NOW SEEKING FUNDING ON KICKSTARTER – Jason Turner’s “Sentinel” reminds me a lot of the Harry Canyon segment from “Heavy Metal” except so much more of a neo-noir cyberpunk love letter than the former. Presented as a motion comic, Jason Turner plays Ex-Cop Alex Calibourne, a man with enhanced body augmentations that lives in a crime ridden albeit futuristic city named Iron City. Calibourne lives and breathes by his robotic enhancements, and uses his artificial intelligence J.E.S.S., a sassy female AI, to guide him through his adventures in the underworld.
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Saving Mr. Wu (2015) [New York Asian Film Festival 2016]
In 2004, actor Ruofu Wu was kidnapped and held for ransom in China. With his blessing (he has a prominent part in the film), director Ding Sheng adapted his story into film for Saving Mr. Wu. The cinematic version of the events follows Mr. Wu as he is kidnapped by Zhang Hua and three accomplices as he comes out of a karaoke bar. The kidnappers pretend to be cops to get him to cooperate but it becomes clear very quickly that they are taking him to pocket a ransom.
The actual police catch Zhang Hua while he’s gone to retrieve the ransom. As the police interrogate him, Mr. Wu attempts to use his skills to survive and help the other kidnapping victim survive as long as possible and not lose hope. Director Ding Sheng co-wrote the film with Alex Jia. Their script is an adaptation and fictionalization of the real kidnapping case most likely to make it more entertaining.
As with most adaptations if this kind, not all parties involved have the more exciting or exciting at all side of the story or even want to share it, so they add to fill in some gaps and spruce up some parts to make it more captivating. The characters are based on real people but also have been tweaked to make them all interesting.
The cast of Saving Mr. Wu is composed of the original Mr. Wu, Ruofu Wu, who here has the part of one of the men charged with saving Mr. Wu, cop Cao Gang. Wu does great work here and shows much interest in saving the movie version of himself. As the character of Mr. Wu, Andy Lau gives a layered performance of a man who is scared, worried, wants to fight, tries to help is co-kidnapped. His performance is one of the center pieces of the film, having the whole story revolve around him. Lau’s acting is superb here. The other very important performance is that of lead kidnapper Zhang Hua who spends a good part of the film gleefully being interrogated.
Qianyuan Wang plays this part to the fullest, not holding back and just going for it with the madness of the criminal he is representing. His presence on screen is captivating. His main interrogators are played by the aforementioned Ruofu Wu and Ye Liu as Xing Feng, an overworked father with a sick son he needs to get to. The film rests on the strength of its cast mainly as the majority of the scenes are a lot of dialogue including the scenes between Mr. Wu and his kidnappers, Mr. Wu and the other kidnapping victim, the interrogation of Zhang Hua, et al.
There are a few actions scenes but they are not the main focus of the film, however they are very well done nonetheless. The filmmakers gave these scenes plenty of attention, even hiring a car stunt coordinator, Bruce Law, who has close to 200 credits. The car sequences here are great and slightly reminiscent of the low-shot car scenes in Luc Besson written films. The other stunts are coordinated by Jun He and very well done as well. The camera does not shy away from the action and shows the cars, the hits, the whole thing without constantly cutting away or over-editing.
Saving Mr. Wu is a tense crime thriller with a true story background that keeps the viewer interested and connected to the story with good characters and great performances. The film is not build in a straight-forward manner, having its story skip forward and backwards in the timeline of the kidnapping which may require more attention but is absolutely worth it in the end.
Sinister Squad (2016)
Once again The Asylum tip toes all the way to the finish line to avoid copyright infringement, offering up their own third hand version of “Suicide Squad.” Relying heavily on public domain characters and concepts, “Sinister Squad” isn’t your usual terrible Asylum fare. It’s more lackluster and tedious with a lot of the cast seemingly pushed in to mirroring the personalities they saw in trailers for “Suicide Squad.”
So star Johnny Rey Diaz is so not the Joker as a green haired maniac with odd teeth named Rumplestiltskin, while Talia A. Davis is so not Harley Quinn, as the mad red queen who is hopelessly in love with Rumplestiltskin. These stock fairy tale villains are assembled by Alice (a very fetching Christina Licciardi) who is left with no choice to call upon these baddies when their own Carabosse, who is so not Enchantress, breaks out to enact her own evil scheme. She plans to unleash the evil Death (can’t copyright Death), who with his cult, wants to either dominate the world, or garner a final form on Earth to rule over the realm.
It’s never clear what Death intends to do with Carabosse working with him, nor is there a whole lot of explanation as to where a piece of Alice’s looking glass factors in. Either way, like most Asylum productions, “Sinister Squad” is set in one place, primarily Asylum’s studios, where the entirety of the movie unfolds. Every action scene, dramatic confrontation, fight sequence, shoot out, and magic battle ensues within the corridors of the warehouses owned by Asylum, adding to the bargain basement aesthetic the film tries to side step so eagerly.
Aside from Licciardi, the only cast member who really rises above the tedium is Nick Principe who has a good time adding some variety to such a broadly sketched character, and tries to turn the generally boring villain in to a memorable nemesis. “Sinister Squad” is yet another knock off from The Asylum hoping to make some quick cash from easily confused foreigners, and relatives looking for a cheap present on the way to a third cousin’s birthday party. Only the morbidly curious need apply.
Now available on VOD.
Sorceress (1995): Uncensored Director Approved Edition [Blu-Ray]
It sure is a hard life or Larry Barnes. He’s had a rough time living with an insanely sexy wife Erica, who so happens to be a witch who practices black magic. After failing to curse one of Larry’s business rivals, Larry and Erica clash causing Erica to fall to her death. After casting out his other very sexy female lover and Erica’s sister Maria, she threatens to make his life miserable for causing the death of Erica. After moving on, Amelia, the wife of Larry’s rival is still very bitter and angry about her husband being confined to a wheelchair. Intent on causing hell for Larry, she gives Larry’s new very sexy girlfriend Carol a medallion that Amelia uses as a means of taking control of Carol.
The Swinging Cheerleaders (1974): 2-Disc Special Edition [Blu-ray/DVD]
With how light hearted and sexual “The Cheerleaders” movie series is, I’m surprised how dramatic Jack Hill’s sequel “The Swinging Cheerleaders” is. It has its sexually charged moments, but it’s very much a sterner dramedy about a group of beautiful cheerleaders walking in to trouble. As a means of writing an article for a University paper, young Kate joins the local cheerleading squad in hopes of finding some sort of scandal for publishing. When the local coach and school dean becomes involved with gamblers and gangsters to rig football games, events go from bad to worse when Kate decides to alert the squad.
Meanwhile the other cheerleaders on the squad are dealing with their own problems and personal turmoil. There’s the beautiful Andrea, who is tricked in to becoming a part of a gang bang after refusing to sleep with her boyfriend to keep her virginity, and young Lisa who learns the hard way that the man she’s dating is involved with another woman. From there the movie jumps back and forth through various sub-plots and culminates in to the ultimate central plot where the football team and cheerleaders learn about the illegal gambling and decide to take matters in to their own hands.
“The Swinging Cheerleaders” is more of a drama than a comedy, but has a slew of really entertaining and fun moments, including when one of the football players decides to avenge young Kate, and the climactic battle between football players and crooked cops that ensue in a warehouse. The legendary Jack Hill’s direction is very much evident in the film, displaying his unique sense of pacing, his great use of the limited budget, and his keen understanding of the youth of the period and its penchant for rebellion. “The Swinging Cheerleaders” is a tonal shift in the series, but a damn fine drama comedy with a great sense of humor.
Featured from Arrow Video is a brand new restoration, offering up a crisp new version of the film. The new release comes in both DVD and Blu-Ray presentations, along with a reversible sleeve, and a neat collector’s booklet which include liner notes, vintage articles about the film, and full color stills with all of the cheerleaders present.
Among the extras, there’s a great nineteen minute Q&A with director Jack Hill, and actors Colleen Camp and the beautiful Rosanne Katon (my favorite of the cheerleaders!) recorded at the New Beverly Cinema in 2007. There’s an audio commentary with writer-director Jack Hill which was recorded specifically for the Arrow Video release, and a brand new interview with director Jack Hill. Finally, there are two archive interviews with cinematographer Alfred Taylor, and another archive interview with Jack Hill and Johnny Legend. Finally, there a small series of TV spots for the film.
The Shallows (2016)
Jaume Collet-Serra‘s survival thriller feels like a movie that was written in 1980 and just now saw the light of day as a vehicle for Blake Lively. It doesn’t have any of the beaming self importance of “Open Water” or “127 Hours,” which makes it a lot more fun than it has any right to be. Lively is gorgeous and charming as American tourist Nancy Adams, a medical student still reeling from the death of her mother after a long losing battle with cancer. Taking a hiatus from work and all of her responsibilities, she travels to Mexico to relax and surf on the beach. While waiting for some waves, she’s attacked by a massive shark that knocks her off of her board, and leaves her to plunge in to the tide where she cuts her leg open, hobbling any and all efforts to swim back to shore.
Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie (OAV) (1999)
Shut up, Tails! Granted, I have always liked the “Sonic” movie from 1999 that finds him battling Metal Sonic, but Tails has to be the most grating animated sidekick of all time. True, he’s still a useful superhero, but in the end I hated this character. “Sonic The Hedgehog: The Movie” from 1999, originally made in 1996, is the anime continuation of the original animated series from the mid nineties. I speak of the very good animated adventure, not the crappy Looney Tunes knock off that aired almost at the same time. This time around Sonic is relaxing in his world alongside Tails, and finds out that Robotnik aka Eggman is back.
He’s kidnapped the president and his daughter, insisting Sonic and Tails must go to Eggmanland to stop his evil clone. Dark Robotnik is a robotic beast with massive wings who thinks like Robotnik, and Sonic has to travel to the city to stop the generator before it explodes. But things get tough as Sonic and Tails realize the city has a ton of hazards, and they’re hopelessly outnumbered. Plus, they don’t know that Robotnik has Hyper Metal Sonic, a robotic version of Sonic, waiting for him ready to be activated. Thankfully though, Sonic and Tails aren’t completely alone, as they gain the help of their rogue friend Knuckles.
Knuckles, once an anti-hero, is now an adventurous hero who takes it upon himself to make sure Sonic and Tails pull off their mission safely. “Sonic” is a short and sweet animated adventure with some darn good animation, and an excellent cyberpunk aesthetic that anime buffs and followers of the cyberpunk sub-genre will appreciate. Though, admittedly, the movie is slim on narrative, the director makes up for it with some killer action, and picturing Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles doing what they do best, and looking darn cool performing their signature moves we’ve seen in the classic games. This is a movie that still holds up; it was a lot of fun back in 1999, and it’s a good time today.