I own a lot of movies, I'm particularly interested in old Shaw Brothers movie. So in an effort of keeping up-to-date on the latest releases, I've started a directory/catalog of old Martial Arts films. |
posted Jan 25, 2012 11:50 AM by Vu Nguyen
From Vu
 Five Element Ninjas (1982) (Blu-ray) (13 Mar 2012)
I was pretty excited to see that amazon.com is listing a preorder for FIVE ELEMENTAL NINJAS. This is my all-time favorite Shaw Brothers movie, even though the version I saw in the theaters when I was a young boy was heavily edited and went under the title SUPER NINJAS.
I already have a bootleg DVD, a Region 3 Celestial Pictures release, and the "Enhanced" Tokyo Shock version.... but somehow I'm still excited to get my hands on the Blu-Ray version. I guess I just want a version of this film in the highest quality I can get it in. If you've never seen this classic, you need to do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this movie in any format.
>>> When a quintet of nasty ninjas hell-bent on world domination nearly massacres an entire clan, its lone survivor must take the path of
revenge. He meets up with an old master well versed in the ways of the
ninja. Now armed with secret knowledge and newfound friends, he must
battle the awesome power of the Five Element Ninjas, who harness the
powers of gold, wood, fire, water, and earth. Available on Blu-ray for
the first time in the popular Shaw Brothers Classic line from Media Blasters
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posted Dec 3, 2011 8:45 AM by Vu Nguyen
From Vu
Are you still recovering from Black Friday? I know my bank account isn't too happy... I did go a little nuts buying a lot of Blu-Rays on sale. I picked up Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (Best Buy 3D exclusive) for $18, Pulp Fiction ($3.99 at Target), Jackie Brown (Bluray), Unknown (Bluray for $7), Goonies (Bluray boxset with gameboard for $20), Goodfellas 25th Anniversary (Bluray/DVD for $12) ... too many to actually remember to name off the top of my head. What I didn't buy were video games, despite having going in thinking I would pick up a few cheap ones for the winter. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I'm already 60+ hours into playing Skyrim and I don't foresee a future that I'm NOT playing it. I personally feel that it's the best game I've ever played, even though there are a lot of bugs and slowness and annoyances... I thought buying the Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown on Bluray were going to be regretful, because I bought a Hellraiser Collection on Bluray (Part 4-8) and those movies were basically DVD upscaled. One of the movie was even in 1080i format! Anyway, I thought Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown were going to be "DVD quality", but I was wrong. The new transfer looked great, and for their price ($4 each!), they were worth it. Anyway, below are some music DVDs that I got for review. Unfortunately, they're DVD only for review purposes. If you had to put money on it, spending an extra $3-5 to upgrade to Blu-Ray disc is well-worth it, in my opinion. I honest don't even know why they make the DVD product anymore (are normal people still holding back on upgrading to Bluray?)
>>>
Soundstage DVD/Blu-Ray releases: November 2011
Title: Michael McDonald: Live/A Tribute to Motown Live
Appearances: Michael McDonald, Toni Braxton, India.Arie, Take 6, Billy Preston
Director: Joe Thomas
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Widescreen
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Studio: Image Entertainment
Blu-ray Release Date: November 1, 2011
Run Time: 122 minutes
Michael McDonald: Live: It Keeps You Runnin', Sweet Freedom,
I Keep Forgettin', I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Ain't No Mountain
High Enough, Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing, Black Water, Take Me in
Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While), Minute by Minute, What a Fool
Believes, Takin' It to the Streets.
Michael McDonald: A Tribute to Motown: I Second That
Emotion, I Was Made to Love Her, What’s Going On, I Heard It Through the
Grapevine, All in Love Is Fair, Stop Look Listen (To Your Heart), Baby
I’m for Real, Tracks of My Tears, Since I Lost My Baby, Loving You Is
Sweeter Than Ever, You’re All I Need to Get By, Ain’t No Mountain High
Enough, Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing, Nowhere to Run
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Monday, 28 November 2011
Just released for the holidays are three Soundstage DVDs/Blu-Rays from
Image Entertainment. The re-releases/re-issues seems like a good mix of
the "early" years: 2003 ( Chicago: Live in Concert), 2004 ( Steve Winwood: Live in Concert) and 2005 ( Michael McDonald: Live/A Tribute to Motown Live).
To give you a little background, Soundstage is a music series dating
back to 1974, but went away until founder Joe Thomas brought back the
series in 2003. The new shows were all shot in HD, and if you've ever
seen one of these Soundstage shows - the production is nothing less than
spectacular. Very entertaining to watch the performances, the playful
lights, and tight close-ups.
Fans of the band, or completists, should want to get these DVD/Bluray
release because there are often extra live performances not used on the
PBS program (due to time constraints). Unfortunately, the unused songs
are not incorporated into the main program, instead they can only be
accessed through the "Special Features" on the main menu.
What is nice about all three release is that they priced for those on a
budget, retail at $14.95 (DVD)/$19.95 (Bluray). If you can only afford
one of these three releases, I recommend Michael McDonald's video
because you're getting two full length concerts for the price of one.
With that, Michael McDonald's A Tribute to Motown Live and Michael McDonald Live
comes on one DVD or Bluray disc. Running time is about two hours, both
concerts directed by Joe Thomas. Setlist songs are similar, but with
emphasis on Motown songs on the first set.
Watching A Tribute to Motown Live is like watching a who's who
of special guests, from Billy Preston, Toni Braxton, Take 6, to
India.Arie. It is almost as much fun to watch as it is to hear these
classic Motown songs played live.
My favorite spot was the duet with Toni Braxton. The woman is dressed
to the nines, gorgeous to look at, and she's singing her poor heart out,
" Michael can you hear me?". But McDonald has his eyes closed,
playing piano and just singing obliviously. It's heartbreaking, does he
know that Toni Braxton is trying to reach out to him?
Maybe it's played for laughs, McDonald joked that he was going to wear Braxton's dress.
Just to quickly touch on the other two releases.
Chicago: Live in Concert can be rented ($2.99) or digitally owned ($9.99) on Amazon. I suggest just buying the Blu-Ray for maximum high definition (I believe streaming will be in standard defination).
The Chicago show is pretty special, considering that this is
Soundstage's second of the new shows. I didn't realize how big the
actual Chicago band, and they brought on a variety of horns and brass.
Most of the more bigger hit songs ("Hard Habit to Break") were sung by
Jason Scheff - who looked really young (compared to the other band
members), but he's really 41 back when this was filmed!
Setlist: Make Me Smile, Color My World, Now More Than Ever, If
You Leave Me Now, Dialogue, Hard Habit to Break, Saturday in the Park,
Beginnings, Just You ‘N’ Me, Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?,
Feelin’ Stronger Every Day, I’m a Man, Hard to Say I’m Sorry/Get Away,
Free, 25 or 6 to 4
As for Steve Winwood: Live in Concert, this was the shortest of
the three releases, but to make up for it, there are three bonus songs
not aired: "Rainmaker", "Different Light", and "Walking On".
I actually didn't know who he was, but I did know his big hit number,
"Back in the High Life Again". I honestly didn't know who sang that
song, it was just the song of the Summer of 1986.
Winwood's actually been around for ages, he's practically a living
legend. He started off playing a variety of instruments for some Blues
masters: Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker, Howlin' Wolf, B.
B. King, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, etc!
He found his footing working with Eric Clapton on Blind Faith and eventually went solo in the late 70s.
For the filming of his 2004 Soundstage performance, Winwood looked
quite energetic and alive for his age. I don't think you will find a
more happier looking performer on stage than Winwood.
Setlist: Can’t Find My Way Back Home, Empty Pages, Bully, Glad,
Freedom Rider, Back in the High Life Again, Dear Mr. Fantasy, Why Can’t
We Live Together.
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posted Nov 20, 2011 5:28 PM by Vu Nguyen
[
updated Nov 20, 2011 5:38 PM
]
From Vu
SCARFACE (1983) (Limited Edition Steelbook) (Sep 6, 2011)
I finally picked up Scarface on Bluray. I was holding back because I already own the DVD and didn't see a need to rush out to get it. I'm glad I waited because this week (in anticipation to Black Friday), Best Buy is selling these things for $11.99. I actually haven't watched it yet, but I did end up downloading an iTunes copy and redeemed a Vudu option. I noticed that Universal is NOW offering Amazon videos. Since I've already vested my chips in Vudu for video streaming, I've decided against Amazon for the time being. The main reason? Amazon videos and iTunes videos are NOT AVAILALBE on the Playstation 3, but Vudu, Hulu, Netflix, and CinemaNow are all there. Since the PS3 is the main source of how I view videos and play video games on my television, Amazon currently has not place in this world. As far as I know, Amazon does not appear anywhere except the Roku and certain Bluray players (all of which I do not own). This brings us to the next problem: UltraViolet movies. Currently not available anywhere except for the Flixster app on the iPad. I only own one UV video (for GREEN LANTERN (2011) (Best Buy) (14 Oct 2011)), and I don't think I've ever used the UV version anywhere else. The nice bonus is: it comes with an animated version of Green Lantern: Emerald Knights. Right now, I have a smattering of Vudu videos, which is nice to have, especially if I'm not on my home network but would like access to those movies at a friend's house or so. Bonus: The Scarface Steelcase comes with the original 1939 version of the film. It's DVD-only, but who care, it is a nice added bonus. |
posted Nov 6, 2011 6:54 PM by Vu Nguyen
From Vu
SPAGHETTI WESTERN 2: LAST GUN (1964) & FOUR DOLLARS OF REVENGE (1966) (March 22, 2011)
I bought the Bluray of "Last Gun" and "Four Dollars of Revenge". Could not sit and watch either movies. I love Spaghetti Westerns, but the poor acting, poor video quality, and even worst audio, put me off. On a positive note, the Bluray is really cheap, I picked up my copy at Best Buy for $5. If you just want to own a large movie library, value for value, it's not a bad deal. I find myself buying these double/triple feature to just add to my collection (I have over six thousand movies!). It also makes for a good cheap stocking stuffer for the "classic" movie fans. I may try and give it another chance when I'm on winter hibernation. I did look for the other release ( SPAGHETTI WESTERN 1: DJANGO (1966) & NOW THEY CALL HIM SACRAMENTO (1972)) but apparently there is a copyright issue with Django, so the release is being put on hold indefinitely.
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posted Nov 6, 2011 6:44 PM by Vu Nguyen
From Vu
DRAGON DYNASTY TRIPLE FEATURE: JET LI COLLECTION (11 Oct 2011)
If you were looking to pick up the Dragon Dynasty Triple Feature: Jet Li Collection - I saw the release at Walmart. I didn't pick it up, but the pricing is really attractive (under $13). It's a great deal, if you didn't already own the original release. I would have bought it if they had the Bluray version, since I already had the DVD version. I am pretty sure that Walmart is not selling the Bluray version, at least at the location I was at.
I will point out that the release is in a standard DVD case and not a triple DVD bundle.
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posted Sep 24, 2011 11:53 AM by Vu Nguyen
posted Sep 10, 2011 12:16 AM by Vu Nguyen
Updated
47: Five Shaolin Masters: The Shaw Brothers Classic Collection (1979) (09 Aug 2011)
48: Executioners from Shaolin: The Shaw Brothers Classic Collection (1977) (09 Aug 2011)
49: Mad Monkey Kung Fu: The Shaw Brothers Classic Collection (1982) (09 Aug 2011)
50: Martial Arts Of Shaolin: The Shaw Brothers Classic Collection (1986) (09 Aug 2011)
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posted Aug 2, 2011 1:26 PM by Vu Nguyen
I normally write about music at weheartmusic.com, but after seeing
this film, I was inspire to write about it. Unfortunately it doesn't
fit in with music, so I'm putting it here.
>>>
I just saw one of the strangest movie called WOMB. Not strange like David Lynch, but strange in how the movie makes you feel.
WOMB is a German film, but it's clearly aimed at the English-speaking audience, especially with the British accents. The
movie about two childhood friends (Tommy and Rebecca) and their love
for each other. They swore eternal true love, but ultimately the boy
dies in a horrible car accident right on the verge of their developing
boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. Stricken with sadness, she had
Tommy's embryo put inside of her womb and she gives birth to Tommy's
clone (he's also named Tommy, but for clarity sake, I'm calling him
Tommy2). Not really sure the science behind this, but
Tommy2 grows up to about Rebecca's age in a few years. There are sexual
tensions when Tommy2 brings home a girlfriend. There's a
lot of weird questions you find yourself asking about love and sex. For
instance, when they were children, they were more or less like brothers
and sisters. As their role become mother and child, it becomes even
more awkward. Is this socially acceptable? What is right and what is
wrong? I like the film a lot because it makes you question those things. WOMB
reminds me of another movie called MOON, which was released in 2009.
If you haven't seen MOON, just talking about the plot ruins the movie,
so I'll just leave it at that. My next film that I want to
check out is called ANOTHER EARTH. I don't think this movie is playing
anywhere near me, but from seeing the trailer, I suspect this is an
indie drama (lots of dialogue), with this weird backdrop of another
Earth appearing in the sky. Earth 1 is asking who/why is cloning their
Earth? Then you realized, not only is there a doppelgänger of you
somewhere on Earth 2, but what if that other you made different
decisions. It's really interesting, what if you were to meet yourself.
Without even talking, that other person knows exactly who you are.
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posted May 11, 2011 9:30 PM by Vu Nguyen
posted Apr 9, 2011 2:20 PM by Vu Nguyen
Updated
SCARFACE (1983) (Limited Edition Steelbook) (Sep 6, 2011)
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I own a lot of movies, I'm particularly interested in old Shaw Brothers movie. So in an effort of keeping up-to-date on the latest releases, I've started a directory/catalog of old Martial Arts films. 
)
