Archive for June 2013

Win TAI CHI HERO on Blu-Ray!

Tai Chi Hero BD cover

Enter to win your very own copy of TAI CHI HERO (coming to Blu-Ray and DVD on 7/2) from Well Go USA and Cinema Judgement Day!

Jonesing for a giveaway?  Well you’re in luck! Now you can enter to win “Tai Chi Hero” on Blu-Ray courtesy of Well Go USA and Cinema Judgement Day.  The film is an exciting blend of martial arts, video game and steampunk action and is sure to put a bang in your 4th of July celebration!!  Simply send an email here with “Hero” as the subject line starting from 6/29/13 at 12:00 PDT and ending 7/4/13 at 12:00 PDT.  Two winners will be randomly selected and notified via email before being announced on the CJD website.  Sorry, the contest is only open to US residents and only one entry per person, please.

Good luck to all!

STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS (Film Review)

Star Trek Into Darkness poster

STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS in theaters now

“Star Trek” is one of those properties with such a rabid fan base that every new movie/show/book feels like it’s predestined to fail. To the uninitiated, Trekkies seem like a group that can never be satisfied regardless of what’s done to please them. Some find such devotion intimidating and instead of joining the party, choose to avoid anything “Trek” related, altogether. The truth is, people are passionate about “Star Trek” and don’t want to see it treated carelessly. So it was somewhat surprising that when director J.J. Abrams rebooted the franchise in 2009, he was not only able to satiate the old fans’ hunger for a new film, but also attract people who’ve never heard of a “Tribble”. Now, four years later, the sequel “Star Trek: Into Darkness” flies into theaters. Can Abrams again appeal to both sides of the lunchroom or will fans be divided by his treatment of the beloved sci-fi series? Read more

DINO KING 3D (Blu-Ray Reveiw)

Dino King 3d blu-ray cover

DINO KING 3D coming to Blu-Ray and DVD on 6/18 from Well Go USA!

I remember when I was a child, any entertainment was good entertainment.  It didn’t matter if it was educational or not, I enjoyed it all the same.  Although, I’m sure my parents felt better about sitting me in front of the educational stuff, most of the time I didn’t even know what was going on; if a show was visually appealing or had someone that talked in a goofy voice, I was all in.  Nowadays, I see the same thing with my little nephew.  His parents sit him down in front of Baby Einstein to learn, but he’s just as enthralled by a ticking clock on the wall. I think the key really is to trap a kid with exciting visuals and cute characters and try to slip the smart stuff in beneath the radar.  That’s more or less what “Dino King 3D” does.  Coming to Blu-Ray and DVD 6/18 from Well Go USA, the film teaches about the giant lizards of the past as it tells an exciting tale. Read more

SADAKO 3D (DVD Review)

SADAKO 3D cover

SADAKO 3D available on DVD and Blu-Ray 6/4 from Well Go USA

In 2002, director Gore Verbinski brought us the American remake of the Japanese horror film “Ringu”. “The Ring” ended up grossing nearly $250m and became a pop culture phenomenon. Three years later, a lackluster sequel that had nothing to do with the Japanese series came and went and the franchise was barely heard from again. Until now. On June 4, Well Go USA releases “Sadako 3D” on DVD and Blu-Ray. The latest in the Japanese “Ringu” series is a wonderful frightfest that stands alone as a great horror film and makes terrifying use of the third dimension. With an eerie new twist on the original’s plot device, “Sadako 3D” breaths new life into the decade-old classic… and just might make you think twice before playing that YouTube clip being passed around on Facebook. Read more

A PORTRAIT OF JAMES DEAN: JOSHUA TREE, 1951 (DVD Review)

A PORTRAIT OF JAMES DEAN: JOSHUA TREE, 1951 cover

A PORTRAIT OF JAMES DEAN: JOSHUA TREE, 1951 available on DVD 6/4 from Wolfe Video

Roughly ten years ago, I submitted an entry for the second season of “Project Greenlight”.  Participants were required to judge other’s work and I remember receiving a script that stood out for all the wrong reasons.  The story was about a lonely housewife who somehow meets up with a thinly-veiled Eminem and a fiery relationship begins.  And I mean fiery.  This thing was like a Harlequin romance novel… albeit written by a seventeen year-old learning English as a second language. It was awful, but telling.  This was clearly the author’s fantasy, even if there wasn’t much of a story to hold it together.  In some ways, “A Portrait of James Dean: Joshua Tree, 1951″ reminds me of this.  The film, coming to DVD June 4th from Wolfe Video, blends fact and fiction to tell the tale of a pre-fame, bi-sexual James Dean – though you have to wonder how much is just the product of a fantasizing screenwriter. Read more

MOSQUITA Y MARI (DVD Review)

MOSQUITA Y MARI cover

MOSQUITA Y MARI available on DVD 6/4 from Wolfe Video

Pretty much everyone’s been in love before, but it’s that first time that’s the most awkward.  As you mature, you’re stuck between being a child and an adult.  You feel like nobody understands your situation (even though anyone with a pulse can relate) and you’re just sort of… shy about the whole thing. Not to mention the fact that you lack the maturity to do anything “right”.  Now, what if you’re into the same sex?  Now you’ve got to wonder if the people around you will be accepting and what if the object of your affection doesn’t feel the same attraction?  Well, June is LGBT month and on the 4th Wolfe Video brings “Mosquita Y Mari” to DVD.  An official selection of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, the movie follows two Los Angeles teenagers as they fall in love for the first time. Read more