Skin City - 26 of the Philippines' Hottest Babes (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)Great celebrity phot shots all in a building under contstruction or reneuvation in the city of lights Manila Philippines.

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SKIN CITY - 26 of the Philippines' Hottest Babes. Reveal Their Souls. Strip their Inhibitions.Bare it all. Philippine Mature DVD. No Regional Coding. Plays on ALL DVD Players Worldwide. DVD Description:Total Viewing Pleasure from Andrea to Zarra.Skin City video brings together all the Hot Babes from batch one to present plus other sexy sirens.Get a Blow-by-blow as it takes you behind the scenes of a magazine pictorial. Peep into their dressingroom. See them get down and dirty. Observe them in naked protest. Never before has a video been thischock-full of hotties!Get goose bumps from skin-tinglers Andrea, Anna, Asia, Avi, Claire, Desiree, Ella V., Hazel, Jen,Jennifer, Katrina, Katya, Kristine, Lailanie, Mara, Maricar, Maui, Rachelle, Raven, Renee, Sachie,Scarlet, Sheree, Sophie, Vanessa and Zarra. From eye-popping poses to steamy secrets and dangerousdisclosures, this video will surely make you jump out of your skin! Spoken Dialogue: English & Tagalog. Special Features: Previews of other Sexy Viva DVDs.*All Region Disc [No Regional Coding]

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PTU: Police Tactical Unit (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)PTU (Police Tactical Unit) is the handiwork of award-winning Hong Kong director; Johnnie To(Full-time Killer, Exiled, Breaking News). I've always read that Johnnie To is the epitome of hard-boiled cool, his films usually have that dark, gritty style with sly humor and stylized, intense gunfights. PTU's screenplay all happens in one evening, and while its premise is quite simple, with a script not as polished as "Infernal Affairs", To's signature style is still represented quite proudly.
Synopsis derived from the dvd back cover:
Set against a TsimSha Tsui that never sleeps, a stolen police sidearm triggers a suspenseful chain of events. Tracking down the missing gun before dawn, police inspector Lo (Lam Suet, Dog Bite Dog) gets his car vandalized, then he gets beaten up by street thugs. Suddenly, he is wedged between two gangs on a brink of a bloodbath. While staving off investigations by both the anti-vice squad and homicidal unit embroiled in a turf war. His only lifeline is a maverick team of Police Tactical Unit headed by a cop named Mike Ho (Simon Yam, Exiled) who helps him search for his missing gun.
PTU stands for Police Tactical Unit, the film itself uses a very simple premise. But the film is full of the usual Johnnie To signature. Characters, all threads collide in one night, high contrasting light versus dark. A natural minimalization versus a deep sense of dark humor. The film has a very cool and precise timing in its proceedings that the film is a gritty visual ballet.
The delight of watching To's films is the way the scenes unfold; questions are answered and more questions arise. Although the film does leave some questions unanswered, a clever script, great acting, humor smartly dispersed in its proceedings and the film does have a few surprises in store for the viewer; makes for very powerful cinema. There's really a very slim chance that the viewer will figure out the climax that is the beauty of Johnnie's films. Also, the magic of his film-making is that the director always finds the right actors for the role. Lam Suet hardly plays a lead role and that adds to the feeling of unknown and the viewer will have no difficulty connecting with his eccentric character. Simon Yam fits the role of over-the-top policeman Mike Ho, his methods are a bit extreme and unorthodox at times, but he does have his own sense of loyalty and camaraderie that is very effective.
PTU, truth be told, is another "buddy flick" because Johnnie likes to emphasize friendship in his films, but he adds nasty and dark characters to balance the shades of gray, black and white, good and evil. The supporting characters are given a purpose in the film's direction. No wasted opportunity, as Johnnie To maneuvers the proceedings to ultimate irony. There is a lot of dialogue and the film balances out with its excellent cinematography, which brings us to its strongest point. The film is mostly shot at night, and the awesome use of lighting gives the film a dark, atmospheric feel. In a way, the film is presented almost like a stage play, the members of PTU move around in the rain and uses simple street lamps to emphasize attention to what is happening, that under the spotlight; something relevant that may affect the lives of others is going on. I rather thought that the spotlights were meant to represent the underworld, its dealings and the rules that apply.
However, on the minus side, the film's pacing suffer a bit because there are quite a few "slow" moments and the action is almost non-existent until the climax. Now, don't take this as negative comments, the film is great the way it is; a police drama that makes a really good effort in engaging its audience that even though the film is slower paced than most of To's films, the style is immersive as the story unfolds. That is one of Johnnie To's strengths; he has a great feel for storytelling.
PTU may not be as explosive as his other films such as EXILED, The Mission and Full time Killer, but the film is definitely worth a watch. PTU is a clever return to Hong Kong crime drama, that even with its rather slower pace, the film can stand on its own as one of Johnnie To's greats.
RECOMMENDED! For fans of cop/triad films [3 ½ stars+]
Note: I own the Hong Kong release by Mei-Ah entertainment, the Dragon Dynasty release should carry an English dubbed track.

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Follows a police tactical unit during one dangerous night on the streets of Hong Kong.The tough, single-minded team has until dawn to recover a cop's stolen gun and clean upthe accompanying mess, but things take a deadly twist when their mission intersects with a web of gangland crimes.

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Yo-Yo Sexy Girl Cop (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)Woopak the Thrill is about to lose all credibility and "fans"...
"Yo-yo Girl Cop" starred J-pop star Aya Matsuura as the beautiful Saki. That film was manga-inspired and while it was somewhat silly, it was action-packed and fun to watch. Aya Matsuura's film however, did fulfill any male fantasies about a hot Japanese girl in a sailor moon outfit. "Yo-yo Sexy Girl Cop" (aka. Sukepan deka: Bajin nemu= Moromie Saki) is a sexy spoof of that action packed film which starred Aya Matsuura. Director Daigo Udagawa seems poised to fulfill all male fantasies when he casts the Beautiful, ex-AV star/nude model Mihiro Taniguchi (Cruel Restaurant) as Saki Moromi, code-named agent "see-through panties"--do I have your attention yet?
Saki (Mihiro) is a beautiful high school girl secretly working for a secret agency as "special student" undercover cop. Her uniform includes a pair of see-through underwear. She is sent to investigate a prostitution ring in Takanoha high, in exchange, her mother who has been incapacitated is to be set free. Once there, Saki is picked on and bullied by other teenagers because of her former status as a "thug girl-boss". While attending school there, she becomes fond of a young man named Takuya and befriends the school hottie, Asuka (Rio Nakamura). Saki seemed poised to find happiness and becomes torn between love and duty. Fate intervenes and her new friend until her former classmate/prostitute Asuka is murdered while attending to a client. Saki takes on personal vengeance on those who run the prostitution ring who is the school's headmaster and a hot teacher named Reiko. Her weapon of choice is a deadly yo-yo and her battle cry is "I will never forgive you!"
To be honest, I really don't know how to approach this film. Heck, I don't even know why I'm reviewing it. Anyway, the film is fun--it is full of sexy humor and does have the usual elements of a "pink" film. The humor does remind me somewhat of the Korean sex-comedy "Sex is Zero" and its main premise is very similar to Yo-Yo Girl Cop. Oh, yeh, it did make me say "What the heck?" and did cause me to scratch my head a number of times. The film has teen issues omnipresent throughout: fitting in, meeting a boy and curiosity about sex. But the film also has the usual elements of "pink" violence such as vengeance and lost of innocence. The violence is toned down and is a step backward from The Machine Girl or the film with Aya Matsuura. So don't expect an ultra-violent movie.
Now the film's main draw has to be the abundance of sex and nudity. The nudity isn't full frontal as in The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai but there is a good number of them. Mihiro, Rio Nakamura and the sexy teacher (don't know her name) are seen in their naked glory for quite a number of times and they're nicely shot. The sex scenes are quite graphic; they're better than the ones in late night cable but a step backward from actual hardcore stuff. The action (ahem) other than the sex, I mean are the fight scenes have a lot to be desired. All they involve is Saki using her yo-yo and flashing her see-through underwear.
"YO-YO SEXY GIRL COP" is a fun watch I supposed as long as one remembers exactly what he is watching. If you liked "Ikki Tousen" then this film may be for you. The film's plot is irrelevant and it is very obvious that all the effort is put in showcasing Mihiro`s beauty. (and Japanese prancing around, teasing with their short skirts). I often wonder just how Japanese filmmakers can make almost any film that comes to their mind--no one knows sleazy and exploitive films better than the Europeans and the Japanese. This film is just pure "guilty pleasure" and geared towards Mihiro's fans.
Definitely not for everybody but BEER or Sake will enhance its viewing experience.
Recommended with caution to fans of Japanese "pink" films and a rental to those who like "late night" cinemax. [2 ½ Stars]
Video/Audio: 4.33 aspect ratio. Simple but clean transfer with 2.0 Dolby Digital Surround.
Extras: Behind the scenes/Trailers/coming attractions/galleries

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A sexy spoof on the popular series "Yo-Yo Sexy Cop!" Saki (Mihiro) is a beautiful high school girl secretly working for the Japanese government as a "special student undercover cop." Her uniform includes a pair of see-through underwear. Attending a prestigious high school, Saki is sent to investigate a student prostitution ring in order to bail her estranged mother out of jail. Once there, Saki gets bullied and emotionally abused by her classmates because of her "see-through" underwear. Falling in love with a boy named Takuya, Saki is torn between love and duty. Soon, she befriends a classmate/prostitute Asuka, who is later murdered when her double life is discovered. Joining forces with the girls from the school, Saki takes out her personal revenge on the prostitution ring run by the headmaster and a teacher named Reiko. Her weapon is a yo-yo and her battle cry is "I will never ever forgive you!"

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Funky Forest: The First Contact (Sub) (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)An artistic masterpiece or just one very odd film? Depending on the viewer, "FUNKY FOREST" (or "Nice no Mori") could be anything I suppose. And I think that because it's so strange, fun and at times, mind boggling, it's why I the film has become a cult-hit.
I am quite familiar with the work of Katsuhito Ishii, who definitely received some rave reviews for his film "The Taste of Tea" at the Cannes Film Festival but what happens when you take one of the most popular abstract and creative directors and pair him up with equally creative filmmakers such as Shunichiro Miki and ANIKI, you're definitely going to get something wild, unique and something you probably never have seen before.
To explain "FUNKY FOREST" would be a bit difficult. It's not written as a straightforward film. There is no actual climatic points or anything like that. It's 21 free-associative short episodes featuring some of the weirdest characters and also cameos by well-known Japanese talent.
For example,"Little Hataru" is a single segment starring a young girl who is bored and bored of homework, so she has the ability to leave reality and enter some sort of dimension, space or time or does she?
One of my favorite segments in the film are featuring the the Guitar Brothers. Three unpopular brothers, Katsuichi, Masaru and Masao. For their storyline, Katsuichi (Terajima) tries to learn dance but eventually goes to the Hot Springs where he encounters three beautiful women and tries to develop the guts to ask them out for a singles party. Masaru (Asano) is a guitarist. A very good guitarist but somehow he tries to get the approval of his little brother, a Caucasian/portly child who is constantly eating Snicker bars and responds with bad/limited Japanese.
Another favorite segment is "Notti and Takefumi". Two young adults, Notti (or Nocchi) likes jogging and spending time with Takefumi. Takefumi teaches English, has an awesome vinyl collection (which I'm crediting to filmmaker ANIKI for including his passion for vinyl's in this segment) but despite being close, they are dating but not dating. There is no romantic relationship, they look very close but somehow aren't. But they enjoy each other's company. A very intriguing relationship by these two individuals and fun segment to watch.
The Mole Brothers is reminscent to a lot of comedic duos in Japan who have their bit of slapping the other person behind the head and all in all, just telling jokes that may or may not be funny.
Babbling Hot Spring Vixens feature three young women taking a trip to the hot springs and telling the stories that they had in their life (or what other's are having). For this segment, the women meet Masaichi (of the Guitar Brothers) and have fun with him by singing happy birthday and giving him 10,000 Yen. And Katsuichi may have found love and tries to ask one of the women out to a single's party. Then one of the girls tells a story that she heard from Takefumi (from the Notti and Takefumi story) about aliens and entering a UFO.
After the first 70 minutes of the film, you get a 3-minute intermission. If you thought the first half was quite weird, your in for a ride as the second half of the film just gets wilder, stranger and also much more enjoyable!
The second half starts off with "Wanna Go For a Drink?" featuring a girl who runs into a guy wearing an animal suit but with its tail coming out of his frontal region. The guy asks the teenager to pull his tail and she thinks she's on candid camera or something. Once she pulls it, she's joined by a slick-haired Takefumi wearing the top half of a black tie and suit and underwear. It appears these people may be aliens. They ask her to stick something in her bellybutton which allows them to start their machine.
One of my favorite segments from the second half of the film is "Homeroom Room!!!" featuring Masaichi (Guitar Brothers) teaching a class of students young and old. Special note: Among the students are Hideaki Anno (creator of the anime "Neon Genesis Evangelion"), who also has a few parts of him acting throughout the film. In one segment, one students is ticked because someone stole one of his shoes and goes through a long dialogue blaming his class, until he sits back down and you realize he is wearing both shoes. The next segment features Ms. Kikuchi (a cameo by Academy Award nominee, "Babel" actress Rinko Kikuchi) playing the class president who has her class repeat her "yankee" (bully) like talk.
"Guitar Brothers" makes its return in the second half with a hilarious piece because you know that Masaru (Asano) is talking to Masao (Alfieri) in Japanese and Masao has no idea what he's saying but it's just funny to watch. Especially when Masaichi invites them for ramen and Masao just jumps up and down with excitement saying "iku iku" (which is term in Japan used for something a bit nasty) instead of "ikou ikou".
But then the aliens (CGI) start to become part of the storyline as some of the classmates from "Home Room!!!" start to play with the aliens as musical instruments. And even revealing that some of these students may be aliens themselves. Such as a scene where one student holding an alien, has another student plugging that alien's tentacle to his rear. Another scene features a stump-like thing (or a nude woman laying down with her legs up in the air) and out of these stump are branches of little alien men. One has a unhappy face, so one must stroke his tentacle to make him happy.
These are examples of the wild storylines from each of the 21 episodes included in "FUNKY FOREST".It's hard to even explain the film but what I like about the film is how much was improvised and how creative the director's had in creating such an unsually odd, unique but entertaining film.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
The original film was shot in 35mm and is presented with an aspect ratio of 1:85:1 and is featured in anamorphic widescreen (16:9). The film is shot in so many locations, indoor, outdoor, cramped rooms, hot springs, parks, schools, etc. As for the audio, the primary film is mostly dialogue but during the scenes that feature music, your home theater system literally blasts off with the audio really blaring out in full force.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Before talking about the features, this release features two DVD's. The first disc features the movie and has two types of chapter menus. The Director's Chapter menu is primarily if you want to watch the segments directed by either Ishii, Miki or ANIKI.Definitely a thumbs up for the DVD featuring these two different types of menu. The first disc also features the original Japanese theatrical, television and teaser trailers.
The second DVD has a few special features which are:
* The Making of "Funky Forest" - "Into the World of the Unfathomable Forest" - This feature is about 70-minutes long and was a blast to watch. One thing that I enjoyed was seeing all the cameos of actors I have seen on Japanese television before pretty much excited with working with one of these directors and knowing how weird the project will be but because of that, really wanting to be involved. Also, hearing from the other talent who had a blast to take part in the film and literally improvise. That was fun! But I think the coolest part featured anime director Hideaki Anno ("Neon Genesis Evangelion", "Gunbuster", "Kare Kano", etc.) and his interview and even some of the staff having their special edition DVD's signed by him because they were such big fans. So, overall this was an awesome special feature.
* "Katsuichi's Dance" Secret Treasure (A Choreography Lesson Video) - This features a segment in the beginning where Katsuichi has to dance and basically a behind-the-scenes choreography in which actor Susumu Terajima had to learn the dance moves.
* "The Transfer Student is Here" (Video Contents) - This is more or less the storyboard like work from this segment.
* Viz Pictures Presents - Trailers of other film releases from Viz Pictures
When it comes to odd films, creative or artistic type of films, I'm actually quite open to them and always interested in seeing how fresh the ideas can come from a director or in this case directors. I've heard so much about the creativity behind Katsuhito Ishii's "The Taste of Tea" and so, I was very much interested in watching "FUNKY FOREST: The First Contact".
This is a type of film, sort of like looking at an abstract piece of art. Everyone has their own interpretation. Some may find it beautiful, some may find it refreshing and unique, some may find it bland and some may find it uninteresting. This is one of those type of films that some will get and some won't.
There are a lot of dream sequences that can be interpreted in many types of ways, the appearances of aliens can either mean that the people we are watching are indeed aliens or just a manifestation of boredom or stress. It's one of those films that you just don't analyze or figure out what, you just sit and watch and just laugh and enjoy because of its unique and strange presentation.
There are some visual references that possibly can be considered as sexual or even nasty (ie. stroking an alien's tentacle up and down to make it happy) or an alien with odd-shaped nipples that shoots out a variety of things from them. Or a bulbous type of whatever you may want to call it, that comes out of the butt of an alien. These are not meant to be taken seriously, but they are funny to watch nonetheless.
Granted, of the 21-episodes, not all of them are winners. There are some that I felt were a bit too long (such as Takefumi's dream sequence) and...Read more›

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Cult-favorite director Katsuhito Ishii (The Taste of Tea, Shark Skin Man & Peach Hip Girl) teams up with the talented Shunichiro Miki and ANIKI to create another visually inventive masterpiece! Funky Forest features hilariously odd characters that will take you on an unpredictable cosmic journey.Three unpopular brothers, Masaichi, Masaru and Masao, are struggling to be popular among the girls. Luckily enough, they finally get a chance to have a co-ed picnic with some pretty young ladies! With 21 free-associative episodes ranging from a nonsense "sci-fi" comedy to a dance-battle daydream, Funky Forest: The First Contact will challenge your mind and melt logic, as its unique characters find themselves in warped dimensions way past our imagination.DISC 1:Feature: FUNKY FOREST: THE FIRST CONTACT Director s chapter menuInterval chapter menuJapanese Original TrailersDolby Digital Surround 5.1DISC 2:The Making of Funky Forest- Into the World of the Unfathomable Forest A Choreography Lesson Video- Katsuichi s Dance Secret Treasure Video Contents- The Transfer Student is Here!

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Karla (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)This was a very disturbing, yet, very engrossing movie. Real life crime stories intrique me and this was no exception. I thought the two main leads, Collins and Prepon were exceptionally good and it's a role certainly against type for Prepon. Perhaps there is too much sympathy for Karla in the movie, however, if some of the deleted scenes had been included, it may not have been the case in the finished product. This movie could have been explotive if the sex and rape scenes were more brutal, but, I commend all involved for leaving more to the immaginiation than the eyes. It's a movie you really want to follow almost word for word, frame by frame, as to not miss something that might give you a reason to understand the callousness and the brutality of the two principals in the case. I highly recommend this movie, but, it is disturbing, especially knowing it is based on a true story. Well done, well crafted, and well worth seeing.

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Evil has a beautiful face. A deeply disturbing true story "The Ken and Barbie Killers" Winter - 1990. The most notorious serial killers in the history ofCanadabegin their psychological dance with death and depravityas an entirecountry is held captive in fear.In stunningly acclaimed performances, Laura Prepon ("That 70's Show","Slackers", "Come Early Morning") and Misha Collins (TV's "24", "NCSI")breathe perverse life into their real life counterparts, Paul Bernardo andKarla Homolka, dubbed by an anxious press the"Ken and Barbie Killers". As the gruesome events unfold, and lovely young girls disappear, the utterlack of remorse from Paul coupled with his quirky charisma paint adelusional world of normalcy for Karla. Police frantically search for and eventually put an end to the couple'shorrific killing spree and their trial captivates the entire nation,setting off waves of controversy surrounding the brutal killings. In the end, this gripping, tension-packed film will haunt you forever leftto ponder the psyches of two individuals in a tragically dementedrelationship...because it's true. Written By: Michael D.

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Kill Zone (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)Now this is how you make a crime-drama action film. The less said about this film, the better. This film is directed by Wilson Yip, and is without a doubt one of the greatest action films to come out of Hong Kong in a long, long time. My friend gave this DVD to me a few months ago, and I can't believe I waited so long to finally open up the package and watch this film. It's terrific. The other reviewers are not exagerating or over-emphasizing how great this film is. It's totally terrific! The beginning, middle and ending of the film is just great!
As for the choreographed action scenes--they are the best I have ever seen. Donnie Yen is just outstanding! The film centers around a group of cops who have attempted to put a crime boss named Po (Sammo Hung) behind bars. However, they have run out of patience and decide to frame him for a crime he didn't commit. And I can tell you, in the action scenes, Sammo can move as quickly as anyone can. Don't let his physique fool you. He's lightening quick.
When Ma (Donnie Yen) is pegged as the replacement for Detective Chan (Simon Yam) he finds that he is in a pretty tangled predicatment. With Detective Chan making up rules as he tries to nab Po, Ma finds his loyalties to Chan in question. However, he views things from a distance. He is a clean cop, and wants to catch the bad guys the right way. The fight scenes with him in this film are so realistic, they are incredible. Please viewers, do not give away this film's ending. It's incredible. I never expected the ending of this film coming. It totally floored me. Highly recommended. [Stars: 5+]

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In this good cop versue bad gangster action thriller, Dectective Chan (Simon Yam) relentlessly pursues the vidious crime boss Po (Sammo Hung) but eventually gives up in frustration and looks toward retirement. His replacement, Ma (Donnie Yen) is a principled committed cop who is skilled in martial arts and has a reputation for violence.The death of a cop who was planted undercover in Po's gang causes further unbalance between the sides as the cops seek justice for the loss of their brother

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Seven Swordsmen: The Complete Uncut Series (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)What is even better is that Tai Seng has released this unedited! That means we get to watch all 39 episodes that come in at about 41 minutes a piece in their entirety. In China they run 5 new episodes a week and continue this during the weekdays until the show ends. In the past Tai Seng has released EXTREMELY shortened versions of these tv shows. Kung Fu Master and New Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon are 2 that I enyjoyed but had to find the whole show on VCD. These series run in cycles of 5 episodes and before this release we were only able to view maybe 20-30% of the show. Basically we see 40 minutes out of every 200. I think the reason they released the Seven Swordsman in it's entirety is because of it's huge popularity in China and it would be a crime to try and edit this great series.
The story starts off with the town called Martial Village gearing up for a fight with the Ching empire. The Ching's are coming to look for little King Lu, one of the last descendents of the former emporer. The Prince who is the leader of the army will certainly get who he wants. So an old master(Senior Fu) shows up willing to help these people in need. What they find out is that he was the executioner of the Ming dynasty! He has killed millions of people and now wants to do good deeds with his life. Why? He is not looking to make up for the killings he has done, he has just decided it would be better to try and help the country rather than stand aside. So he brings 2 young men from Martial Village and tries to recruit the 4 famed swordsmen from Mount Heaven. When the swordsmen's master Shadow-glow hears of this he says there is no way. Finally Senior Fu gets him to agree and even the 2 young kids become part of the Seven Swordsmen. All of them get special swords including Senior Fu who gets his old sword reforged. The story between master Shadow-Glow and Senior Fu was amazing but too short. So they leave on their journey to help the Red Spear Society get to another province where there are more of their members. The leader of the society(Leung Ka-yan, aka beardy) knows that there is a traitor in the society and does everything he can to find him. 2nd brother Yung Yangchong gets framed and is forced to leave the group and brother 1 ends up following him. He goes on a soul searching journey and finds a group called the Eagle's of the Desert who are in serious trouble and need to find water very badly. Now is when we meet Fei Hongjin. She has to be the most beautiful asian actress I have ever seen right up there with Christy Chung, Lily Li, and Brigitte Lin. She even has the acting ability of those 3 huge stars. This woman really made the show for me but the acting for everybody was as good as it can get overall.
So I really don't want to describe anymore as I already went up to episode 14 or so. The story revolves mainly around brother 1-Chu Zhaonan, played by Vincent Zhao of the Blade and Green Snake fame and brother 2-Yang Yungchong. Of course brother 3 and 4(of the original 4 master swordmen) have their stories and while I didn't like brother 3 at first, I really opened up to him and had me wishign he was in the show more. You may recognize brother 3 from the movie Tai Chi 2 and I think he is the dark skinned bald guy in Jet Li's Shaolin Temple movies. So brother 1 and 2 have some serious problems in their journeys and man do I mean serious.
The thing that I really liked about this show was the many different stories are going on and how detailed they go into them. All kinds of women problems, murders, being framed, you name it, these guys probably went through it. There is even your standard assassin who comes to kill the swordsmen and they even explore his personality.
Along with brothers 1 and 2 we get a look behind the scenes of the government. The prince-Duo Gedou has an odd relationship with the general's daughter-Menghui. And the daughter of the leader of the red spear society-Yufang, has love interests of her own. To my great liking, Fei Hongjin is the last of the major characters.
So will Yang Yungchong prove he is not the traitor? Will Chu Zhaonan ever shake his bad luck? Will Fei Hongjin ever be able to love a man? You will have to find out in this epic TV show full of love and chivalry.
Being a kung fu fan I must tell you that the martial arts are not great in this. Now the cinematography is very good and really sells all of the special effects going on so that the action does end up being very exciting. If you go into this expecting more of a drama than an action show, you will be very pleased.
This TV show has possibly the highest production value I have ever seen for China. Needless to say it has some of the best acting ever also. Tai Seng unfortunately didn't put any special features on any of these discs, not even a behind the scenes. Not a big deal though as the picture quality is PERFECT and is presented in a nice 16:9 widscreen picture format. There are chinese and luckily English subtitles. The subtitling job is very professional and has minor errors that can't really be avoided as this was most likely a Chinese person who translated this. You have to appreciate all of the time and effort that was put into it.
Now the box this comes in is really nice looking but ends up being a cheap plastic case that holds 8 discs yet looks like it should hold 1. My suggesstion is to never fully snap close the case. If you do it can all get stuck together and break your DVD's.
Also, please post on here if anyone hears about Seven Swordsmen 2.


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SEVEN SWORDSMEN COMPLETE SERIES - DVD Movie

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Forest of Death (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)Great movie. Although I think it's more about aliens than the supernatural. The ending gave it away to me at least. It starts as a ghost story about mysterious deaths then goes into a scientific explanation... that just turns right back around on you and ends up being that the forest are the hiding spot/experimental grounds for extra terrestrials to observe humans. Just as the botanists in the beginning of the movie was studying the emotions of the plants it turns out that aliens are using the forest to study the emotions of humans. Very interesting, and if you watch the film I don't think anyone ever got or understood what was going on. At least it doesn't seem so from all the reviews.

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In this mind-twisting thriller from the creators of "The Eye" and "Re-cycle," a dark forest known for causing mysterious deaths becomes the focus of a recent savage murder. A homicide detective, a botanist researching the paranormal, and his tabloid TV reporter girlfriend each embark on a treacherous journey to the heart of this "Forest of Death," where a chilling revelation awaits them all.

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Seance (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)Ever since Hideo Nakata's Ringu achieved international acclaim, Japanese film companies have pushed hard to capitalize on that film's success. While much of this effort has, admittedly, produced other high-quality and interesting horror films, even the worthwhile efforts tend to follow set formulaic schemes. Many Japanese directors get so caught up in sleekly packaging mere repeats of previous scare scenes that they forget to experiment or even create a coherent world or story for the horror to occupy. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, however, constantly puts a new spin on the genre. From Cure to Charisma, Kairo to Doppleganger, horror's role in Kurosawa's films is always changing. The ways in which he experiments makes even his weaker efforts, as SEANCE regrettably shows itself to be, required viewing for film enthusiasts.
The film is most interesting in its first half, which is more marital drama than supernatural thriller. Junko Sato (Jun Fubuki) is a medium who, between the seances she performs, works with graduate student Hayakawa (Tsuyoshi Kusanagi) on a study chronically the potential for mediums to help the police in solving serious crimes. Junko's husband, Katsuhiko (Koji Yakusho), is a sound engineer on the way up, having recently finished his first major television project. Unfortunately for him, he leaves a large case unlocked as he records audio near Mount Fuji, and a young kidnapped girl, fleeing from her captor, picks it as a safe hiding place. Without noticing, he locks the case and takes it home with him; the poor girl remains locked inside until Junko, looking into the same kidnapping case at Hayakawa's behest, feels the girl's presence and discovers her unconscious body. She is not yet dead, though this is perhaps unlucky, and Junko leaps at this opportunity to prove, through a hoax, that her abilities are real and useful. The plan seems to work just fine, until the girl mysteriously turns up dead and her ghost begins to haunt the Satos.
What could have been quite an ordinary horror film, or, like the original, a fairly by-the-numbers thriller, under the control of many other directors is made truly interesting with Kiyoshi Kurosawa at the helm. Kurosawa's stated love for American films from the middle of the century is apparent throughout: the characters' lives beat at the slower pace pervading older American films, and the camerawork, pacing, and music suggest other elements of those films. And towards the end of the first hour, when things start to go downhill for our protagonists, Kurosawa creates a fantastically foreboding atmosphere. Things left off-screen are crucial parts of scenes, and somehow Kurosawa keeps their presence etched in our minds. When these elements start to disappear, replaced by an jarringly quicker pace, unconvincing special effects, and a drastic change in the film's focus, SEANCE begins to misfire. The plot is thrown to the wind (at a couple of occasions, it is as if in the world of the film fingerprinting does not exist), and any cohesiveness in characters, too, disappears. Despite all of these problems, Kurosawa keeps his audience glued to the screen and appeals so strongly to base instinct that these intellectual qualms, which seem so obvious in hindsight, must be almost searched for in context.
Only Jun Fubuki gives a performance as believable and multi-faceted as is to be found in most of Kurosawa's other work. This is no fault of the other actors, though, but seems to be inherent in the script. Koji Yakusho's character is, for most of the film, merely a plot device to help demonstrate and develop his wife's character. It is when the film's focus suddenly shifts to him that things begin to feel awkward, though this, also, is none of his fault. Yakusho has a brilliant way of making adrenaline and violence seem natural and almost warranted, and the rare scene where he physically beats the phantom haunting he and his wife could only be pulled of believably by Yakusho. The rest of the cast, including Ren Osugi and Sho Aikawa in brief cameos, all have simple, plot-advancing roles to play and do them well enough, it's just a pity that none of them were given any real opportunities to develop fleshed-out characters.
For the first hour or so, SEANCE is among Kurosawa's most engaging and interestingly approached films. That the second half is so disjointed (not in the deliberate, helpful way of some of Kurosawa's other films like Doppelganger) is therefore more disappointing than if the whole film had been simply mediocre. Still, for a film made within the confines of a made-for-television horror outing, SEANCE is an impressive show of Kurosawa's creativity and talent.

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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.

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The Shaolin Warriors (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)not too bad. some good action. almost like most other story relating to Shaolin action movies.

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SHAOLIN WARRIORS - DVD Movie

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