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ERRANCE
Director:
Damien Odoul
Cast: Laetitia Casta, Benoit Magimel, Matteo Tardito,
Yann Goven
Certificate: TBC
Released: 29th July 2005
The
kind of doomy relationship drama that French Cinema
seems to specialise in, this portrait of a marriage
in freefall over the late Sixties and early Seventies
wins points for emotional honesty, even if it
eventually becomes a trial to sit through. French
model Casta makes an impressive acting debut as
the housewife trying to raise her young son while
salvaging her marriage to the alcoholic and criminally
inclined Magimel, but the decision to tell the
story in fractured fragments means the pacing
suffers. Odoul’s direction conjures some
moving moments and an atmosphere of bleak nostalgia–
otherwise, this is arthouse cinema with the gearbox
locked in ‘neutral’.
Rating:
* *
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FIST OF FURY: PLATINUM EDITION
Director:
Wei Lo
Cast: Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, James Tien, Maria
Yi, Robert Baker
Certificate: 18
Price: £19.99
Released: 9th January 20065
The
follow-up to his spectacular debut in The Big
Boss, this 1972 Hong Kong classic casts Kung Fu
icon Bruce Lee as a martial arts student in 1930s
Japanese-occupied Shanghai. Thirsting for payback
following his Master’s murder, Lee discovers
a rival Japanese Bushido school are to blame,
and in a stunning sequence plundered by Tarantino
for Kill Bill Vol.1, he simultaneously takes on
all the Bushido students in a symphony of animal
howls, chain-kicks and full-on, uncut Nunchaku
action. In filmmaking terms, this is crude stuff–
but there’s a surprisingly serious edge
to the story, and Lee virtually burns a hole in
the screen with his raw charisma.
Extras: Commentary, Interviews, Location Guide,
Photo Gallery, Trailers
An upgrade from the previous DVD release, this
Platinum Edition features the same informative
commentary from HK cinema expert Bey Logan, although
his appearance in the new Location Guide leads
to some unfortunate and cringe-worthy attempts
at comedy. Elsewhere, the biggest additions are
a whole collection of lengthy interviews with
cast members, as well as friends and students
of Lee. The end result offers plenty of engaging
reminiscences and builds up a good portrait of
Lee’s personality, but is aimed more at
the Martial Arts fanatic than the casual observer.e.
Rating:
* * *
*
Extras:
* * *
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GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE
Director:
Mamorou Oshii
Cast: (Voices) Akio Otusaka, Atsuko Tanaka, Koichi
Yamadera, Tamio Oki
Certificate: TBC
Released: 28th October 2005
Starting
out as a cyberpunk-style whodunit, this follow-up
to the 1995 Anime classic soon heads in a deliriously
weird direction of its own. Tracking cyborg detective
Batou as he probes the murderous rebellion of
a group of robot “pleasure droids”,
it’s a lyrical and beautiful combination
of thriller and philosophy that mixes chin-stroking
discussions about humanity with scorching, full-tilt
action sequences. Make no mistake- this is serious-minded
science fiction, and while the gloomy tone and
haphazard pacing will turn less patient viewers
off, it’s also one of the most visually
ravishing and thought-provoking future fantasies
to ever hit the cinema screen.
Rating:
* * * *
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