Driving Madeleine Blu-ray Review

 

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• Director ‏ : ‎ Christian Carion
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Line Renaud, Dany Boon, Alice Isaaz
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Cohen Media Group
• Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 2.35:1
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ France
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 30 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ March 19, 2024

 

        There is something distinctly European about movies where two strangers cross paths and form a deep connection over a brief period of time. These narratives exist in other cultures as well, but the French are particularly adept at these slice-of-life narratives. Or perhaps it is less about the nationality of the filmmakers and more about the approach to life, because American filmmaker Richard Linklater built Before Sunrise (1995) and each of its sequels upon this premise, setting each installment in a different European city. Driving Madeleine is a distinctly French film about the bond formed between an elderly woman and her taxi driver on cross-town journey to a nursing home, warmheartedly depicting the ways in which strangers can have a deep impact on our lives however brief the encounter.

 

Polar Rescue Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Lo Chi Leung
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Donnie Yen, Cecilia Han, Jia Bing, Tang Xu
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
• Language ‏ : ‎ Mandarin Chinese (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1), Mandarin Chinese (Stereo)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ China
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 43 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ March 26, 2024

        There seems to be a consistent pattern with martial arts action stars in Hong Kong and China, where they inevitably reach an age where their physicality is in decline and choose that time to make a purely dramatic film. Jackie Chan had the historical drama, 1911 (2011). Jet Li made Ocean Heaven (2010). And Donnie Yen has followed suit with Polar Rescue (previously titled Come Back Home), a film steeped in melodrama surrounding a child gone missing in a mountain snowstorm. Melodrama often works best when paired with other elements like action and suspense, but even these sequences are not enough to distract from the contrived and emotionally manipulative plot points of Polar Rescue.

 

Born to Fly Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Liu Xiaoshi
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Wang Yibo, Hu Jun, Yu Shi, Zhou Dong Yu
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
• Language ‏ : ‎ Mandarin Chinese (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1), Mandarin Chinese (Stereo)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ China
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 8 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ March 26, 2024

        The impact of a successful blockbuster can be felt around the world, especially when they come from Hollywood. Because of this, these successes also often end up affecting films released in foreign film markets. Given the timing of the Chinese aircraft action drama, Born to Fly, it seems highly unlikely that the success of Top Gun: Maverick did not play a large role in the film’s development. Unfortunately, the filmmakers seem to have learned the wrong lessons from the Tom Cruise film, imitating similar story elements while completely dismissing the approach to filmmaking. The awe-inspiring practical effects of Top Gun are traded in for CGI that is often less than believable, making this feel more like a cash-grab imitation than a sincere effort to tell a good story.