Police Story: Lockdown Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Jackie Chan, Ye Liu

Director: Ding Sheng

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: Cantonese

Subtitles: English

Dubbed: English

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: Well Go USA

Release Date: August 11, 2015

Run Time: 110 minutes

 

        American audiences may have first taken notice of Jackie Chan with Rumble in the Bronx (1995), but he had already established his signature style with the highly successful Police Story franchise. While it is not surprising to see Chan return to his most lucrative franchise the same way that Bruce Willis seems to keep dying hard, Sylvester Stallone repeatedly returns as either Rambo or Rocky, and Arnold Schwarzenegger will always “be back” for another Terminator film, the title of Police Story: Lockdown is somewhat misleading. Released as Police Story 2013 in China, this latest installment does not feature Chan playing the Inspector Chan from the Police Story franchise. In fact, the only thing that this film shares in common with the martial arts actor’s most lucrative film series is the title. Not only the character name has changed, but also the style in which the story is told and the impact of the film’s action sequences.

 

True Story Blu-ray Review

     Actors: James Franco, Ethan Suplee, Jonah Hill

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English (DTS 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Dubbed: French, Spanish

Region: Region A/1

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Release Date: August 4, 2015

Run Time: 100 minutes

 

        It may have been an odd choice to cast two leads better known for their comedic connections in film, but the true crime of True Story is the feeling that both actors are much better than their performances in these roles. Jonah Hill has tackled dramatic roles with critical praise in recent history, but doesn’t seem quite capable of making this unlikable protagonist worth watching for the brief running time. And James Franco is merely sleepwalking through his performance, nearly as bored as the audience waiting for the twists and turns of suspense which never arrive. 

 

Hell on Wheels: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Anson Mount, Common, Jennifer Ferrin

Director: David Von Ancken

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Number of discs: 4

Studio: Entertainment One

Release Date: August 11, 2015

Run Time: 559 minutes

 

 

        The longer that “Hell on Wheels” is on air, the more bleak its narrative seems. Since the death of a major character in season two, it was clear that the AMC series was not afraid to switch things up from season to season, and the fourth brings about some of the show’s biggest changes. There are new characters arriving as old ones depart, typically in the most violent ways imaginable. The impact is even greater now that the show has been on for several seasons, making the loss of beloved characters that much more devastating.

 

Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Winston Chao, Kun Chen, Li Bingbing

Directors: Peter Pau, Tianyu Zhao

Format: Blu-ray, Widescreen

Language: Cantonese

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: Well Go USA

Release Date: August 4, 2015

Run Time: 118 minutes

 

 

        I imagine that the large scale Chinese blockbuster, Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal, to be comparable to the recent Hollywood attempts at the Hercules mythology, in terms of new fantasy films cashing in on classic narratives. Directors Peter Pau and Tianyu Zhao take on the legend of Zhong Kui (Kun Chen), an anti-hero who is a pawn in the battle between Heaven and Hell, mostly occurring on Earth. The fantasy is completed with a star-crossed-lovers subplot, with the title character Snow Girl (Bingbing Li) as the object of Zhong Kui’s desire. All of this begs for large scale adaptation, offering plenty of opportunity for special effects spectacle. Unfortunately, we are left with bad CGI that looks like all of the filler movies in video games.