Action & Adventure

Hero

Set in China's past, before the first emperor, the film tells the story of a town magistrate who is summoned by the king of Qin to tell the story of how he defeated those who plotted to kill him.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 2-AUG-2005
Media Type: DVD

Director Zhang Yimou brings the sumptuous visual style of his previous films (Raise the Red Lantern, Shanghai Triad) to the high-kicking kung fu genre. A nameless warrior (Jet Li, Romeo Must Die, Once Upon a Time in China) arrives at an emperor's palace with three weapons, each belonging to a famous assassin who had sworn to kill the emperor. As the nameless man spins out his story--and the emperor presents his own interpretation of what might really have happened--each episode is drenched in red, blue, white or another dominant color. Hero combines sweeping cinematography and superb performances from the cream of the Hong Kong cinema (Maggie Cheung, Irma Vep, Comrades: Almost a Love Story; Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, In the Mood for Love, Hard Boiled; and Zhang Ziyi, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). The result is stunning, a dazzling action movie with an emotional richness that deepens with every step. --Bret Fetzer

Leon - The Professional (Deluxe Edition)

Gary Oldman Jean Reno Natalie Portman and Danny Aiello star in LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL a go-for-broke thriller about a professional assassin whose work becomes dangerously personal. Calling himself a "cleaner" the mysterious Leon (Reno) is New York's top hitman. When his next-door neighbors are murdered Leon becomes the unwilling guardian of the family's sole survivor - 12-year-old Mathilda but Mathilda doesn't just want protection; she wants revenge. Training her in the deadly tricks of his trade Leon helps her track the psychotic agent (Oldman) who murdered her family.System Requirements:Running Time: 133 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MYSTERY/SUSPENSE Rating: NR UPC: 043396098589 Manufacturer No: 09858

Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) made his American directorial debut with this stylized thriller about a French hit man (Jean Reno) who takes in an American girl (Natalie Portman) being pursued by a corrupt killer cop (Gary Oldman). Oldman is a little more unhinged than he should be, but there is something genuinely irresistible about the story line and the relationship between Reno and Portman. Rather than cave in to the cookie-cutter look and feel of American action pictures, Besson brings a bit of his glossy style from French hits La Femme Nikita and Subway to the production, and the results are refreshing even if the bullets and explosions are awfully familiar. --Tom Keogh

Battle Royale Directors Cut

With the Japanese currently leading the way in thought-provoking cinematic violence, it's only fitting that Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale is being touted as a Clockwork Orange for the 21st century. Based on the novel by Koshun Takami, the film opens with a series of fleeting images of unruly Japanese schoolchildren, whose bad behavior provides a justification for the "punishments" that will ensue. Once the prequel has been dispensed with, the classmates are drugged and awaken on an island where they find they have been fitted with dog collars that monitor their every move. Instructed by their old teacher ("Beat" Takeshi) with the aid of an upbeat MTV-style video, they are told of their fate: after an impartial lottery they have been chosen to fight each other in a three-day, no-rules contest, the "Battle Royale." Their only chance of survival is through the death of all their classmates.

Some pupils embrace their mission with zeal, while others simply give up or try to become peacemakers and revolutionaries. However, the ultimate drive for survival comes from the desire to protect the one you love. Battle Royale works on many different levels, highlighting the authorities' desperation to enforce law and order and the alienation caused by the generation gap. Whether you consider the film an important social commentary or simply watch it for the adrenaline-fueled violence, this is set to become cult viewing for the computer game generation and beyond. --Nikki Disney

House of Flying Daggers

"Prepare your eyes for popping" in this "martial-arts fireball that throws in a lyrical love story headspinning fights and dazzling surprises" (Rolling Stone). "A gorgeous entertainment" (A.O. Scott New York Times). Mei is an exotic beautiful blind dancer associated with a dangerous revolutionary gang known as the House of Flying Daggers. Captured by officers of the decadent Tang Dynasty Mei finds herself both threatened - and attracted - to the most unusual circumstances. Here her heart and loyalties battle each other amid warriors in the treetops and dazzling combat - the likes of which have never before been seen!System Requirements: Running Time 119 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: FOREIGN/LATIN Rating: PG-13 UPC: 043396091788 Manufacturer No: 09178

No one uses color like Chinese director Zhang Yimou--movies like Raise the Red Lantern or Hero, though different in tone and subject matter, are drenched in rich, luscious shades of red, blue, yellow, and green. House of Flying Daggers is no exception; if they weren't choreographed with such vigorous imagination, the spectacular action sequences would seem little more than an excuse for vivid hues rippling across the screen. Government officers Leo and Jin (Asian superstars Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro) set out to destroy an underground rebellion called the House of Flying Daggers (named for their weapon of choice, a curved blade that swoops through the air like a boomerang). Their only chance to find the rebels is a blind women named Mei (Ziyi Zhang, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) who has some lethal kung fu moves of her own. In the guise of an aspiring rebel, Jin escorts Mei through gorgeous forests and fields that become bloody battlegrounds as soldiers try to kill them both. While arrows and spears of bamboo fly through the air, Mei, Jin, and Leo turn against each other in surprising ways, driven by passion and honor. Zhang's previous action/art film, Hero, sometimes sacrificed momentum for sheer visual beauty; House of Flying Daggers finds a more muscular balance of aesthetic splendor and dazzling swordplay. --Bret Fetzer

Run Lola Run

Lola receives a frantic phone call from her boyfriend Manni, who's lost a small fortune belonging to his mobster boss. If Lola deosn't replace the money in twenty minutes, Manni will surely suffer severe consequences.
Genre: Foreign Film - German
Rating: R
Release Date: 1-MAY-2007
Media Type: DVD

It's difficult to create a film that's fast paced, exciting, and aesthetically appealing without diluting its dialogue. Run Lola Run, directed and written by Tom Tykwer, is an enchanting balance of pace and narrative, creating a universal parable that leaps over cultural barriers. This is the story of young Lola (Franka Potente) and her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu). In the space of 20 minutes, they must come up with 100,000 deutsche marks to pay back a seedy gangster, who will be less than forgiving when he finds out that Manni incompetently lost his cash to an opportunistic vagrant. Lola, confronted with one obstacle after another, rides an emotional roller coaster in her high-speed efforts to help the hapless Manni--attempting to extract the cash first from her double-dealing father (appropriately a bank manager), and then by any means necessary. From this point nothing goes right for either protagonist, but just when you think you've figured out the movie, the director introduces a series of brilliant existential twists that boggle the mind. Tykwer uses rapid camera movements and innovative pauses to explore the theme of cause and effect. Accompanied by a pulse-pounding soundtrack, we follow Lola through every turn and every heartbreak as she and Manni rush forward on a collision course with fate. There were a variety of original and intelligent films released in 1999, but perhaps none were as witty and clever as this little gem--one of the best foreign films of the year. --Jeremy Storey

Dreamkeeper

A century old storyteller and his grandson a troubled 17 year old boy embarks on a cross country journey toward self-discovery. Like Old Pete's wise tales themselves Dreamkeeper is important and illuminating storytelling for the entire family.System Requirements:Colore/Approx: 180 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: NR UPC: 707729144199 Manufacturer No: 14419

While it doesn't hold together as a three-hour TV drama, Dreamkeeper should prove enthralling to anyone interested in Native American myths and legends. A variety of tribal folklore provides the episodic thrust of this typical Hallmark production, which relies too heavily on digital effects--and the plodding direction of Hallmark regular Steve Barron--in telling the story of a resentful Lakota teenager (Eddie Spears) who reluctantly agrees to drive his wise old grandfather (August Schellenberg) from their South Dakota "rez" to an All-Nations Powwow in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Along the way, the tradition-bound elder serves as tribal "dreamkeeper" for his initially resistant grandson, who gradually realizes that his grandfather's stories--visualized through effects-laden reenactments involving all manner of magic and mystery--are essential in preserving the fading cultures of the Lakota and the several other tribes whose folklore depends on unbroken generations of oral tradition. While some of the lavishly dramatized tales can stand alone as authentic Native American myth-making, Dreamkeeper lacks the overall structure that could've given the stories a cumulative magical impact. Still, it's an admirable attempt to introduce neglected cultures into the television mainstream. --Jeff Shannon

Goal II: Living The Dream (Gol 2: Viviendo El Sueño) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]

Sinopsis La Saga de Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker), el talentoso futbolista de humildes orígenes que logro alcanzar su destino continua. Ahora Santiago recibe la oportunidad de participar en el mejor equipo del mundo: El Real Madrid.

The 13th Warrior

What happened to The 13th Warrior? Directed by John McTiernan (Die Hard), it's the tale of young Arab ambassador Ahmahd ibn Fahdalan (Antonio Banderas), who's vanquished from his homeland for loving the wrong woman. On his journeys he associates with a ragtag group of Vikings who are traveling back to their homeland to confront a nefarious threat that's cloaked in such superstition they're forbidden to speak its name. It is prophesied by a witch doctor that 13 warriors must confront the evil; however, the 13th chosen man must not come from the north. Suddenly Banderas is forced into the breach, somewhat against his will. More poet than battle-worn warrior, he must not only fight the aggressors but come to terms with the unfamiliar Norse culture. What follows is a vigorous and brutal adventure reminiscent of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Sumptuous and invigorating battle sequences fill the screen from beginning to end as the brave Norsemen battle insurmountable odds.

Sounds good. So why did this film, once known as the Eaters of the Dead, sit on studio shelves for two years? Presumably because of the thoughtless editing that trimmed down the film to its bare bones, crafting an actionfest out of an epic. It's not often that you crave for a movie to be longer, but The 13th Warrior could've benefited from fleshing out of its subplots and characters. On the surface it's good eye candy with some fine pulse-quickening moments, and Banderas and the accompanying cast turn in sympathetic performances, epitomizing camaraderie in the face of impending doom. However, if you're looking for a good thematic tale from the Dark Ages (akin to Braveheart), you may be disappointed. --Jeremy Storey

Antonio Banderas (THE MASK OF ZORRO) brings huge star power to an immensely thrilling action-adventure from the hit-making director of DIE HARD and THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR! An exiled ambassador far from his homeland, Ahmed (Banderas) comes across a fierce band of warriors who are being attacked by ferocious creatures legendary for devouring all living things in their path! And when an old fortune-teller warns the combatants that they are doomed to failure without a 13th warrior, Ahmed is given no choice but to join their battle and help conquer the mysterious enemy! Suspenseful and endlessly exciting, this exhilarating hit is sure to thrill anyone who enjoys action on an epic scale!

Thelma & Louise (Special Edition)

In one of the greatest road movies of all time Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon ride to everlasting fame as two women who embark on a crime spree across the American southwest. Year: 1991System Requirements:Running Time: 129 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R UPC: 027616873958 Manufacturer No: 1003245

Thelma & Louise is a feminist manifesto writ large on the big screen, a smart and funny gender reversal of the standard Hollywood buddy formula, a road movie extraordinaire, with characters who became instant cultural icons. No matter how you define it, Ridley Scott's 1991 box-office hit pinched a nerve and made the cover of national news magazines for tweaking gender politics like no movie before or since. Callie Khouri's screenplay overhauls the buddy formula with its story about two best friends (Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis) who embark on a liberating adventure that turns into an interstate police chase after a traumatic incident makes both women into fugitives; they are en route to a destiny they could never have imagined. The perfect casting of Sarandon and Davis makes Thelma & Louise a movie for the ages, and Brad Pitt became an overnight star after his appearance as the con-artist cowboy who gives Davis a memorable (but costly) night in a roadside motel. --Jeff Shannon

The Legend of Drunken Master

Wong Fei-Hong (Chan) is inadvertently caught up in a fight between foreign exporters and those who don't want ancient Chinese artifacts to leave the country.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: R
Release Date: 6-APR-2004
Media Type: DVD