Here's a batch of newly released DVDs, spanning a variety of genres. "Gridiron Gang" (Columbia, 2006, PG-13, $28.95).
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars in this feel-good melodrama about tough kids in a juvenile-detention center who get a chance to learn how to pull together when a probation officer organizes a football team. Predictable but well-acted, although the shaky-cam cinematography gets old real fast. Based on a true story.
"Where Angels Fear to Tread" (Image, 1992, PG, $9.99). This was one of my favorites of the '90s spate of prim-and-proper English period pieces, marked by "A Room With a View" and "Howards End.
" "Angels" also stars Helena Bonham Carter, here in a wicked comedy, in which she plays a companion to a widow (Helen Mirren) traveling in Italy. Unexpected romance ensues. Judy Davis co-stars.
"The Protector" (Weinstein/Genius, 2006; R for violence, sex; two discs, $29.95). If you saw "Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior," you know that Tony Jaa is an astonishing martial artist, capable of stunts that seem impossible.
Unfortunately, he's not a great actor, and this film suffers from the same story and plot and performance problems as "Ong-Bak." But if you can ignore that and just watch his action scenes, you'll be well entertained. "Seven Swords" (Weinstein/Genius, 2005, not rated, two discs, $24.
95). This Chinese martial-arts epic is way over the top, and extremely violent (there's also some sex), but that won't bother fans of the genre. Directed with flourish by Tsiu Hark and starring Donnie Yen, the story is basically about seven swordsmen who come together to prevent 17th-century Manchurian invaders from slaughtering villages for monetary gain.
Superficially similar to "The Seven Samurai," but it quickly goes its own way. Plenty of action. Extras: Widescreen, deleted/extended scenes, audio commentary (by Hark and Bey Logan), featurettes, storyboard, trailers "Rock, Rock, Rock!
" (Alpha, 1956, b/w, $6.98). This Alan Freed vehicle is truly awful, with stilted performances, an idiotic story about a high school love triangle and an array of blossoming rock stars who each get one number, and most of whom went nowhere.
Highlights are the Moonglows and Chuck Berry, and Tuesday Weld's songs are dubbed by Connie Francis! What makes this disc worthwhile, however, is "Rhythm Blues Review" (1955, b/w). Listed as a bonus feature, this sprightly stage show deserves to be on its own with a spruced-up print that isn't as raggedy as this one.
Still, the bright comedy (Nipsey Russell, Montan Moreland and other comics), and especially the musical numbers by one great act after another including Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Cab Calloway (doing "Minnie the Moocher"), Nat King Cole (on a calypso tune), Bill Bailey dancing up a storm, Sarah Vaughn and many more is a real treat for jazz/R B fans. "Delightfully Dangerous" (Alpha, 1945, b/w, $6.98).
Jane Powell is a free-wheeling 15-year-old with an adult voice who tries to get her older sister to leave burlesque and take up with legit producer Ralph Bellamy. Frivolous but has some laughs especially when Arthur Treacher and Louise Beavers play off each other in one scene. "Vanity Fair" (Alpha, 1937, b/w, $6.
98). This adaptation of the Thackery story is understandably upstaged by "Becky Sharp," which was filmed two years earlier with Miriam Hopkins and was the first three-strip Technicolor feature. Both are from the same book, but this one is a lower-budget rush job that's hardly worth a look, except for the presence of luminous Myrna Loy in the lead.
Also, the print on this disc is very weak. "You're Out of Luck" (Alpha, 1941, b/w, $6.98).
Mantan Moreland and Frankie Darro team up in this comic mystery from the Monogram studio. It's silly, of course, but has more laughs than you might expect, thanks to the deft veteran players. "Harlem Double Feature: 'Harlem Rides the Range' plus 'Murder in Harlem"' (Alpha, 1939/1935, b/w, $6.
98). "Harlem Rides the Range" is a hokey oater, very low-budget with stiff acting, notable primarily as an all-black Western from 1939, with charismatic Herb Jeffries in the lead. Unfortunately, "Murder in Harlem" had a technical problem on the disc I watched; the sound was so low it was unintelligible.
News RSS