Chinese Ghost Story III [Blu-ray]

Watch it!
Wonderful film. I first watched this when it came out in theaters and remains one of my favorites. This integrates the right amount of magical fighting and romance, even humor into a movie. Joey Wong has improved on her acting since the first, Jackie Cheung and Tony Leung make quite the comical pair. Tony's naivete as a monk and Joey's advances are well played out. Lo Lo (demon woman/man) is even more evil although less tongue lashing.

If you can enjoy a movie that does NOT depend on martial arts this is definitely for you. And just because there were no martial arts there are other visuals to entertain you (more scenes of the evil Chinese ghost girls doing their thing), the beautiful use of the costumes and colors, the images of Lo Lo in the ending. Some aspects will bring back similar scenes from Ghost Story 1--but it doesn't do anything negative to the movie.

Fans of the Series Should Definitely Check This One Out.
If you're looking for a different plot in this third installment to the popular Tsui Hark's series "A Chinese Ghost Story", you might be a little disappointed. The plot greatly resembles the original "A Chinese Ghost Story". Instead of Leslie Cheung, the leading male actor is Tony Leung-Chiu-Wai (this might be a disappointment to those of you who have grown attached to Leslie Cheung's role in the first two installments). Tony Leung plays a monk who gets seduced by a very beautiful female ghost (once again played by Joey Wong) after seeking shelter in Orchid Temple. In this movie, the long tongued tree spirit from the first installment is resurrected hundreds of years later and once again uses beautiful female ghosts to help lure men into its trap. This third installment of the series is a little more on the humor side...much less serious than the first two. Be warned, this is not so much of a love story as one would expect from the series, and this...

decent film
I think that Chinese Ghost Story 3 sometimes gets a bad rap because it's hard to watch this film without comparing it to its predecessors (it's essentially a carbon copy of #1 with half the magic - everything from the opening bloodshed to the evil sister is rehashed). But compared to other films in the genre it's actually a decent film on its own merits and satisfying overall.

More scenes are devoted to dialogue than is typical and the fantasy elements are reserved to satisfying but short bouts of swordplay and magic, but I personally enjoyed the character interaction. There's a long scene in the middle which is basically flirting between the monk (Tony Leung) and the ghost (Joey Wang) and it made me smile. Joey Wang reigns as the epitome of a beautiful Chinese ghost and Tony Leung (even though it's hard not to compare his character to the Leslie Chung's more charming tax collector) plays the role of the innocent "I must stay a virgin" monk well.

Fantasy elements...

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Prison on Fire II [Blu-ray]

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Transcendent Man

When Biology Merges With Robotics--Contemplating The Future Of Man's Evolution
As an inventor, businessman, and theorist--there is no denying the brilliant accomplishments or the noteworthy eccentricities of the estimable Ray Kurzweil. Alternately hailed as a prophetic genius and/or a raving madman, there is a probably a touch of truth in either position in how Kurzweil and his Singularity Doctrine view the future. "Transcendent Man," an intriguing and lively new documentary, serves as both a biographical sketch and a contemplation of man's progression through time. Kurzweil's position is that the current evolutionary cycle predominantly incorporates technology and that future incarnations of man will be human/robotic hybrids of some variation. He makes a compelling case, and has been quite astute in past predictions, about these changes--and, in fact, science has been working in that direction for quite some time with nanotechnology, robotics, and artificial intelligence.

The documentary begins with a fascinating introduction to its subject and...

Not a good representation of Kurzweil's ideas.
I've seen Ray Kurzweil speak at a conference, and it was a life-changing experience for me. His insights about the future, based on what he's learned about the speed of change, are remarkable. But the DVD doesn't capture that well at all. Instead of making his points, providing evidence and refuting key objections that people have raised over the years--which is what he did at the presentation--this video focuses on a few soundbites about his ideas, doesn't illustrate them, and doesn't show you the objections that commonly get raised and his answers to those objections. Instead, it spends a lot of time on irrelevant side trips, such as showing him talking about his father and how he'd love to "recreate" his father via computer technology; and it shows people giving their opinions about his ideas without giving him a chance to respond. Despite the awards this video has apparently won, it is a LOUSY representation of Kurzweil's ideas and his defense of them. Don't waste your time and...

The future without me
When you pass your 80th birthday you realize that you will not be around for a lot of what technology will provide. It doesn't matter if you think it good or bad.... there are those whose visions are beyond ours. This video is an exciting adventure into other peoples' minds and creativity. Science fiction? I don't think so. The brain is a wondrous gift and this a chance to see it in action.

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Bodyguards & Assassins [Blu-ray]

This is a beautiful story exquisitely executed
I do not yet have the blu-ray in hand, but I have had this on my DVR for a few weeks now.

I was a little sorry to see the story is largely fictionalized because the story is so very good. The title is a tad misleading: this is a story about an important period in Chinese history, condensed down to 5 days. Some of the figures are historical, but the actual occurrences (except for the summary of the following few years) are not. Please correct me if I'm wrong about this.

This is a beautiful film. Wonderful performances from an ensemble cast. If you are deeply affected by self-sacrifice, the desire of a parent to protect his or her children, redemption and painful irony, you will deeply affected by this film. Besides the performances, the film is visually beautiful (not on the level of Hero, but getting there).

Strongly recommended.

Fantastic Movie!
Not just another martial arts film, this is a real human drama...it's misnamed. More of a look at what motivates people. GREAT film, outstanding acting.

won't disappoint
Bodyguards and Assassins, despite having a bit of a wonky name, is a stunning picture. An all-star cast brings to life the story of revolutionaries and imperialists planning for the brief return to Hong Kong of an exile from Japan who, in one hour, is going to set in motion the wheels of an all out rebellion on mainland China.

The first half of the movie is a pure drama, introducing a lot of characters and fully fleshing out their motivations and relationships with each other. The story of the movie is not especially meaty, but by turning it into such a character piece it more than makes up for it. It was completely involving and a joy to watch.

Near the end of the first half of the movie, my adrenaline was already up for the second half. The pace was perfect, and it built up wonderfully to what I thought was the film's climax.

Instead, it turned out that it wasn't the climax, but that the entire second of the movie is brutally action packed. Having...

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Midgets Vs Mascots [Blu-ray]

Teaches Valuable Lessons About Labels
Despite its crude, disgusting and vulgar content, Midgets vs. Mascots has the soft underbelly of teaching people not to put labels on one another. For instance, it is WRONG to use the term 'Midget' - they're LITTLE PEOPLE.

Aside from that, this is a film like no other, and a comedy like no other. I had the luxury of meeting the cast and crew at the Tribecca Film Festival in April, 2009 (though it wasn't very pleasant to meet Gary Coleman, who put his head down on a table and didn't speak to anyone). These people had the time of their lives making this movie, which I'm sure was just as fun to make as it was to watch.

This movie isn't for everyone, like those who don't appreciate toilet humor, but for those who do this is bound to be one of the funniest films they have ever seen.

Hilarious!
I bought this movie over at their website before christmas and it's really really funny. they call it a Borat meets Jackass type movie and I'd say that's pretty spot on. There are ridiculously shocking stunts and some absolutely shocking moments that had me seriously laughing out loud.

I wasn't sure if Gary Coleman was acting or not, but he seems like the angriest little person there is (pun intended). Acting or not, Gary has some great scenes kicking the crap out of one of the main characters that's a complete a-hole.

My favorite character was Taco. The "i'm going to touch them anyway" line rocks. He's a sicko that has some of the best one liners you'll get out of a movie.

In case you were asking for my opinion, don't wait for this pre-order and just go to the [...] website and get it now. Plus they send these little "midget condoms" as a gag gift.

uh
I can't believe, I bought this. It's bad enough I was in it. I am the big truck driver guy in the MMA fight scene. We spent a day going over what we were going to do. Shot the fight scene twice. Now I am wishing they cut my entire scene. This is the sickest most repulsive movie I have ever seen in my life.

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