows more and more incomprehensible, but the mix of torrid emotions, outrageous action sequences, and lurid titillation is really what the movie is about. Ignore the highbrow philosophizing and confused political intrigue; just enjoy the sensual images. --Bret Fetzer

Nomad: The Warrior

A war epic with amazing action. A legendary warrior arises to unite a group of clans against an onslaught of besieging enemy hordes. System Requirements:Run Time: 111 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/MARTIAL ARTS Rating: R UPC: 796019803199 Manufacturer No: 80319

Ivan Passer (Cutter's Way) co-directed Nomad: The Warrior, a handsome, sprawling story set in the early 18th century about a real-life descendant of Genghis Khan who is destined to unite Kazakhs tribes against invaders. Mansur (Kuno Becker), the son of a sultan, is foreseen by an oracle-- (Jason Scott Lee), as the leader Kazakhs people have desperately needed to unite disparate peoples against the relentless, conquering Jungars. Trained by Oraz to be both a great warrior and leader, Mansur becomes known as Ablai Khan, a redeemer with seemingly preternatural skills in battle and a destiny to forge what will eventually become Kazakhstan. At the heart of the film is Mansur's lifelong friendship with another young fighter (Jay Hernandez), a young man so loyal he will not speak to Gauhar (Ayana Yesmagambetova) of his love for her, knowing Mansur loves her, too. (Mansur says nothing to her about his feelings, either, out of respect for his friend.) Nomad's widescreen action is full of impressive horsemanship, swordplay, and terrific stunts. But it's the film's obvious sense of pride in its historically-based story about the creation of a united people that ultimately proves moving. --Tom Keogh

The Island of Dr. Moreau (Unrated Director's Cut)

Previously filmed in 1933 (as Island of Lost Souls) and 1977, the classic H.G. Wells story was filmed again for this graphic 1996 version. The film was roasted by critics, but it's an utterly fascinating failure, largely due to the performances of David Thewlis, Val Kilmer, and especially Marlon Brando in the title role as a mad (and in this case outrageously bizarre) scientist whose experiments in crossbreeding humans with animals have gone terribly awry. Thewlis plays the wayward scholar who is rescued at sea by Kilmer and brought to Moreau's island to discover the doctor's unnatural "children." Fairuza Balk plays Moreau's half-cat daughter, but it's Brando and Kilmer (in one scene doing a killer Brando impersonation) who steal the show, along with the astounding makeup effects created by Stan Winston. A guilty pleasure by any measure, this movie has definite cult-favorite potential, and in addition to offering a "director's cut" with previously unseen footage, the DVD includes audio commentary by director John Frankenheimer, who replaced the original director on short notice and completed this film under highly stressful conditions. --Jeff Shannon

Brotherhood of the Wolf (3 Disc Collectors Edition)

If you crave an over-the-top historical kung fu-fantasy epic with a good dose of voluptuous nudity, bravura machismo, and passions so intense they verge on ridiculous, then Brotherhood of the Wolf is your movie. Based (loosely) on an 18th-century legend, this French film follows a hunky scientist (Samuel Le Bihan, who's sort of a second-string Christopher Lambert) and his Iroquois sidekick/spiritual partner (Mark Dacascos) as they pursue a monstrous wolf ravaging the French countryside. Along the way Le Bihan gets entwined with a beautiful noblewoman (Émilie Dequenne) and a gorgeous prostitute (Monica Belluci) with secrets. The plot grows more and more incomprehensible, but the mix of torrid emotions, outrageous action sequences, and lurid titillation is really what the movie is about. Ignore the highbrow philosophizing and confused political intrigue; just enjoy the sensual images. --Bret Fetzer

The Crow: Stairway To Heaven - The Complete Series

First it was a wildly popular comic book...then two blockbuster movies...The Crow moved to the small screen in the '98-'99 season. We have collected all 22 of the original episodes in the series on four DVDs...a must-have for the rabid Crow collector.Runtime: 946 minFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 829567043820 Manufacturer No: 670438

Code Name - The Cleaner

Code Name: The Cleaner squeaks by in living up to the reputation of its star, Cedric the Entertainer. The movie does entertain, but just barely and pretty much only because of the skill we've come to expect from Cedric as an entertainer. In another actor's hands, this freewheeling spy spoof could easily have turned into a schizophrenic dud. The movie still has a little split-personality problem between its aspirations to be a tense, Bourne Identity-like thriller or out-and-out comic caper. Fortunately, the entertainer in him gives Cedric the credibility to juggle both genres with only a few dropped balls. When Cedric, as ordinary Joe (maybe) Jake Rodgers, wakes up in a hotel room with amnesia, a dead FBI agent, and a bag stuffed with cash, at least two people show unusual interest in a prized missing microchip, the money, and him -- in that order. Nicollette Sheridan is a bit too desperate in claiming to be his housewife as she whisks him "home" to their huge mansion. Showing the first shades of skepticism (and comic brilliance), the still-amnesiac Jake wonders, "I'm rich, I live in a big house and I'm married to a white woman. Am I Lionel Richie?" He also wonders if the gun-toting, butt-kicking Lucy Liu really is his mistress, as she claims to be. It all seems to good to be true. But the bad guys who just want the microchip don't care, and the genuine thriller mayhem and laugh riot gags that fly by don't give Jake much time to think that maybe he is just an ordinary janitor who has wrong-manned his way into a massive spy vs. spy cliche. There are a couple of fantastically funny supporting roles for additional distraction. DeRay Davis steals the spotlight as Jake's wannabe-rapper janitor pal, and Niecy Nash (of Reno 911! fame) also chomps hard on the scenery as a sex-crazed security guard. Food Network fans will get an unintended chuckle from seeing Mark Dacascos, the suave and sybaritic "Kitchen Stadium Chairman" from Iron Chef America playing head cheese of the bad guy contingent. In all, it's not worth the audience spending too much time thinking all this through either, especially when Cedric's doing his thing (the clog dance and grandma-spanking scenes are highlights). Maybe someday they'll let Cedric off the thinking leash altogether -- perhaps in Code Name: The Entertainer? --Ted Fry

The laughs fly like bullets in this action comedy about a man with amnesia who can't remember whether he's a super spy...or a janitor. Jake Rogers (Cedric the Entertainer) just woke up in a hotel room next to a dead CIA agent and a briefcase full of money. Things go from bad to worse when his blonde bombshell wife (Nicollette Sheridan) arrives to inform him that he's a Special Forces Operative entangled in a high-level Government conspiracy. But nothing seems to add up as Jake digs deeper into the case. Teaming up with another beauty from a past he can't remember (Lucy Liu), this custodian of comedy needs to get a clue before the bad guys take him out with the trash!

Cradle 2 the Grave (Widescreen Edition)

When his daughter is kidnapped and held in exchange for diamonds the leader of a crew of highly skilled urban thieves (DMX) forges an unlikely alliance with a Taiwanese Intelligence officer (Jet Li) to rescue her. Their race against the clock to find the precious stones ultimately unravels a plot to distribute a deadly new weapon of war.Running Time: 101 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE UPC: 085392341122 Manufacturer No: 23411

The intriguing cross-pollination of rap and kung-fu continues with Cradle 2 the Grave, co-starring high-profile rapper DMX and Hong Kong superstar Jet Li. Master thief Fait (DMX) hits a diamond exhange but comes away with a bag of black gems of mysterious origin. When a crime kingpin steals the gems from Fait, an international arms dealer kidnaps Fait's beloved daughter--and Fait can only get her back with the help of Su (Li), a Taiwanese intelligence agent tracking the gems himself. A summary of the plot doesn't do Cradle 2 the Grave justice; while the basic story elements suggest a dozen generic action flicks, the cast (including Anthony Anderson, Gabrielle Union, and Kelly Hu) has genuine charisma and the movie layers action on top of action to strong effect. All in all, a much more engaging thrill ride than you'd expect. --Bret Fetzer

Alien Agent

System Requirements:Running Time: 95 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY/FANTASY Rating: R UPC: 783722274545 Manufacturer No: 27454

Solar Attack

Prepare For The ApocalypseThe largest coronal mass emission (CME) ever detected by scientists breaks off from the sun and hurtles toward the Earth. With temperatures soaring higher the sky on fire and the continued existence of the human race in question scientists must explode the polar ice caps to stop the CME. Will it backfire or save life as we know it?System Requirements:Run Time: 91 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: PG UPC: 031398205586 Manufacturer No: 20558