It’s not a great week for new releases on DVD. You get some B movies, and re-release of an 80’s classic, and a cult TV show arrives on DVD.
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li – Not much needs to be said about this one. The Street Fighter franchise is nowhere near as big as it once was, so it surprised me when a film version was green lit. Starring Kristin Kreuk and Michael Clarke Duncan, the film is what it is. It was a disappointment at the box office [and to be honest I’m surprised it got a box office release], and hopes to find a following on DVD. Street Fight: The Legend Of Chun-Li continues the rule that video games make bad movies.
12 Rounds – WWE star John Cena stars in this Renny Harlin directed film. I’ll be honest, I actually want to check this movie out. I wasn’t going to see it in theatres, but it looks like it could be a good time-waster. The basic plot is Cena is a cop, and a villain that he captured before escapes from prison. The bad guy kidnaps his wife, and it’s up to Cena to play his game to get his wife back. Based on the trailer, it reminds me a little of Die Hard With A Vengeance, which is a little funny to me, because Renny Harlin directed Die Hard 2: Die Harder, so he knows how to do a great action movie.
Two Lovers – This film did not get a big release, and is probably best known as the last film Joaquin Phoenix made before he quit acting. This was the film that Phoenix was promoting when he made his famous appearance on Letterman. It’s an adult drama that stars Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw, and deals with Phoenix having an affair and the consequences that causes. Despite not getting a very big release, Two Lovers was a big hit with critics, as it currently has a rating of 84% at Rotten Tomatoes.
Eastbound and Down – Danny McBride stars in this HBO series of a baseball player who alienates everyone in the major leagues, and ends up going back to his high school to be a phys-ed teacher. There is some great talent behind the scenes with Will Ferrell, Jody Hill, and Adam McKay, but like most things that Jody Hill works on, this is not a series for everybody. Danny McBride’s character is dark, mean, and you almost feel guilty laughing at the things he does. It’s not a show for everyone, but for fans of any of the people listed above, this six episode season is worth checking out.
Do The Right Thing: 20th Anniversary Edition – I did not see this film until almost 10 years after it was released, and it really is fantastic. I still think it is Spike Lee’s best film, and it revolves around the lives of people at a pizza shop on the hottest day of the summer of the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighbourhood. All different races come and go from the pizza shop, and you care about every single one of them on the screen. The music is great [Public Enemy’s “Fight The Power” is the main theme of this movie], the lighting and cinematography is unreal, as it looks so hot on the screen, that you want to have a shower by the end of it, and the ending is one of the most polarizing in all of film. Love or hate this film, it is definitely worth seeing. Check out Do The Right Thing!
