Yuan, Roger

Syriana (Widescreen Edition)

Syriana is an oil-based soap opera set against the world of global oil cartels. It is to the oil industry as Traffic was to the drug trade (no surprise, since writer/director Stephen Gaghan wrote the screenplay to Traffic): a sprawling attempt to portray the vast political, business, social, and personal implications of a societal addiction, in this case, oil. A major merger between two of the world's largest oil companies reveals ethical dilemmas for the lawyer charged with making the deal (Jeffrey Wright), and major global implications beyond the obvious; a CIA operative (George Clooney) discovers the truth about his work, and the people he works for; a young oil broker (Matt Damon) encounters personal tragedy, then partners with an idealistic Gulf prince (Alexander Siddig) attempting to build a new economy for his people, only to find he's opposed by powers far beyond his control. Meanwhile, disenfranchised Pakistani youths are lured into terrorism by a radical Islamic cleric. And that's just the start. As in Traffic, in one way or another all of the characters' fates are tied to each other, whether they realize it or not, though the connections are sometimes tenuous. While Syriana is basically a good film with timely resonance, it can't quite seem to measure up to Gaghan's ambitious vision and it very nearly collapses under the weight of its many storylines. Fortunately they are resolved skillfully enough to keep the film from going under in the end. To some viewers, Syriana will seem like an unfocused and over-loaded film that goes, all at once, everywhere and nowhere. Others will find it to be an important work earnestly exploring major issues. In either case, it's a film that deserves to be taken seriously, and it's likely to be one that will be talked about for a long time to come. --Dan Vancini

Big oil means big money. Very big money. And that fact unleashes corruption that stretches from Houston to Washington to the Mideast and ensnares industrialists princes spies politicos oilfield laborers and terrorists in a deadly deceptive web of move and countermove. This lightning-paced whip-smart action thriller grips your mind and nerves with an intensity that doesn't let go for an instant.Running Time: 128 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE UPC: 012569807723 Manufacturer No: 80772

Shanghai Noon

Story? What story? All a movie like Shanghai Noon needs is the amazing stunt set pieces featuring kung fu superstar Jackie Chan and the drolly caffeinated ramblings of Owen Wilson (and to be sure, that's all it gets). It's a buddy comedy about Roy O'Bannon (Wilson), a minor, borderline incompetent desperado, and Chon Wang (Chan)--Roy thinks he hears (and scoffs at) the name "John Wayne"--a member of the Chinese Imperial Guard searching for a kidnapped princess (Lucy Liu). They become reluctant partners in the Old West (Roy, who considers Chon his sidekick, is hurt to discover that the bounty on Wang's head is more than his own), brawling, drinking, bathing, and bonding and in general having mildly amusing adventures together, while eluding a posse and other random enemies.

There's not a lot of focus to the plot or much motivation for characters to turn up where and when they do--just what was achieved by the much-discussed trek to Carson City, anyway? But Chan's inventively staged battle sequences (particularly an early one in which he uses flexible, resilient trees to best some Crow Indians) are predictable highlights. You'll wish there were more to some of them, but as with his many of other films, you'll want them on video to watch in slow-motion to see how he pulls them off. And in a potentially star- making role, Wilson's loquacious, hyper-self-conscious meanderings--he's funny even when his lines aren't--make him seem less like a character than a very amusing deconstruction of one. Chan and Wilson are entertaining together, even though they're both off in their own little worlds. Think of it as Butch Cassidy and the Shanghai Kid, and you won't be too far off. --David Kronke

A Chinese Imperial Guard travels to the wild West to find and retrieve a kidnapped princess.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 25-JAN-2005
Media Type: DVD

Shanghai Noon / Shanghai Knights

SHANGHAI NOON: Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson jump back in the saddle for SHANGHAI KNIGHTS the hilarious sequel to the hit action-comedy SHANGHAI NOON. When Chon Wang (Chan) gets news of his estranged father's murder in Shanghai he leaves his honorable life as Carson City's sheriff in a cloud of dust and reunites with his yarn-spinning sidekick Roy O'Bannon (Wilson). Together they make their way to London on a daring quest for honor and revenge. Hilarious escapades and hair-raising adventures ensue as our heroes find themselves in the middle of a devious plot to eliminate the entire royal family. And Chon gives Victorian Britain a royal kick in the pants as he tries to avenge his father's death and keep love-struck Roy away from his sister! SHANGHAI KNIGHTS: Two cultures collide in SHANGHAI NOON a wildly hilarious stunt-filled action-adventure comedy starring the death-defying action hero Jackie Chan Owen Wilson and Lucy Liu. Chan plays Chinese Imperial Guard Chon Wang (say it out loud) who hightails it to the wild and woolly West to rescue the beautiful kidnapped Princess Pei Pei (Liu). When he meets up with the laid-back outlaw cowboy dude Roy O'Bannon (Wilson) they form the best mismatch ever made in the rough and tumble Old West -- the two face jail brawls bordellos and the vilest villains this side of the Great Wall! Spectacular stunts outrageous irreverence and epic vistas reign as East meets West in a battle for honor royalty and a fortune in gold! It's a real kickFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/SCREWBALL COMEDY UPC: 786936758436 Manufacturer No: 05674600

Bulletproof Monk

The tremendous charisma of Chow Yun-fat anchors this entertaining comic-book romp. Bulletproof Monk centers around a monk with no name (Chow) dedicated to protecting a sacred scroll that can give world-manipulating power to anyone who reads it. A hidden Nazi has been pursuing the scroll for 60 years and has finally caught up with the monk in present-day New York City; meanwhile, the monk suspects he may have found a disciple in a petty thief (Seann William Scott, Dude, Where's My Car?, American Pie) who's learned kung fu from watching double-feature chopsocky flicks. Don't let the presence of Chow Yun-fat lead you to expect much substance--this doesn't have the emotional scope of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or the visual panache of Hard-Boiled. But Bulletproof Monk is a cheerful, tightly edited, unpretentious action flick with flashes of humor, good for a mindless evening's entertainment. Also featuring Jaime (a.k.a. James) King (Blow). --Bret Fetzer

Loaded with stunning special effects and martial arts action this spectacular adventure follows a mysterious monk on his mission to find a worthy prot g to take over his job of protecting the world from evil!System Requirements:Starring: Chow Yun Fat Seann William Scott Jamie King Victoria Smurfit Directed By: Paul Hunter Running Time: 104 Min. Color Copyright 2003 MGM Studios.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG-13 UPC: 027616888396 Manufacturer No: 1004809

Red Corner

Using a faulty thriller for his soapbox as an outspoken critic of China, a devout follower of the Dalai Lama, and an influential supporter of Tibetan freedom, Richard Gere resorts to the equivalent of propagandistic drama to deliver a heavy-handed message. In other words, Red Corner relies on a dubious strategy to promote political awareness, but director Jon Avnet appeals to the viewer's outrage with such effective urgency that you're likely to forget you're being shamelessly manipulated. Gere plays a downtrodden TV executive who sells syndicated shows on the global market, and during a business trip to China he finds himself framed for the murder of the sexy daughter of a high Chinese official. Once trapped in a legal system in which his innocence will be all but impossible to prove, Gere must rely on a Chinese-appointed lawyer (played by Bai Ling) who first advises him to plead guilty but gradually grows convinced of foul play. Barely attempting to hide its agenda, Red Corner effectively sets the stage for abundant anti-Chinese sentiment, and to be sure, the movie gains powerful momentum with its tale of justice gone awry. It's a serious-minded, high-intensity courtroom drama with noble intentions ... but did it have to be so conspicuously lacking in subtlety? --Jeff Shannon

In modern-day China, an American is about to be punished for the ultimate crime...his innocence. Richard Gere stars in this electrifying suspense thriller charged with lethal confrontations, raw passion and international intrigue. On the verge of signing a huge business deal, attorney Jack Moore (Gere) is on top of the world. But his elation soon comes tumbling down after he spends the night with a beautiful woman...and is then accused of her brutal murder! At the mercy of the strict Chinese court systemwhere one is guilty until proven innocentJack finds himself completely alone. But when his defense attorney (Bai Ling) unearths puzzling contradictions in the case, she acts against the court and her country, joining him in a pulse-pounding race to find the true killer...while both of their lives hang in the balance!

Showdown in Little Tokyo

Showdown in Little Tokyo is a 1991 martial arts action-comedy that, in pitting Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee as L.A. cops against Japanese drug dealers, plays like a B-movie Tango and Cash or Lethal Weapon 2 (both released just two years before). Between career highs in Rocky IV (1985) and Universal Soldier (1992), Lundgren looked as if he might make it big at the box office, and clearly wanting to be the new Schwarzenegger he is here directed by Mark L Lester, who had earlier helmed Ah-nold's Commando (1985). In the event both actor and director headed for straight-to-video territory, while Lee (Bruce's son) went on to The Crow. The 75-minute running time suggests the studio lost confidence and seriously cut the movie though, as the space between the action is filled with nothing but cringe-inducing dialogue, thriller clichés, and Lundgren "romancing" Tia Carrere, it still makes sense. Basing its title on John Carpenter's 1986 fantasy-comedy Big Trouble in Little China and anticipating Rush Hour (1998), Showdown in Little Tokyo alternates between crude tongue-in-cheek moments and action so ludicrous it's unintentionally hilarious . A camp disaster that simply defies belief, this is so-bad-it's-good entertainment. --Gary S. Dalkin

Syriana (Full Screen Edition)

Syriana is an oil-based soap opera set against the world of global oil cartels. It is to the oil industry as Traffic was to the drug trade (no surprise, since writer/director Stephen Gaghan wrote the screenplay to Traffic): a sprawling attempt to portray the vast political, business, social, and personal implications of a societal addiction, in this case, oil. A major merger between two of the world's largest oil companies reveals ethical dilemmas for the lawyer charged with making the deal (Jeffrey Wright), and major global implications beyond the obvious; a CIA operative (George Clooney) discovers the truth about his work, and the people he works for; a young oil broker (Matt Damon) encounters personal tragedy, then partners with an idealistic Gulf prince (Alexander Siddig) attempting to build a new economy for his people, only to find he's opposed by powers far beyond his control. Meanwhile, disenfranchised Pakistani youths are lured into terrorism by a radical Islamic cleric. And that's just the start. As in Traffic, in one way or another all of the characters' fates are tied to each other, whether they realize it or not, though the connections are sometimes tenuous. While Syriana is basically a good film with timely resonance, it can't quite seem to measure up to Gaghan's ambitious vision and it very nearly collapses under the weight of its many storylines. Fortunately they are resolved skillfully enough to keep the film from going under in the end. To some viewers, Syriana will seem like an unfocused and over-loaded film that goes, all at once, everywhere and nowhere. Others will find it to be an important work earnestly exploring major issues. In either case, it's a film that deserves to be taken seriously, and it's likely to be one that will be talked about for a long time to come. --Dan Vancini

Big oil means big money. Very big money. And that fact unleashes corruption that stretches from Houston to Washington to the Mideast and ensnares industrialists princes spies politicos oilfield laborers and terrorists in a deadly deceptive web of move and countermove. This lightning-paced whip-smart action thriller grips your mind and nerves with an intensity that doesn't let go for an instant.Running Time: 128 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE UPC: 012569807716 Manufacturer No: 80771

Rage and Honor

Torn between loyalty and revenge a martial arts champion is pitted against her own brother in this action-adventure knockout. Five-time undefeated World Karate Champion Cynthia Rothrock stars as Kris Fairfield an inner-city high school teacher who moonlights in killer karate. While training a group of police officers Kris meets an Australian cop (renowned martial arts expert Richard Norton) sent to the U.S. to observe their style of law enforcement. But it's hard to remain an impartial observer when the cops in question are dealing crack. . . and killing Kris's students. Together the feisty American and The Wonder from Down Under team up to take back the streets.System Requirements:Running Time: 92 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R UPC: 043396103412 Manufacturer No: 10341

Vampires: The Turning

For 800 years they ve fought to the death among the dark shadows of Thailand s exotic nights. Two armies of vampires. One ruthless allies of the evil Niran who delight in feasting on human blood. The other loyal followers of the beautiful Song Neng battling to end Niran s brutal reign of terror. Suddenly trapped in this eerie underworld are two American tourists: Amanda kidnapped by Niran and turned into his blood slave; and Connor her boyfriend desperate to save her soul. Now faced with the ultimate sacrifice Connor must either join the fight against the forces of darkness or risk losing Amanda forever in this taut martial arts-packed tale of horror.System Requirements:Running Time: 83 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: R UPC: 043396108318 Manufacturer No: 10831

The Art of Action: Martial Arts in the Movies

Go Behind-the-Scenes of a Worldwide Phenomenon! THE BEST MOMENTS FROM THE GREATEST MARTIAL ARTS MOVIES OF ALL TIME! Take a trip through martial arts history from its beginnings in bloody rebellion to the high-flying action movies of today. Join host Samuel L. Jackson for the most action-packed moments from over 100 movies including rarely-seen vintage films and modern-day favorites! HIGHLIGHTS FROM THESE HIT MOVIES: Charlie's Angels Rush Hour 2 Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon...and dozens more! INTERVIEWS AND FOOTAGE OF YOUR FAVORITE STARS AND DIRECTORS: Ang Lee Sammo Hung John Woo and many others!System Requirements:Running Time: 96 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating: NR UPC: 043396084766 Manufacturer No: 08476