A
Dangerous Man
(2009/Liberation Hall Blu-ray*)/Desperate
Riders
(2022/Lionsgate Blu-ray)/Hostile
Territory
(2022/Well Go Blu-ray)/Ninja
Badass
(2022/BayView Blu-ray)/One
Armed Boxer
(1972/Arrow Blu-ray*)/12
Monkeys 4K
(1995/Universal/Arrow 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/*all MVD)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A- Picture: B+/B+/B-/B-/B+/X Sound:
B+/B+/B/B-/B+/B+ Extras: C/D/C/C/B/B Films: C/C/C/C/C+/B
PLEASE
NOTE:
Early pressings of the 12
Monkeys 4K
Blu-ray disc has a defect in the pressing where some sequences you
have just watched will start repeating. Consult the Arrow Video
website about replacement discs should you buy a copy that has one of
these early discs.
Now
for some genre releases, including a classic and some wild entries
too...
Steven
Segal stars in a typically constructed but mildly entertaining action
film, A
Dangerous Man
(2009), which has gotten a new Blu-ray release. The movie has a lot
of what you would expect to see in this kind of movie: Seagal is a
badass ex-con whose on the run who happens to rescue a damsel in
distress (who is loaded with crooked cash), and he must beat the bad
guys and drug cartels that pursue him and his newfound fortune. The
pacing and overall filmmaking reminds me a bit of a Crank
movie or something of the like where the film has to constantly be
moving and action happening every second of the film so that it's ADD
audience won't lose interest.
The
film also stars Mike Dopud, Marlaina Mah, Vitaly Kravchenko, Jesse
Hutch, and Terry Chen.
A
Dangerous Man
is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4
AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and a lossless,
English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit). The film was
previously released on disc by Entertainment One (aka E1) and so I am
unsure how much different the two transfers are, but I would assume
they are pretty similar. There's nothing glaringly bad about the
transfer, and all seems pretty clean and normal.
The
only extra is a Behind the Scenes featurette.
A
Dangerous Man
is much like many other action films in the genre, and doesn't do
anything groundbreaking. But if you're after mindless violence and a
thin predictable story, then this will deliver on those principals.
Another
new western skips theaters and lands on the home video market,
Desperate
Riders
(2022) which centers on a lone gunman and badass female gunslinger
who must work together in an attempt to save a boys mother from a
ruthless outlaw and his cronies. The production design isn't
terrible and there are moments that are pretty cinematic, but other
all there isn't much new being brought to the genre here.
The
film stars Tom Berenger, Trace Adkins, Drew Waters, Vanessa Evigan,
and Sam Ashby.
Desperate
Riders
is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4
AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1, and a lossless
English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit). The
presentation is pretty standard with nothing hindering the
performance in any way.
No
extras.
Desperate
Riders
is standard popcorn munching fare that will please fans of westerns
at the bare minimum.
Brian
Presley's Hostile
Territory
(2022) is another one of these too-clean-to-be-convincing new
Westerns that share many of the same repetitive issues Desperate
Riders
and hundreds of countless other such productions in the last 10 to 15
years share. Somehow avoiding some illicit appeal to pity, the plot
here has to do with the lead's children on an orphan train heading
into bad territory (or
use the film's title).
He is joined by an ex-slave to find the train car, but that feels a
little condescending as merely a plot point.
Boring
and droning on for an unconvincing, long feeling 94 minutes, there is
some effort and some money in this one, but the cast of unknowns
cannot bring this to life and it is everything we have seen
otherwise. Only for the very, very curious, the director co-stars
with a cast of unknowns.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer is not bad, but
the dark stylizing is overkill and is not convincing, while the
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix is the default highlight of
this release, professionally competent and consistent enough with a
soundfield that stays in tact for the most part.
Extras
include a Behind The Scenes featurette and an Original Theatrical
Trailer.
By
the 1980s, the actual martial arts genre had become loaded with
comedies, partly a fall out of genre fatigue, but also the
immeasurable loss of Bruce Lee, who haunts all such film to this day.
When the Ninja cycle of films arrived in the reactionary 1980s, the
silly fighting made the 1960s Batman
TV series look like a series of military training films. This led to
a big straight-to-video cycle and this then continued as shorts on
line, to the point that even The New York Times did an article about
it a decade or so
ago. Ryan Harrison's Ninja
Badass
(2022) wants to continue the madness over 40 years later and make it
into a feature film!
Harrison
(no relation to Rex or Noel, though trying to be as wacky as Stewie
on Family
Guy)
is the kind of low art Troma Studios tries to go out of their way to
make by reputation, but Harrison (as the white lead in an 'Asian
martial arts world') and company pull this off (as it were) all on
their own for over 100 inane (or insane, both fit) minutes of
cliches, stereotypes and repeating everything such shorts, VHS and
Beta tape releases accomplished decades ago, no matter how gross or
ultra-stupid. But that is what they set out to do and WOW, they did
it. After suffering... I mean watching it, it can only be thought
that this were their intent. Sadly, this will not be the last of its
kind, but if you want to waste a big spot of time, here it is.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer is sloppy, has
detail issues here and there and is simply not too consistent, but
that is the way all these wacky productions want to look, so it is
par for the course in this case, while the
PCM 2.0 Stereo has its rough spots and the makers likely realized an
5.1 mix would be a mistake.
Extras
include a Director's Commentary, Blooper Reel, Stills, a Music Video,
Deleted Scenes and some Making Of clips.
One
Armed Boxer
(1972) is
an early production of Golden Harvest Studios, which was a rival to
the infamous Shaw Brothers studio, and stars famed marital artist
Jimmy Wang Yu (who just passed away recently as we post this) in the
no holds barred lead role! The title pretty much gives it away but
essentially the film centers around a one armed fighter who can lay
to waste anyone that crosses his path, even an army of skilled
assassins stand no chance against him!
The
film is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an
MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1, and an English
LPCM 2.0 Mono mix. This new scan comes from a 2K restoration from
the original elements by Fortune Star and original, lossless Mandarin
PCM Mono audio, alternate Mandarin PCM Mono soundtrack and original
English PCM Mono dubbed audio so you can have an authentic experience
if you like. (Of course parred with English subtitles.)
Special
Features:
Commentary
by Frank Djeng from the NY Asian Film Festival
Career
retrospective interview with Wang Yu, filmed in Nantes in 2001 and
never released before, courtesy of the Frederic Ambroisine Video
Archive
Trailer
gallery, featuring the original Hong Kong theatrical trailer, a US TV
spot (as The
Chinese Professionals)
and over half an hour of trailers for other Wang Yu classics
including One-Armed
Swordsman
and Master
of the Flying Guillotine
Image
gallery
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ilan
Sheady
and
First
Pressing Only:
Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by
Simon Abrams.
One
Armed Boxer
is pretty fun to watch and has the spirit of a Shaw Brothers film
even if it technically isn't one.
Last
and absolutely not least, Terry Gilliam's rare box office hit and
cult classic 12
Monkeys
(1995), looks better than ever in this updated 4K edition from Arrow
Video with similar features and packaging as the previous release,
but with a noticeably impressive bump in terms of presentation in
native 4K.
A
daring and twisted look at the future that is certainly original, 12
Monkeys 4K
stars Bruce Willis as a convict named James Cole who is sent back in
time to stop a dark future devastated by a deadly disease that's
responsible for wiping out the lot of humanity. Of course everyone
thinks that he is insane and he is treated as such and put into a
mental ward. From there the film goes wild and it must be seen to be
believed as it takes a lot of surrealistic twists and turns that blur
the line of what is real and what the character is experiencing
through his own time traveling reality.
This
movie has been remade into a series and other reincarnations before,
but let's face it, this is about as Terry Gilliam as you can get.
This filmmaking trademark is stamped all across this and it's that
brand of zany humor and creativity that is what makes this unique.
Love it or hate it, it's an interesting piece of filmmaking.
This
was made in 1995 and so the deadly virus topic in the film hits a
little closer to home watching it now thanks to current events
more-so than it did in the film's initial release. Still impressive
is the near opening sequence where Willis sees a tiger on top of a
building in the deserted city and, well, the cinematography of the
film itself is simply outstanding and stands the test of time. You
can really tell that Willis put his heart into this role as he isn't
afraid to go completely off the rails in this one. Brad Pitt's weird
eyeball also helps make for a fun character that isn't exactly the
type of role that he is usually known for doing.
The
film stars Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, and Christopher Plummer among
its solid cast.
12
Monkeys 4K
is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with both 2.0
stereo and DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless tracks (same as the
previous Arrow Blu-ray release) in 2160p in native 4K ultra high
definition on 4K UHD disc, Dolby Vision and HDR10 (high dynamic
range). The original 35mm camera negative has been scanned in 4K
resolution and has new color grading, which is an improvement over
the previous Arrow edition we covered on this site a while back.
Special
Features (same as the previous Arrow Blu-ray) include...
Audio
commentary by Terry Gilliam and producer Charles Roven
The
Hamster Factor and Other Tales of Twelve Monkeys,
a feature-length making-of documentary by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe
(Lost
in La Mancha)
The
Film Exchange with Terry Gilliam,
a 1996 interview with Gilliam and critic Jonathan Romney, recorded at
the London Film Festival
Brand-new
appreciation by Ian Christie, author of Gilliam
on Gilliam
The
Twelve Monkeys Archives
Theatrical
trailer
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary
Pullin
and
FIRST
PRESSING ONLY:
Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by
Nathan Rabin and archive materials.
This
is a cult classic and is definitely improved in this release.
-
Nicholas Sheffo (Ninja,
Territory)
and James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
