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Review Boulevard Entertaiment / Blade II [2002]
Actors & Directors
  • Wesley Snipes
  • Leonor Varela
  • Kris Kristofferson
  • Ron Perlman
  • Guillermo del Toro
  • Norman Reedus
Release date: 2002-09-30
Run time: 117 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £1.40

Review Blade II [2002] / Boulevard Entertaiment:

Aptly described by critic Roger Ebert as "a vomitorium of viscera", Blade II takes the express route to sequel success. So if you enjoyed Blade, you'll probably drool over this monster mash, which is anything but boring. Set (and filmed) in Prague, the plot finds a new crop of "Reaper" vampires threatening to implement a viral breeding program, and they're nearly impervious to attacks by Blade (Wesley Snipes), his now-revived mentor Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), and a small army of "normal" vampires who routinely combust in a constant conflagration of spectacular special effects. It's up to Blade to conquer the über-vamps, and both Snipes and director Guillermo del Toro (Mimic) serve up a nonstop smorgasbord of intensely choreographed action, creepy makeup, and graphic ultra-violence, with the ever-imposing Ron Perlman as a vampire villain. It's sadistic, juvenile, numbing, and-for those who dig this kind of thing-undeniably impressive. -Jeff Shannon.

Review 4 Front Video / Hard Target [1993]
Actors & Directors
  • John Woo
  • Lance Henriksen
  • Jean-Claude Van Damme
  • Robert Apisa
  • Chuck Pfarrer
  • Arnold Vosloo
Release date: 2005-01-10
Run time: 96 min.
RRP: £5.99
Price: £2.94

Review Hard Target [1993] / 4 Front Video:

Jean-Claude Van Damme, aka "the Muscles from Brussels", has sought to revitalise his flagging career by working with the most adrenalised directors from Hong Kong action films. His first such effort was this, the umpteenth remake of The Most Dangerous Game, which teamed him with Hong Kong's most fluid action poet, John Woo (director of M:I2). Woo does what he can but, as much magic as he injects into the action, he can't turn Van Damme into an actor. Still, this is above-average fare for the wooden Belgian, in which he plays a guy trying to bust a ring of hunters who pay for the right to track and kill human quarry. And Woo has the ever-reliable Lance Henriksen as the chief bad guy, always a plus. -Marshall Fine, Amazon. com.

Review Universal Pictures UK / Streets Of Fire [1984]
Actors & Directors
  • Diane Lane
  • Rick Moranis
  • Michael Paré
  • Willem Dafoe
  • Amy Madigan
  • Walter Hill
Release date: 2004-06-28
Run time: 90 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £4.98

Review Streets Of Fire [1984] / Universal Pictures UK:

Walter Hill's updated (1984), highly stylised take on biker movies still looks like a determinedly eccentric project that happens to work at times, but not at others. Michael Paré plays a biker who agrees to rescue his ex-girlfriend (a rocker played by Diane Lane) from kidnappers (led by Willem Dafoe). The ensuing battle against a nocturnal background of industrial blight, chrome, and loud music is like some fever dream of a Springsteen fan who listened to the song "Born to Run" far too often. The audacity of the film carries it a long way even after it becomes clear that Hill's experiment is crumbling under its own weight. Dafoe, who looked even spookier back then than he does now, is memorable, as are Amy Madigan and Rick Moranis. Music is by Ry Cooder, with an appearance by the Blasters. The DVD release has a widescreen presentation, optional French soundtrack, optional Spanish subtitles. -Tom Keogh.

Review Warner Home Video / Bloodsport [1986] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Leah Ayres
  • Donald Gibb
  • Jean-Claude Van Damme
  • Norman Burton
  • Newt Arnold
  • Forest Whitaker
Release date: 2002-10-01
Run time: 92 min.
Price: £3.88

Review Bloodsport [1986] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Warner Home Video:

A well-oiled Jean-Claude Van Damme makes his starring debut in what may be one of the few kickboxing films to be based on a true story. The Muscles from Brussels plays Frank Dux, the first Westerner ever to win the extreme "whupfest" known as the Kumatai (a long-running, no-holds-barred fighting tournament in Hong Kong). While a bit deficient in the script department (to say the least), this undeniably exciting flick succeeds by letting Van Damme play to his strengths: namely, minimal acting and a lot of impossibly acrobatic splits while kicking people in the head. Bloodsport is a guilty-pleasure testosterone blast of the highest order, with a memorable villain (the massive Bolo Yeung from Enter the Dragon) and a multitude of well-choreographed fight scenes. An embarrassed-looking Forest Whitaker cameos as a hapless (and non-kickboxing) cop. -Andrew Wright A well-oiled Jean-Claude Van Damme makes his starring debut in Bloodsport, which may be one of the few kickboxing films to be based on a true story. The Muscles from Brussels plays Frank Dux, the first Westerner ever to win the extreme "whupfest" known as the Kumatai (a long-running, no-holds-barred fighting tournament in Hong Kong). While a bit deficient in the script department (to say the least), this undeniably exciting flick succeeds by letting Van Damme play to his strengths: namely, minimal acting and a lot of impossibly acrobatic splits while kicking people in the head. It's a guilty pleasure testosterone blast of the highest order, with a memorable villain (the massive Bolo Yeung from Enter the Dragon), and a multitude of well-choreographed fight scenes. An embarrassed-looking Forest Whitaker cameos as a hapless (and non-kickboxing) cop. [+]
-Andrew Wright.

Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Sahara [Blu-ray] [2005]
Actors & Directors
  • Matthew McConaughey
  • Steve Zahn
  • Penelope Cruz
  • Breck Eisner
Release date: 2008-09-08
Run time: 98 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £12.50

Review Sahara [Blu-ray] [2005] / Paramount Home Entertainment:

It took more than 25 years for another Clive Cussler novel to come to the screen after the financial and critical disaster of Raise the Titanic. Based on Cussler's oddly landlocked adventure, Sahara finds the author's hero, Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey)-a sort of all-American, high seas variation of James Bond-in Africa looking for a Confederate ironclad ship that impossibly might have ended up there. Soon he and his faithful sidekick Al Giordino (Steve Zahn) are lost in another adventure, discovering a deadly contaminate being tracked by a beautiful doctor (Penelope Cruz). The results are checkered: there's no one outstanding sequence, but the action is enjoyably varied, while the thrills are mild yet not bombastic or gratuitous. The cast are all adept in their roles, yet the only one who sparkles is the scene-stealing Zahn, cast against type; McConaughey, who also produced, knows he might be starting a franchise character and plays it safe. He's never as dangerous as Cussler's hero is on the page (except in his introduction), and in fact, the whole movie plays towards comedy, infused by a soundtrack of 70s FM radio monsters. Cussler fanatics may not like this lighter fare, especially with the archeological portion (a Cussler strong point) not fully embraced, but with a very, very likable cast and colorful settings, Sahara is a kindler, gentler action film that has all the elements in place for a better, more memorable franchise if anyone cares to attempt it. -Doug Thomas Matthew McConaughey, Penelope Cruz, Steve Zahn.

Review Ioan Gruffudd / Fantastic Four/Fantastic Four - Rise Of The Silver Surfer [2005]
Actors & Directors
  • Michael Chiklis
  • Ioan Gruffudd
  • Jessica Alba
  • Chris Evans
  • Julian McMahon
  • Tim Story
Release date: 2007-10-08
Run time: 209 min.
RRP: £29.99
Price: £7.47

Review Fantastic Four/Fantastic Four - Rise Of The Silver Surfer [2005] / Ioan Gruffudd:


Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / Conan the Barbarian [1981]
Actors & Directors
  • John Milius
  • Cassandra Gaviola
  • Sven-Ole Thorsen
  • James Earl Jones
  • Sandahl Bergman
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger
Release date: 2003-08-25
Run time: 123 min.
RRP: £5.99
Price: £2.97

Review Conan the Barbarian [1981] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:

The film that launched Arnold Schwarzenegger's international career, Conan the Barbarian is still regarded by many as his finest hour. Limited to a mere handful of lines and expertly directed to play up the Nietzschean strength of the character by John Milius, the Austrian Oak has never looked more suited to a role, his muscle flexing and sword twirling apparently effortless. The extraordinarily finely detailed production design ensures that the barren Spanish countryside perfectly suits the Hyborean-era backdrop envisioned by author Robert E Howard. Whether dressed in rags or riches, Schwarzenegger and companions Subotai (Gerry Lopez) and Valeria (Sandahl Bergman) look believably born to their surroundings. Backing their own very fine performances are brilliant supporting roles from James Earl Jones as serpentine baddie Thulsa Doom and Max Von Sydow as doomed King Osric. Plot-wise the film is simply the transformation of a wild barbarian into a worldly-wise king who, via a quest for revenge, finally learns the riddle of steel. The script is highly regarded for its dazzling set-pieces (the opening village raid, the orgy of body parts) and quotable dialogue ("They shall all drown in lakes of blood"), and it comes complete with an anti-peace movement reactionary subtext for anyone who cares to look close enough. One other element deserving mention is the extraordinary score by Basil Poledouris, which inspires the film with a sense of operatic grandeur. On the DVD: Conan the Barbarian appears as a suitably mythic special edition DVD. Sadly the magnificent score can only be heard in a mono mix, but the very fine picture is presented in 2. [+]
35:1. The extras package is phenomenal, too. Several deleted scenes have been re-edited into the film, but are available to view independently as well. There's a quick split-screen special effects feature showing how the ghostly spirits were added to Conan's resurrection. "The Conan Archives" is an 11-minute slide show of drawings, costumes and advertising. Best of all is the fantastic 53-minute "Conan Unchained" documentary interviewing every conceivable contributor who all reminisce with great fondness. It's slightly better seeing Schwarzenegger and Milius than hearing them talk in their commentary, which inevitably re-tells many of the same anecdotes in between puffs of Arnie's stogies. -Paul Tonks.

Review Entertainment in Video / The Crow [1994]
Actors & Directors
  • Ernie Hudson
  • Alex Proyas
  • Brandon Lee
  • Bai Ling
  • Michael Wincott
  • Rochelle Davis
Release date: 1999-09-27
Run time: 101 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £2.76

Review The Crow [1994] / Entertainment in Video:

The Crow set the standard for dark and violent comic-book movies (like Spawn or director Alex Proyas's superior follow-up, Dark City), but it will forever be remembered as the film during which star Brandon Lee (son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee) was accidentally killed on the set by a loaded gun. The filmmakers were able to digitally sample what they'd captured of Lee's performance and piece together enough footage to make the film releasable. Indeed, it is probably more fascinating for that post-production story than for the tale on the screen. The Crow is appropriately cloaked in ominous expressionistic shadows, oozing urban dread and occult menace from every dank, concrete crack, but it really adds up to a simple and perfunctory tale of ritual revenge. Guided by a portentous crow (standing in for Poe's raven), Lee plays a deceased rock musician who returns from the grave to systematically torture and kill the outlandishly violent gang of hoodlums who murdered him and his fiancée the year before. The film is worth watching for its compelling visuals and genuinely nightmarish, otherworldly ambience. -Jim Emerson.

Review MGM Entertainment / Walking Tall
Actors & Directors
  • The Rock
  • Neal McDonough
  • Johnny Knoxville
  • Kevin Bray
  • Kristen Wilson
Release date: 2005-01-17
Run time: 83 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £1.70

Review Walking Tall / MGM Entertainment:


Review Entertainment in Video / Highlander 2 [1991]
Actors & Directors
  • Michael Ironside
  • Christopher Lambert
  • Russell Mulcahy
  • Virginia Madsen
  • John C. McGinley
  • Sean Connery
Release date: 2001-11-19
Run time: 86 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £3.75

Review Highlander 2 [1991] / Entertainment in Video:


Review Warner Home Video / Masters of the Universe [1987] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Gary Goddard
  • Frank Langella
  • Billy Barty
  • Meg Foster
  • Courteney Cox
  • Dolph Lundgren
Release date: 2001-10-23
Run time: 106 min.
Price: £3.60

Review Masters of the Universe [1987] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Warner Home Video:


Review MGM Entertainment / Red River [1949]
Actors & Directors
  • Howard Hawks
  • Arthur Rosson
  • Montgomery Clift
  • Joanne Dru
  • John Wayne
  • Walter Brennan
  • Coleen Gray
Release date: 2000-06-12
Run time: 133 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £2.79

Review Red River [1949] / MGM Entertainment:

Any short list of the all-time greatest Westerns is bound to include this 1948 Howard Hawks classic about an epic cattle drive. Red River features one of John Wayne's greatest performances. Like his Ethan Edwards in John Ford's 1956 masterpiece The Searchers, the Duke plays an isolated and unsympathetic man who is possessed by bitterness. Wayne is Texas rancher Tom Dunson, who adopts a young boy orphaned in an Indian massacre. That boy, Matthew Garth (played as an adult by Montgomery Clift in his screen debut), becomes Dunson's assistant and heir apparent-until Dunson's temper gets out of control during a long cattle drive and Matt intervenes to stop him. From that moment on, Dunson swears he will kill Matt. Red River has everything a great Western ought to have: a sweeping sense of history, spectacular landscapes, stampedes, gunfights, Indian attacks, and, of course, Walter Brennan as Dunson's crusty old cook and comic sidekick, Nadine Groot. As a special bonus, the film also features the legendary Harry Carey (upon whom Wayne would base some of his gestures in The Searchers) and his son Harry Carey Jr, who became a fixture in Ford and Hawks' Westerns. Red River is essential for anyone who loves Westerns, or movies in general. This one's a real beaut. [+]
-Jim Emerson, Amazon. com.

Review The Tarzan Collection / Tarzan Collection Vol. 2 - Triumphs / Desert Mystery / The Amazons / Leopard Woman / Huntress / The Mermaids
Release date: 2007-12-17
Run time: 432 min.
RRP: £35.99
Price: £9.97

Review Tarzan Collection Vol. 2 - Triumphs / Desert Mystery / The Amazons / Leopard Woman / Huntress / The Mermaids / The Tarzan Collection:

Beasts roar, danger abounds and Johnny Weismuller swoops into the last 5 of his 12 adventures as film's definitive Tarzan. The vine swinger provedes World War 2 heroics in Tarzan Triumphs and Tarzan's Desert Mystery. Next, he welcomes Jane home and champions a secluded female tribe in Tarzan and the Amazons. A deadly cult proves no match for the jungle lord in Tarzan and the Leopard Woman. And the Ape Man calls elephants to deal with poachers in Tarzan and the Huntress and rescues a pearl-diving community in Tarzan and the Mermaids. What came next? Weissmuller would return to the wilds as Jungle Jim, Johnny Sheffield (Boy) became Bomba the Jungle Boy, Joyce played Jane again in Tarzan's Magic Fountain and Cheetah became the world's oldest chimp, celebrating birthday 74 in 2006. Ungawa!.

Review Batman / Batman The Animated Series - The Dark Knight Chronicles
Release date: 2008-07-14
RRP: £29.99
Price: £8.86

Review Batman The Animated Series - The Dark Knight Chronicles / Batman:


Review MGM Entertainment / James Bond - The World Is Not Enough (Ultimate Edition 2 Disc Set) [1999]
Actors & Directors
  • Sophie Marceau
  • Michael Apted
  • Maria Grazia Cucinotta
  • Denise Richards
  • Goldie
  • Pierce Brosnan
Release date: 2006-07-17
Run time: 123 min.
RRP: £16.99
Price: £2.89

Review James Bond - The World Is Not Enough (Ultimate Edition 2 Disc Set) [1999] / MGM Entertainment:


Review MGM Entertainment / The Return Of A Man Called Horse [1976]
Actors & Directors
  • Richard Harris
  • Geoffrey Lewis
  • William Lucking
  • Irvin Kershner
  • Gale Sondergaard
  • Jorge Luke
Release date: 2005-03-14
Run time: 119 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £3.20

Review The Return Of A Man Called Horse [1976] / MGM Entertainment:


Review Pathe Distribution / Last Of The Dogmen [1996]
Actors & Directors
  • Steve Reevis
  • Tom Berenger
  • Tab Murphy
  • Kurtwood Smith
  • Barbara Hershey
  • Andrew Miller
Release date: 2003-08-25
Run time: 113 min.
RRP: £5.99
Price: £2.75

Review Last Of The Dogmen [1996] / Pathe Distribution:

Despite an irritating, tacked-on voice-over narration that somebody must have thought necessary to make sense of the story (it isn't), Last of the Dogmen is actually a very moving and magical film. Tom Berenger plays a Montana bounty hunter who helps an anthropologist (Barbara Hershey) search for the descendants of a Cheyenne tribe who disappeared in the 1870s. What the two find in a remote mountain stretch is an entire community of Cheyenne who have kept themselves cut off from the modern world. A Dances with Wolves parallel emerges as the white outsiders gradually fit in, but Last of the Dogmen stands up just fine without comparison to any other films. As in Kevin Costner's Oscar-winning movie, however, there are ways in which this film captures a similar sense of yearning, mystery and loss-not least being David Arnold's fine John Barry-esque score. -Tom Keogh.

Review Optimum Home Entertainment / Young Billy Young [1969]
Actors & Directors
  • Angie Dickinson
  • Robert Walker
  • Christopher Mitchum
  • Robert Mitchum
  • David Carradine
  • Burt Kennedy
Release date: 2008-09-08
Run time: 85 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £7.18

Review Young Billy Young [1969] / Optimum Home Entertainment:


Review MGM Entertainment / Rocky [1976]
Actors & Directors
  • Burgess Meredith
  • Sylvester Stallone
  • Talia Shire
  • Burt Young
  • Carl Weathers
  • John G. Avildsen
Release date: 2000-02-01
Run time: 114 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £1.20

Review Rocky [1976] / MGM Entertainment:

The 1976 Oscar winner for Best Picture, John G Avildsen's Rocky is the story of a down-and-out club fighter who gets his million-to-one shot at a world championship title. In the title role, Sylvester Stallone (who also penned the screenplay) draws a carefully etched portrait of a loser who, in Brando-esque fashion, "coulda been a contender". Rocky then becomes one thanks to a publicity stunt engineered by current champ Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), while finding love courtesy of timid wallflower Adrienne (Talia Shire) along the way. Burgess Meredith revives the spirit of 1940's genre pictures through his scenery-chewing performance as Rocky's trainer. An enormous entertainment, Rocky is irresistible in its depiction of an underachiever who has the courage to start all over again-a description that could have been applied to Stallone's own life at the time. -Kevin Mulhall.

Review Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / Tears Of The Sun [2003]
Actors & Directors
  • Antoine Fuqua
  • Monica Bellucci
  • Bruce Willis
  • Eamonn Walker
  • Cole Hauser
  • Paul Francis
Release date: 2005-08-15
Run time: 116 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £2.49

Review Tears Of The Sun [2003] / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:


Browse Action & Adventure:

Models & Brands:
Blade II [2002], Hard Target [1993], Streets Of Fire [1984], Bloodsport [1986] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Sahara [Blu-ray] [2005], Fantastic Four/Fantastic Four - Rise Of The Silver Surfer [2005], Conan the Barbarian [1981], The Crow [1994], Walking Tall, Highlander 2 [1991], Masters of the Universe [1987] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Red River [1949], Tarzan Collection Vol. 2 - Triumphs / Desert Mystery / The Amazons / Leopard Woman / Huntress / The Mermaids, Batman The Animated Series - The Dark Knight Chronicles, James Bond - The World Is Not Enough (Ultimate Edition 2 Disc Set) [1999], The Return Of A Man Called Horse [1976], Last Of The Dogmen [1996], Young Billy Young [1969], Rocky [1976], Tears Of The Sun [2003]

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