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Anna to the Infinite Power - Based on a young adult
novel by Mildred Ames, ANNA TO THE INFINITE POWER plays largely
like one of those nifty seventies TV movies - the cast comes
mainly from television - with a somewhat healthier budget (the
more light-hearted THE HIDEAWAYS - the feature adaptation of E.L.
Konigsburg's novel "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" is the closest equivalent I can think of). Where
the film fails is in the family drama part of the plot. Although
the strained relationship between siblings Anna and Rowan (who
regrets telling his mother that the only reason he loved Anna
was because he believed she was his sister) at the core of the
film is moving, the parents split up and come back together
conveniently for the plot (the husband isn't given much to do
while the mother never comes across as entirely sympathetic).
DVD Release Date: April 27th, 2010
Diana Dors Double Bill
BD - Is Your Honeymoon Really
Necessary? never really answers its own question, but has no
difficulty delivering laughs in full measure. U.S. officer
Laurie Vining (Bonar Colleano) hopes to spend a romantic
honeymoon in London with new bride Gillian (Diana Decker).
Unfortunately, Vining's former wife Candy (Diana Dors) flounces
into view, claiming that their divorce is invalid. My Wife's
Lodger - Upon returning home from six years of military service,
Roche has an unpleasant surprise awaiting. His house now
resembles a circus. Dwyer, a lodger who is loved by all, becomes
Roche's chief adversary. After getting drunk, Roche learns that
he's inherited a Texas ranch. Dwyer is also revealed to be a
crook. It's not much of a farce, but the energy of the ensemble
partly makes up for the film's lack of coherence and taste.
Blu-ray Release date: June 21st, 2010
Alice Goodbody - Bubbly waitress Alice Goodbody's
(Sharon Kelly) dreams of stardom seem to be coming true when she
catches the eye of Myron (Daniel Kaufman) the assistant
production manager on Massive Pictures' musical of JULIUS CAESAR
(seemingly a spoof of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR - the marquee of
which is prominently visible in one of the guerilla-shot LA
street scenes - with the title song "Julius Caesar, Crowd
Pleaser"). DVD Release Date: August 17th, 2010
Mother
BD - The Host director Bong Joon Ho presents a
different kind of monster in a searing, subversive mystery
thriller that rips through the facade of small-town Korea.
Veteran actress Kim Hye Ja delivers a commanding performance as
the devoted mother who goes to desperate extremes to protect her
mentally disabled son, played by popular actor Won Bin (Taegukgi)
appearing in his first film in five years. Premiering at the
Cannes Film Festival, Mother opened in Korea to blockbuster
reception, proving to be another commercial and critical hit for
Bong. Magnolia Blu-ray Release date: July 20th, 2010
Requiem For a Vampire - Two girls disguised as clowns
have broken a convict associate out of prison. When he is shot
during a car chase, they abandon the vehicle and their disguise
and take off on foot. After using their wits and their figures
to steal food and escaping being buried alive in a cemetery,
they eventually find themselves in a remote castle inhabited by
a clan of vampires. If not for the abundant nudity (and a
sadistic, red-tinted sequence of the vampires attacking women in
chains), this lyrical film would make an ideal companion piece
to the Czech fantasy VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS or even
Rollin's underrated TWO ORPHAN VAMPIRES. Encore Entertainment
DVD Release Date: October 13th, 2005
Early Summer
BD - The Mayima family is seeking a husband
for their daughter, Noriko, but she has ideas of her own. Played
by the extraordinary Setsuko Hara, Noriko impulsively chooses
her childhood friend, at once fulfilling her family's desires
while tearing them apart. A seemingly simple story, it is among
the director’s most emotionally complex—a nuanced examination of
life's changes across three generations. Another enduring Ozu
classics.
Blu-ray Release Date: June 21st, 2010
What Did the Lady Forget? - Yasujiro Ozu followed his
first talkie, The Only Son, with this nuanced 1937 comedy about
a henpecked medical school professor who makes up a story for
his wife so he can sneak off with his freethinking niece for a
holiday. The professor's subterfuge is discovered, which has
complex emotional consequences; few critics have noted the rage
and rebellion that crop up in Ozu's work, and he's masterful in
showing how such feelings are worked out in the context of
family. More conventional and commercial than its predecessor,
this feature is also uncharacteristic of Ozu in its sharp satire
of the rich (its trendy banter and lighthearted boozing suggest
The Thin Man as a possible influence). BFI Release Date: June
21st, 2010
Lourdes
BD - Christine has been confined to a wheelchair
for most of her life. In order to escape her isolation, she
makes a journey to Lourdes, the iconic site of pilgrimage in the
Pyrenees mountains. She wakes up one morning seemingly cured by
a miracle. The leader of the pilgrimage group, a handsome
40-year-old volunteer from the Order of Malta, begins to take an
interest in her. She tries to hold on to this newfound chance
for happiness, while her cure provokes envy and admiration...
Blu-ray Release date: July 12th, 2010
Deanna Durbin: The Music and Romance Collection -
Universal's beloved singing sensation receives the full star
treatment with this five-disc set. In "Mad About Music" (1938),
vain movie star Gail Patrick decides she wants to forget about
daughter Deanna Durbin, so she sends her to a Swiss boarding
school. Songs include "I Love to Whistle." Then, smitten with
journalist Melvyn Douglas, teenager Deanna ignores former beau
Jackie Cooper until Douglas sets things right, in the romance
"That Certain Age" (1938). Songs includes "You're as Pretty as a
Picture." "Three Smart Girls Grow Up" (1939) offers Durbin as a
young woman getting tangled up in her sisters' love affairs.
Songs include "Because" and "The Last Rose of Summer." Then,
eager for a shot at Broadway stardom, would-be actress Deanna
works to become the protege of veteran stage star Charles
Laughton, in the comedy "Because of Him" (1946). And, in her
final film, "For the Love of Mary" (1948), Deanna plays a White
House telephone operator who gets help from her unseen chief
executive boss in straightening out her romantic problems. 7 3/4
hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English. **Five-disc set also
includes "Mad About Music," "That Certain Age," "Three Smart
Girls Grow Up," "Because of Him," and "For the Love of Mary."
DVD Release Date: July 9th, 2010
Galaxy of Terror
BD - The innermost fears of the mind
become reality for the crew members of the Quest when they land
on the barren planet Morganthus hoping to find the missing crew
members of the starship Remus: only to discover something deadly
waiting for them. Each member of the rescuing team must come
face to face with their darkest fears or perish. The cast
onboard the Quest includes Edward Albert (The House Where Evil
Dwells), Erin Moran (Happy Days), Ray Walston (My Favorite
Martian), Robert Englund (A Nightmare On Elm Street series), Zalman King (Blue Sunshine) and Sid Haig (House Of 1,000
Corpses).
Blu-ray Release date: July 20th, 2010
Primal Rage - The newspaper at the University of Florida
has been trying to get an animal cruelty story on the
privately-funded work of Professor Ethridge (Bo Svenson). The
experimental baboon has a violent reaction to the experimental
drug Ethridge has been using to regenerate cells.
Sensationalistic editor Duffy (Mitch Watson) breaks into the lab
and is bitten by the crazed baboon that escapes and is promptly
hit by a police car. DVD Release Date: July 13th, 2010
Examined Life - Astra Taylor’s zesty documentary wants
to bring philosophy back to the streets, inviting nine key
thinkers to engage with their surroundings on a walk-and-talk.
Slovenian maestro Slavoj Zizek, in a bright orange tabard,
debates ecology at a rubbish dump; controversial guru of
utilitarianism Peter Singer queries the ethics of consumerism on
Fifth Avenue. Self-described “bluesman” of ideas Cornel West has
some astonishing riffs inside a Manhattan cab which are alone
worth the admission price, but this is an addictive and
stimulating experience all round. DVD Release Date: February
23rd, 2010
Divergence - Cop Suen (Aaron Kwok) has been unable to
get over the disappearance of his girlfriend (Anjelica Lee, THE
EYE). When the witness he is escorting back from Canada is
assassinated by Coke (Daniel Wu), Suen suspects businessman Yiu
(Lo Ka-leung) whose accounts were frozen pending the witness
testimony and who needs the money to pay off a debt to the triad
(who may be behind the kidnap of Yiu's celebrity son) although
lawyer To (Ekin Cheng) is always one step ahead of Suen's
investigation. DVD Release Date: January 30, 2007
Tokyo Story
BD - Yasujiro Ozu's most widely distributed
and best-known film presents the story of an elderly couple in
post World War II Japan who come to Tokyo to visit their various
children and realise that the family has essentially fallen
apart. The couple is received coldly by their two modernized
children and only their widowed daughter-in-law seems glad to
see them. The children shuttle their aging parents off to a
health spa in an attempt to get them out of the way. They learn
later that the mother has fallen ill upon her return and arrive
too late to say their good-byes.
Blu-ray Release Date: June
21st, 2010
The Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family - This 1941
film is one of the few upper-class family dramas by Japanese
master Yasujiro Ozu, and the domestic furnishings and how
they're framed help make it one of his most visually ravishing
works. The events center on the untimely death of the father.
DVD Release Date: June 21st, 2010
Black Jack - When honest young Tolly is forced on the
run with 'Black Jack', a villainous ruffian, adventure and
mishap are never far away. As the two enter a world of
body-snatchers, private lunatic asylums and travelling fairs
they find friendship in the most unlikely places. Based on Leon
Garfield's popular novel, Ken Loach's Black Jack is a children's
adventure film set in the 18th Century. With Chris Menges'
beautiful photography, enchanting performances by its
charismatic young cast and Loach's gentle, observational style -
seen in his earlier feature Kes (1969) - Black Jack received the
Critics' award at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival. DVD Release
Date: June 21st, 2010
The Dead are Alive - Alcoholic archaeologist Jason
Porter (Alex Cord, THE LAST GRENADE) discovers an Etruscan tomb
near the villa where his former lover Myra (Samantha Eggar, THE
BROOD) and her orchestra conductor husband Nikos (John Marley,
THE GODFATHER) are staying. The tomb includes a fresco of the
Etruscan demon god Tuchulcha who demanded grisly sacrifices of
his worshipers. When a young couple making love in one of the
nearby open tombs are clubbed to death - their bodies arranged
on top of the sepulchers like offerings - the police are called
in. DVD Release Date: July 13th, 2010
The Basketball Fix - A well-known sports writer, Pete
Ferreday (John Ireland), watches from the sidelines as Johnny
Long, a promising young basketball star (Marshall Thompson),
becomes involved with organized crime. Tempted by easy money and
the fulfillment of a love affair with the lovely Pat Judd
(Vanessa Brown) the gifted young athlete plays right into the
hands of the mob and becomes part of a point shaving scheme to
fix games. Despite the newspaper man's attempt to intervene, the
cheating on the basketball court intensifies as the gamblers
resort to violence. DVD Release Date: February 24th, 2004
Shiver of the Vampire - Newlyweds Isle (Sandra Julien, I
AM A NYMPHOMANIAC) and Antoine (Jean-Marie Durand) arrive at her
ancestral castle only to discover that her cousins (Jacques Robiolles and Michel Delahaye) are dead and being mourned by
their communal bride Isabelle (Nicole Nancel). They find the
castle being looked after by two maids (Rollin fixture
Marie-Pierre Castel and Kuelan Herce) and are even more shocked
when the dead cousins turn up for dinner (after the sun has set,
of course). Image Entertainment DVD Release Date: September
21st, 1999
Late Spring
BD - One of the most powerful of Yasujiro
Ozu’s family portraits, Late Spring tells the story of a widowed
father who feels compelled to marry off his only, beloved
daughter. Loyal Ozu players Chishu Ryu and Setsuko Hara command
this poignant tale of love and loss in postwar Japan, which
remains as potent today as ever—almost by itself justifying
Ozu’s inclusion in the pantheon of cinema’s greatest directors.
Blu-ray Release Date: June 21st, 2010
The Only Son
BD - Yasujiro Ozu’s first talkie, the
uncommonly poignant The Only Son is among the Japanese
director’s greatest works, a simple story about a good-natured
mother who gives up everything to ensure her son’s education and
future.
Blu-ray Release Date: June 21st, 2010
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