Variety calls Ma Seokdo, played by Don Lee, a bull in a tea shop whose brute force devastates a difficult situation.
Step into the world of The Roundup: No Way Out, the sequel to The Roundup. Seven years have passed since Seokdo’s team was sent to Vietnam on a mission to extradite a dangerous Korean fugitive. The twist in the story was the fugitive seemed oddly eager to return home, raising questions about the true nature of their mission.
In the sequel, we meet up with the likable hunk, who collaborates with a new squad to investigate a murder case at home. Seokdo learns the case involves busting dealers on a new synthetic drug, Hiper. He digs deeper.
All the while, a Japanese mafia boss orchestrating the new drug, Ichioz, played cleverly by Ju Kunimura, keeps looking for trouble, and the drug distributor named Ricky, played by Munetaka Aoki, and his gang arrive in Korea to add havoc to the mayhem. Here, the entertainment flourishes as things go out of control.
The film is excellent because, like the earlier films, it’s invariably entertaining and engaging. Watching Don Lee play Seokdo, who punches blockheads and more, is hilarious—he’s no Dirty Harry. Though a reviewer compared it to Beverly Hills Cop and Lethal Weapon, this spontaneous film stands on its own. It’s true to the South Korean culture: a vulnerable and assuming hero saves the day.
Lee Sang-Yong directed the third title skillfully and brilliantly, as he did The Roundup. The movie won the Blue Dragon Award as the top box office winner of the year in South Korea. The Roundup: No Way Out also nailed the Audience Award at the 2023 Sitges Film Festival in Spain. Another sequel is in the works and will arrive in 2024.
Dark Sky Films releases the long-awaited UHD release of the 1974 horror classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the groundbreaking thriller that has often been imitated but has yet to equal. The film arrives in the 4K restored version, complemented by a frightening array of bonus materials.
Directed by Tobe Hooper, Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a classic horror film released in 1974. The film follows a group of friends, played by Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain, William Vail and Teri McMinn, on a road trip through rural Texas. They stumble upon a family of cannibalistic psychopaths.
The film has a low-budget, gritty style and extreme gore and violence, which boosted its popularity since we’ve had horror films like The Blair Witch Project, Friday the 13th, Halloween and Night of the Living Dead.
The group of friends intends to visit an old family homestead. On their journey, they pick up a hitchhiker who manifests strange behavior. The stranger eventually turns on them, attacking them, which leads to a harrowing chase through the Texas countryside.
They arrive at a farmhouse and meet cannibalistic killers, including the iconic Leatherface with a mask of human skin and a wielding chainsaw. Michael Myers copied the masking technique so beautifully on Halloween.
The horror film was controversial during its release because of its graphic violence, which doesn’t compare to Coen Bros. films or the SAW franchise. Subsequently, the Texas Chain Saw Massacre shines as a cult classic and the most influential horror movie of the genre.
It generated many sequels and remakes, influencing countless horror films that tried to deem worthy.
Disc 1 holds the 4K UHD feature film and four commentary tracks:
Writer-producer-director Tobe Hooper, actor Gunnar Hansen and cinematographer Daniel Pearl
Actors Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger and Paul A. Partain, with production designer Robert Burns
Tobe Hooper solo
Daniel Pearl, editor J. Larry Carroll and sound recordist Ted Nicolaou
Disc 2, a Blu-ray, contains the new, never-before-seen feature-length documentary The Legacy of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and several featurettes. These include “The Cinefamily Presents FRIEDKIN/HOOPER,” a conversation about the film between Tobe Hooper and The Exorcist director William Friedkin; “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Shocking Truth”; “Flesh Wounds: Seven Stories of the Saw”; a tour of the TCSM house with Gunnar Hansen; “Off the Hook with Teri McMinn”; and “The Business of Chain Saw: An Interview with Production Manager Ron Bozman.”
The generous package I enjoy the most. It has deleted scenes and outtakes, a blooper reel, trailers, vintage TV and radio spots, and much more to thrill fans, old and new.
All you have to do is watch the four-and-a-half-minute trailer to know The Unknown Man of Shandigor (L’inconnu De Shandigor, 1967) is a spy-thriller. Any movie enthusiast wants to see the Blu-ray version of this classic.
Directed by Swiss filmmaker Jean-Louis Roy, this long-unseen 60s Cold War super-spy features legendary French singer and songwriter Serge Gainsbourg and famed Chilean cult actor Daniel Emilfork.
Marie-France Boyer as Sylvaine
Recently restored in 4K from the camera negative by the Cinémathèque Suisse, the visually stunningmovie screened initially at the Cannes Film Festival in 1967. The Blu-ray features new interviews with the director’s wife, Francoise Roy and first assistant director on the film Michel Schopfer, along with an ultra-rare 1967 Swiss TV “making of” documentary featuring the director with behind-the-scenes footage and new artwork by acclaimed illustrator Tony Stella.
I marveled at the surreal hall of mirrors, reminding me of Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove and British TV shows like “The Avengers” and “Doctor Who.”
The fine cast includes most who’s who of great 60s European character actors starting with the unforgettable Daniel Emilfork as crazed scientist Herbert Von Krantz, who has invented a device to “sterilize” all nuclear weapons.
A mad herd of rival spies is desperate to get their hands on the device, including legendary French singer Serge Gainsbourg as the sect leader of bald, turtleneck-wearing assassins and Jess Franco veteran Howard Vernon.
Gainsbourg’s deranged jazz-lounge song, “Bye Bye Mr. Spy”— performed by him on a funeral parlor organ, no less — is arguably the film’s high point. “An accomplished spy is at the same time psychologist, artist, funambulist, conjurer,” to quote one of the film’s characters, and the same said of Roy’s exotic camera obscura of black and white Cold War paranoia. The movie is in Swiss French with English subtitles, like the trailer.
Blu-Ray Bonus Features
• New 4K Restoration from the original 35mm picture and sound elements by Cinémathèque Suisse with additional digital restoration by Craig Rogers of Deaf Crocodile
• New Commentary by film journalist Samm Deighan (Diabolique magazine, Daughters of Darkness podcast)
• New Booklet essay by filmmaker, punk musician and poet, and genre expert Chris D. (The Flesh Eaters; author of Outlaw Masters of Japanese Film)
• New interview with Francoise Roy, wife of director Jean-Louis Roy, and Michel Schopfer, first assistant director on The Unknown Man of Shandigor (17 min., in Swiss French with English subtitles)
• Ultra- rare 1967 “making of” documentary from Swiss TV’s “Cinema VIF” show, featuring interviews with director Jean-Louis Roy, cast members Daniel Emilfork, Jacques Dufilho, and Marie-France Boyer, and behind-the-scenes footage (28 min., in Swiss French with English subtitles)
• Restored original trailer (4 min., in French with English subtitles)
• Blu-ray encoding and authoring by David Mackenzie/Fidelity in Motion
Brand-new 4K restoration, written and directed by Ivan Zulueta, 1979 feature Arrebato’s is a popular Spanish cult horror movie. Some consider the film a dimension-shattering blend of heroin, sex, and Super-8 as a final word on Cinemania.
Arrebato follows horror movie director José Sirgado, played by Eusebio Poncela, adrift in a sea of doubt and drugs. As his belated second feature nears completion, two situations pop his reclusive bubble.
First, there is a sudden reappearance from an ex-girlfriend, played by Cecilia Roth. Second, a package arrives from past acquaintance Pedro, played by Will More. It contains a reel of Super-8 film, an audiotape and a door key.
From there, the boundaries of time, space and sexuality disappear as José is once more absorbed into Pedro’s vampiric orbit — a vampire camera that sucks up people, and they disappear.
Together, they attempt the ultimate hallucinogenic catharsis through a twisted strip of filming and being filmed.
The horror movie offers beauty, clearly describing a dark state of living — angst and joy of living with dangerous drugs, alcohol and sex and the love of making movies.
Special Features:
• Region Free Blu-ray
• Commentary Track with Mike White of The Projection Booth
The movie follows a fifteen-year-old French girl, played by Jane March. She returns to Saigon in 1930, where she attends an all-girls boarding school. On her way, a handsome and wealthy Chinese man, played by Tony Leung Ka Kai, of a respectable family, offers her a lift in his shiny black limo.
A passionate affair begins against her family’s disgust. The man becomes alienated from his family because they have selected his bride already. Against the conventions of society, the lustful pair continue their passionate affair, intensifying the attraction with the illicit nature of their rendezvous.
It starts with groping in the limo’s backseat and grows to nightly undertakings at his bachelor pad. Interestingly, the names of the young girl and wealthy man are never said. Slowly and eventually, their relationship disintegrates, and the man slides down into an opium-induced haze and unreturned love.
Many tastefully lit sex scenes allow little room for imagination, including Annaud’s skilled camera work, lingering delicately on the flesh. The paedophiliac situation sidesteps the moral nuances while using sensitivity. Today, the industry may frown even more profound on the issue.
March, a newcomer at the filming, comes across as photogenic and sultry. The character seems detached but amused.
Annaud’s brilliant direction takes in the vibrant scenery to divert from the senseless and gratuitous romantic scenes.
The release includes special features: Special collector’s media book packaging, Two-disc set, Original trailer.
Thank you, Empire, for more information about the production.
Kino Classics released some extraordinary German classic films from the silent era during the 1920s. Each one is available on Blu-ray or DVD. Presented in restorations by F. W. Murnau-Stiftung, I found each movie stunning and mesmerizing.
The films restored are The Great Leap (1927), directed by Arnold Fanck and starring Leni Riefenstahl, Paul Wegener’s The Golem (1920), G. W. Pabst’s The Love of Jeanne Ney (1927), and F. W. Murnau’s Tartuffe (1925), starring Emil Jannings.
The Great Leap (1927)
I first watchedThe Great Leap, which features an audio commentary by film historian Samm Deighan. The movie stars Leni Riefenstahl, who is infamous as the great documentarian of Hitler. Before all that, she was foremost an actress, and she is good in this movie. It’s super funny. Apparently, Riefenstahl was a popular actress who starred in several mountain movies directed by Arnold Fanck. They included The Holy Mountain (Der heilige Berg, 1926) and The White Hell of Pitz Palu (Die weisse Hölle vom Piz Palü, 1929) as dramas of romance and survival.
The Great Leap suggests was something different as a playful romantic comedy set high atop the Dolomites. Riefenstahl plays an Italian peasant whose simple life is upended when a series of urbanites invade the slopes for a ski vacation. This bubbly comedy (featuring Riefenstahl’s usual on-screen love interest, Luis Trenker) combines slapstick laughs with stunning footage of acrobatic skiing and rock climbing, making it perhaps the most entertaining but unique movie out of all the German mountain films.
The Golem (1920)
Then I watched The Golem that contains both a 4K restoration of the German release version with three musical scores by Stephen Horne, Admir Shkurtaj, and Lukasz “Wudec” Poleszak, including U.S. release version with music by Cordula Heth. A feature comes with a comparison between the German and U.S. versions, and audio commentary by film historian Tim Lucas.
Hypothetically acknowledged as the source of the Frankenstein myth, the ancient Hebrew legend of the Golem provided actor and director Paul Wegener with the substance for an intriguing and adventure movie. Suffering under the tyrannical rule of Rudolf II in 16th-century Prague, a Talmudic rabbi, played by Albert Steinruck, creates a giant warrior, played by Wegener to protect the safety of his people. When the rabbi’s assistant, played by Ernst Deutsch, takes control of the Golem and attempts to use him for selfish gain, the lumbering monster runs rampant, abducting the rabbi’s daughter, played by Lyda Salmonova, and setting fire to the ghetto. The special effects for this time are impressive, creating the creation sequence with a dazzling blend of religion, sorcery, and the grand-scale destruction toward the end of the movie. The Golem was apparently an outstanding achievement from the legendary UFA Studios and remains an undeniable landmark in the horror’s evolution film.
The Love of Jeanne Ney came next and presents both the restored German release version with music arranged and orchestrated by Bernd Thewes, and the U.S. release version with music by Andrew Earle Simpson. It includes audio commentary by film historian Eddy Von Mueller.
The Love of Jeanne Ney (1927)
An epic of the Weimar cinema (Cinema of Germany), The Love of Jeanne Ney follows a young French woman’s struggle for happiness amid the political turbulence and corruption of post-World War I Europe. Directed by G. W. Pabst, who also directed Diary of a Lost Girl, Pandora’s Box, the film blends a variety of cinematic approaches as it weaves its complex narrative of moral chaos and political upheaval. Consider the use of the “American Style,” evocative of the Hollywood studio blockbuster; the avant-garde techniques of Soviet montage; and the eerie moving camerawork and shadowy perspectives are typical of German Expressionism. The result is a stunning cinematic experiment that never failed to surprise me with fast sequences that end with an exhilarating conclusion.
Tartuffe (1925)
Tartuffe includes both the German release version with a new score by Robert Israel and the U.S. release version with music by Giuseppe Becce, adapted by Javier Perez de Azpeita.
Tartuffe (1925)
Considered one of the most gifted visual storytellers during the German silent era, F. W. Murnau crafted works of great subtlety and emotional complexity through his absolute command of the cinematic medium. Known for such dazzling films as Nosferatu (1922), The Last Laugh (1924), Faust (1926), and Sunrise (1927), Murnau draws toward more intimate dramas exploring the dark corners of the human mind.
I had a prime interest in seeing Tartuffe, where Murnau Moliére’s fable of religious hypocrisy to the screen. The story follows a faithful wife, played by Lil Dagover. She tries to convince her husband, played by Werner Krauss, that their morally superior guest, Tartuffe, played by Emil Jannings, is in fact a lecherous hypocrite with a taste for the grape. Twisting the story to heighten the contemporary relevance, Murnau frames Moliére’s tale with a modern-day plot concerning a housekeeper’s stealthy efforts to poison her elderly master and take control of his estate.
Directed by VFX artist Matthew Santoro, Higher Power is a visually rich sci-fi thriller. The movie stars Ron Eldard and Colm Feore.
Santoro makes his directorial debut with the story of Joseph Steadman, played by Eldard. Steadman suddenly finds himself under the command of a mad scientist, played by Colm Feore. The mad scientist is on a mission that will alter the fate of his family and the world.
Because of the scientist, Steadman becomes equipped with new superpowers. But, he remains under the thumb of the seemingly omniscient scientist, and Steadman does all he can to protect his daughters from the man who bargains with their lives. The scientist’s warped mind overshadows his mysterious quest meant to save all of humanity. When the Universe decides what it wants, it’s pointless to resist. With his family’s life at stake, Joseph Steadman finds himself the unwilling test subject of a maniacal scientist in a battle that could save the world or destroy it.
Santoro uses his professional background in crafting an impressive movie filled with special effects. He directs a stunning a world of supernatural abilities and consequences. Santoro immerses you in the movie like a trippy journey. Spending most of the time going through the experiences of the main character, Steadman, as his life is engineered and disfigured to turn him into something stronger. I wasn’t sure what to expect watching this movie. It’s quite different from other movies that are similar in character. Higher Power is a refreshing concept with a trippy story.
The acting is decent and the story starts off slow. But, hang in there because as the story unfolds the movie becomes a rocket ride in which a reluctant man must overcome his past in order to find his higher power. The ending makes watching the movie worth it.
The movie clips show a good deal of what the movie emulates. The special effects are awesome but basic. Only someone like Santoro can pull it off.
Lionsgate released the epic singularity franchise, The Hunger Games series on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, which includes both Blu-ray and Digital HD. All in all, it is an amazing product for such a gripping story.
As most remember, Jennifer Lawrence stars as Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire, who took the world by storm with a four-film cumulative worldwide box office of 3 billion cash flow.
Fans can see the movies with four times the resolution of Full HD and High Dynamic Range (HDR) that delivers the brightest, most vivid and realistic color and greatest contrast from 4K Ultra HD. However, similar to other 4K movies I have reviewed, the whole movie’s vivid, realistic color and contrast are not consistent. I find in the hand-held camera scenes of these 4K movies, the technical potential is limited, if not a bit shaky.
Don’t get me wrong. Checking out Lionsgate’s catalog 4K titles, I am impressed with the products so far. It makes watching movies at home so much better with the Dolby Atmos track sounds, which are incredible because it utilizes every speaker.
Now the quality of the look is a bit unforgiving because the effect is over the top. Noticeably, in the first half of The Hunger Games. The colors are saturated and nearly grainy. Watching the scene when the District 12 team is eating before the games is a good example where the colors, black levels, and overall clarity are below standards for the quality hype.
Disappointingly, just about every scene at The Capital looked saturated. When the movie arrives at the Games, I was impressed and in awe over the rich details of the overall setting in the forest and the way everything looked pristine. It made watching the 4K version worth it.
One thing that didn’t help the 4K, as mentioned earlier, was the shaky-cam style. In the first mad dash for supplies in the games, the camera was all over the place and the 4K clearness was like a second thought to the scene. Even though about half the movies technical quality didn’t appear any better, if slightly worse, the other half of the movie is a pristine, vibrant upgrade and fun to watch.
The 4K version special features offer extras, which includes a commentary with Stephen Mirrione, Sheena Duggal, and Lon Bender. Even though they are not the stars or director, their passion for the movie come through, creating a worthwhile commentary.
Ultra HD had the same technical issues I mentioned in The Hunger Games 4K Ultra HD. The scenes in the training room and outside are clear and pristine like a gemstone. The crystal clear and the 4K upgrade really stands out. Yet, the scenes in The Capitol, mostly most CGI, are saturated and almost blurry at times. I noticed there is a bit more of an upgrade compared to The Hunger Games. I am curious as to why that is so.
The audio sounds perfect like the first film. The Dolby Atmos track is a wonderful upgrade and sounds faultless.
The 4K Ultra comes without exclusive features, but the package includes a copy of the Blu-ray.
