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Summary: Critics and controversy aside, "The Da Vinci Code" is a verifiable blockbuster. Combine the film's huge worldwide box-office take with over 100 million copies of Dan Brown's book sold, and The Da Vinci Code has clearly made the leap from pop-culture hit to a certifiable franchise (games and action figures are sure to follow). The leap for any story making the move from book to big screen, however, is always more perilous. In the case of "The Da Vinci Code", the story is concocted of such a preposterous formula of elements that you wouldn't envy Akiva Goldsman, the screenwriter who was handed a potentially unfilmable book and asked to make a filmable script out of it. Goldsman's solution was to have the screenplay follow the book as closely as possible, with a few needed changes, including a better ending. The result is a film that actually makes slightly better entertainment than the book.
So if you're like most of the world, by now you've read the book and know that it starts out as a murder mystery. While lecturing in Paris, noted Harvard Professor of Symbology Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is summoned to the Louvre by French police help decipher a bizarre series of clues left at the scene of the murder of the chief curator, Jacques Sauniere. Enter Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), gifted cryptologist and Sauniere's granddaughter. Neveu and Langdon are forced to team up to solve the mystery, and from there the story is propelled across Europe as it balloons into a modern-day mini-quest for the Holy Grail, complete with alternative theories about the life of Christ, ancient secret societies headed by historical figures like Leonardo Da Vinci, secret codes, conniving bishops, daring escapes, car chases, and, of course, a murderous albino monk controlled by a secret master who calls himself "The Teacher."
Taken solely as a mystery thriller, the movie almost works--despite some gaping holes--mostly just because it keeps moving forward at the breakneck pace set in the book. Brown's greatest trick might have been to have the entire story take place in a day so that the action is forced to keep going, despite some necessary pauses for exposition. Hanks and Tautou are just fine together but not exactly a memorable screen pair; meanwhile, Sir Ian McKellen's scenery-chewing as pivotal character Sir Leigh Teabing is just what the film needs to keep it from taking itself too seriously. In the end, this hit movie is just like a good roller-coaster ride: try not to think too much about it--just sit back and enjoy the trip. "--Daniel Vancini, Amazon.com"

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Languages: English

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Summary: This is a magical fairytale for kids and adult alike. You cannot beat Henson productions for imagination and the wonderful puppetry. The puppets are infused with such character that you forget that they are controlled by puppeteers and see them as living things. The story is the usual triumph of good over evil, but who doesn't like that, especially on a Sunday afternoon with a bucket of popcorn! A brilliant film that has to be seen by all.

Languages: English

Summary: Developing one's self confidence is difficult for most 14-year-olds, and doubly so for Will Stanton (Alexander Ludwig) who's recently moved to England and has just begun his first year of study as an American overseas. Feeling shy and inadequate in school as well as amongst his five brothers and one sister, Will becomes increasingly confounded when he starts to see strange visions including a sinister horseman (Christopher Eccleston) who demands Will give him some sort of sign which he knows absolutely nothing about. Befriended by four elders of the local community (Ian McShane, Frances Conroy, Jim Piddock, and James Cosmo) who turn out to be "Old Ones" from ages past, Will learns that his destiny is as a seeker who must travel through time to collect six ancient signs that will somehow enable light to triumph over darkness and save the world as he knows it. As Will discovers that he possesses hidden powers and struggles to learn to control them in order to accomplish his quest, he is racked with insecurity and self-doubt. In the end, Will's inner strength will be tested to the extreme as will his relationship with both family and friends.
While based on Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising, this movie is significantly different from the book: Will's age and family circumstances have been changed, the role of the Old Ones in Will's education about his powers is much diminished, the six signs are less religiously symbolic, and the treatment of the final battle between light and dark is markedly different. Nonetheless, "The Dark Is Rising" is a suspense-filled, action-packed 94-minutes brimming with great special effects comparable to "The Bridge to Terabithia" and the "Lord of the Rings Trilogy" that's immensely appealing to viewers ages 10 and older. "--Tami Horiuchi, Amazon.com"

Languages: French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Chinese, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian

Summary: "The Dark Knight" arrives with tremendous hype (best superhero movie ever? posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger?), and incredibly, it lives up to all of it. But calling it the best superhero movie ever seems like faint praise, since part of what makes the movie great--in addition to pitch-perfect casting, outstanding writing, and a compelling vision--is that it bypasses the normal fantasy element of the superhero genre and makes it all terrifyingly real. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is Gotham City's new district attorney, charged with cleaning up the crime rings that have paralyzed the city. He enters an uneasy alliance with the young police lieutenant, Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), and Batman (Christian Bale), the caped vigilante who seems to trust only Gordon--and whom only Gordon seems to trust. They make progress until a psychotic and deadly new player enters the game: the Joker (Heath Ledger), who offers the crime bosses a solution--kill the Batman. Further complicating matters is that Dent is now dating Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal, after Katie Holmes turned down the chance to reprise her role), the longtime love of Batman's alter ego, Bruce Wayne.
In his last completed role before his tragic death, Ledger is fantastic as the Joker, a volcanic, truly frightening force of evil. And he sets the tone of the movie: the world is a dark, dangerous place where there are no easy choices. Eckhart and Oldman also shine, but as good as Bale is, his character turns out rather bland in comparison (not uncommon for heroes facing more colorful villains). Director-cowriter Christopher Nolan ("Memento") follows his critically acclaimed "Batman Begins" with an even better sequel that sets itself apart from notable superhero movies like "Spider-Man 2" and "Iron Man" because of its sheer emotional impact and striking sense of realism--there are no suspension-of-disbelief superpowers here. At 152 minutes, it's a shade too long, and it's much too intense for kids. But for most movie fans--and not just superhero fans--"The Dark Knight" is a film for the ages. "--David Horiuchi"

Languages: Deutsch, Englisch, Französisch, Italienisch, Spanisch, Thai

Subtitles: Dänisch, Finnisch, Französisch, Isländisch, Niederländisch, Norwegisch, Schwedisch, Spanisch

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary: Acht Jahre ist es her, dass Batman die Schuld an Harvey Dents Tod auf sich genommen hat und verschwunden ist. Der einstige Held ist nicht mehr da, der Dunkle Ritter wurde zum Flüchtling. Doch der Plan von Bruce Wayne und Commissioner Gordon ging auf. Die Kriminalität in Gotham ging dank der neuen Gesetze Dents und der Weißen-Ritter-Aura des Staatsanwalts zurück, das organisierte Verbrechen hat keinen Platz mehr.
Doch das alles ändert sich nun, denn die mysteriöse Selina Kyle tritt auf den Plan und treibt als Catwoman ihr Unwesen. Welche Agenda verfolgt sie mit ihren nächtlichen Einbrüchen? Noch viel gefährlicher ist allerdings die Ankunft von Knochenbrecher Bane. Der maskierte Terrorist hat den Plan Gotham City zu zerstören. Batman muss aus seinem selbstgewählten Exil zurückkehren, um es mit der neuen Bedrohung aufzunehmen. Doch er spielt damit dem kriminellen Genie Bane in die Karten, der den Dunklen Ritter ein für alle Mal vernichten will. Und hat Batman nach den Jahren im Ruhestand überhaupt eine Chance gegen den brutalen Muskelberg?
"The Dark Knight Rises" bildet den epischen Abschluss zu Filmemacher Christopher Nolans "Batman"-Trilogie. Hochkarätige internationale Besetzung, die Schauplätze umfassen drei Kontinente – gedreht wird in den amerikanischen Städten Pittsburgh, New York und Los Angeles sowie in Indien, England und Schottland.

Languages: English

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Languages: English

Sound: Dolby Surround

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Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: "Despicable Me" is a compelling animated comedy about an aging supervillain's falling popularity at the hands of a younger supervillain and three young orphan girls. Gru is a true, bad-to-the-core evildoer who's earned the title of the world's No. 1 supervillain. But when young upstart Vector steals the Pyramid of Giza, Gru's status suddenly sinks to No. 2. Gru counters his fall by speeding up his plan to shrink and steal the moon, enlisting the help of his army of minions and the elderly Dr. Nefario, but a lack of funding and the difficulties involved in stealing the needed shrink-ray gun threaten to derail everything. Adopting three young orphan girls is an unlikely, but seemingly effective means to further Gru's evil mission, but Gru quickly discovers that caring for three young girls is more work, and distraction, than he could ever have anticipated. What unfolds is an unexpected shift in attitude that will forever change the lives of Gru, Vector, and all three young girls. A visually appealing film produced by Chris Meledandri ("Ice Age", "Ice Age 2: The Meltdown", and "Horton Hears a Who"), "Despicable Me" is full of weirdly shaped characters and settings that are somehow a perfect fit for Sergio Pablos's story. What's especially refreshing is that in this film, 3-D effects are used skillfully and effectively: even when the effects are exploited for comic reasons, they don't become a distraction, as is all too common in many recent movies. The film is full of corny banter and silly antics that inspire plenty of spontaneous laughter, and the minions, while not the best-developed characters, sure are comical. Ultimately, there's also a wholesome message about following one's heart. Steve Carell is the perfect villain-gone-soft in his role as Gru, Jason Segal is quite funny as Vector, and Julie Andrews makes a surprising appearance as Gru's very un-motherly mom. The story isn't new, the humor is relatively juvenile and somewhat forgettable, and it's no "Toy Story 3", but "Despicable Me" celebrates silliness in a way that's satisfying and highly entertaining. (Ages 6 and older) "--Tami Horiuchi"

Languages: German

Summary: Set in a divided Germany in 1983, during a peak period for Cold War tensions between East and West. Martin Rauch, a wide-eyed 24-year-old East German soldier plucked from obscurity, goes undercover as a West German soldier for the East Germany Secret Service.

Comments: Box set, Special Edition

Summary: The 20th "official" 007 outing released in the 40th anniversary year of the series, "Die Another Day" is big, loud, spectacular, slick, predictable and as partially satisfying as most Bond movies have been for the last 30 years. Pierce Brosnan gives his best Bond performance to date, forced to suffer torture by scorpion venom administered by a North Korean dominatrix during the Madonna-warbled credits song. He traipses from Cuba to London to Iceland while feuding with a smug insomniac millionaire (Toby Stephens), who admits that he's an evil parody of Bond's own personality. There are many nods to the past: Halle Berry recreates Ursula Andress's entrance from "Dr No", the gadget-packed car (which can become invisible) is a "Goldfinger"-style Aston Martin (albeit a brand-new model), the baddie's line in smuggled "conflict gems" and super-weapons derives from "Diamonds Are Forever" and the jet-pack from "Thunderball" can be seen in Q's lab.
It's the longest of the franchise to date (two-and-a-quarter hours) and the first to augment stunts and physical effects with major CGI, though the best fight is traditional: a polite club fencing match between Brosnan and Stephens that gets out of hand and turns into a destructive hack-and-slash fest with multiple edged weapons. Berry may be the first Bond girl with an Oscar on her shelf, but she's still stuck with a bad hairdo as well as having to endure 007's worst chat-up lines. Amazingly, most of the old things here do still work, though it's a shame that director Lee Tamahori ("Once Were Warriors") wasn't given a better script to play with.
On the DVD: "Die Another Day" arrives on disc in a transfer that makes some of the CGI look less dodgy than it did in cinemas. The first disc includes two separate commentaries: an interesting, enthusiastic technical one with Tamahori and producer Michael Wilson, and a blander drone from Brosnan with input from "bad girl" actress Rosamund Pike. On Disc Two the main extra is "Inside "Die Another Day"", a 75-minute making-of with the usual 007 DVD extra mix of boosterism and solid background how-the-hell-they-did-it info. The "Region 2 exclusive" turns out to be "another" making-of, a video diary effort that takes a more interesting, wry approach to the mix of enterprise and chaos that is the Bond production machine. --"Kim Newman"

Languages: English, Spanish, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Korean, Cantonese

Sound: AC-3

Summary: New York City Detective John McClane has just arrived in Los Angeles to spend Christmas with his wife. Unfortunatly, it is not going to be a Merry Christmas for everyone. A group of terrorists, led by Hans Gruber is holding everyone in the Nakatomi Plaza building hostage. With no way of anyone getting in or out, it's up to McClane to stop them all. All 12!

Languages: English, Spanish, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Korean, Cantonese

Sound: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Summary: John McClane is an off-duty cop gripped with a feeling of déjà vu when on a snowy Christmas Eve in the nation's capital, terrorists seize a major international airport, holding thousands of holiday travelers hostage. Renegade military commandos led by a murderous rogue officer plot to rescue a drug lord from justice and are prepared for every contingency except one: McClane's smart-mouthed heroics.

Languages: English

Summary: Twelve years after "Die Hard with a Vengeance", the third and previous film in the "Die Hard" franchise, "Die Hard 4.0" finds John McClane (Bruce Willis) a few years older, not any happier, and just as kick-ass as ever. Right after he has a fight with his college-age daughter (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a call comes in to pick up a hacker (Justin Long, "Dodgeball") who might help the FBI learn something about a brief security blip in their systems. Now any "Die Hard" fan knows that this is when the assassins with foreign accents and high-powered weaponry show up, telling McClane that once again he's stumbled into an assignment that's anything but routine. Once that wreckage has cleared, it is revealed that the hacker is only one of many hackers who are being targeted for extermination after they helped set up a "fire sale," a three-pronged cyberattack designed to bring down the entire country by crippling its transportation, finances, and utilities. That plan is now being put into action by a mysterious team (Timothy Olyphant, "Deadwood", and Maggie Q, "Mission: Impossible 3") that seems to be operating under the government's noses. "Die Hard 4.0" uses some of the cat-and-mouse elements of "Die Hard with a Vengeance" along with some of the pick-'em-off-one-by-one elements of the now-classic original movie. And it's the most consistently enjoyable installment of the franchise since the original, with eye-popping stunts (directed by Len Wiseman of the "Underworld" franchise), good humour, and Willis's ability to toss off a quip while barely alive. Yippee-ki-ay! "--David Horiuchi"

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Languages: French, English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

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Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

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Languages: English

Summary: A confession: I was never a Dr Who fan as a kid. Too many wobbly sets, too many campy actors and too many silly costumes. As much as I loved fantasy fiction, Dr Who never really appealed. So when it was brought back a few years ago, I wasn't too bothered. During David Tennant's time as the Doctor, I caught a handful of episodes, thought they were OK and watched the final two parter. Matt Smith's brief time at the end interested me enough to ensure I'd watch the new series. And I'm glad I did.

I can't make any comparisons to Smith's portrayal with Tennant's, and I can't tell you how the writing compares to previous series. What I can tell you is this is an extremely entertaining show with great characters. Karen Gillan as the Doctor's companion Amy Pond (along with the reliable boyfriend Rory) comes close to outshining Matt Smith on a few occasions as does Alex Kingston as the mysterious Dr River Song, but Smith manages to hold his own. This guy can switch from anger to amusement to compassion in just a few glances even if he is convinced bow ties are cool.

Some of the episodes are obviously better than others. The two with the angels are outstanding (the Doctor's speech near the end of the first still gives me goosebumps) while the two underground are a little off in terms of pacing and atmosphere. On the other hand, the Daleks with Churchill is what the word romp was invented for, and James Corden as the Everyman in love with his friend and unable to do anything about it gives us an episode in which the Doctor is as close to human as he can get. A definite contender for best episode although Amy's Choice is also up there with a great performance from Karen Gillan.

If SF isn't your thing and you always thought Dr Who was for kids, give this a go. Just don't wear a fez. Even if they are cool.

Languages: English

Summary: Moving on from the first volume we have the next two stories compromising the seasons first two parter The Time of Angels and one parter The Vampires of Venice.

The Time of Angels has everything I want in a Who story and I firmly believe this story will go down as one of the greats. Moffat brings back two of his toys from the previous era in River Song (wonderfully played by Alex Kingston) and the Weeping angels who are turned up to 11. This story has no central set or location and starts off in all places a museum and after the hectic James Bond style opener catapults the regulars into the plot. Despite this being the first story filmed I think this is Matt Smiths best performance also of note is Iain Glen who is understated and wonderfully noble as Octavian. Keep your eyes peeled as there's a few moments that look to be linked to a later episode.

The Vampires of Venice is unfortunately a fairly weak episode, in my opinion the best qualities are the location work and an all round good performance by the cast who rise above the script they've been given. Also its got pretty girls with sharp teeth! The main huge faults in this are the direction and the script. Of note is Rory from The Eleventh Hour becoming a companion who is likeable in a bumbling way.

Both stories look like they foreshadow the end of season finale (which as I type has yet to be broadcast) with the cracks and some comments by the various villains. All in all four stars as Time of the Angels is so good it makes up for Vampires.

Languages: English

Summary: Three wonderful episodes on this volume so if you don't plan on getting the full series, I would at least recommend this one and the Time of Angels two-parter. Amy's Choice was a myterious episode and had bit of the classic who feel about it. Toby Jones was some inspired casting for the character of the Dreamlord and played it quite well.

The Hungry Earth seemed a bit filler-ish for the conclusion, "Cold Blood." But nevertheess, it's worth watching as it reintroduced a new tribe of Silurians - although personally, I preferred the others. More alien-like, you see.

Cold Blood contains a balance of action and diplomacy. On the one hand, the Silurian military prepare to take over the Earth, on the other, Amy helps in negotiating peace between the two owners of the planet. But with a cry of "EXECUTE HER!" it swings into gear as the Eleventh Dctor gleefully announces that it's squeeky bum time. But I wasn't prepared for what was to come and change the course of the series...



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The following review contains SPOILERS for the Doctor Who Series 5 finale and should be viewed with caution. You have been warned....

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Alas, "The Big Bang" has aired and Series 5 has come to a close. In retrospect, I have really, really enjoyed this series. Full of Doctor quirks fabulously pulled off by Matt Smith. Anyone still not rating him against previous doctors needs to ride off on their high horse and stick with repeats.

"It's a fez... I wear a fez now... fezzes are cool."

One of the great features of this series for me, was, the ending. For the first time in New Who history - we got a happy ending. No deaths, no sadness, no loss. Two companions and the same Doctor heading off into the new series on a new adventure. It put a smile on my face and that smile is still there. I only wish they kept the fez. Never gonna do it without fez on....! I'd be singing it if I could.

"You'll dream about that box..."

Matt Smith was, as ever, wonderful. Playing The Doctor really suits him and so long as the character writing level remains high, I'm happy for him to stay on for quite some time. In the meantime, put your arms in the air and wave your head about in between!

"Something old... something new... something borrowed..... something blue."

I don't think the scripts and directing have been that generous to Karen Gillan this series. A bit too much shouting for my liking. But when she gets the chance she pulls it off. There was certainly a lump in my throat as she learnt of the lone centurian watching over her for almost 2000 years.

"Say it again. One... more... time."

Alex Kingston / River Song. I love this character and this actress. Such a unique character with such mystery as we progress backwards through her timeline. I'm very much looking forward to learning a lot more about her next series (we were promised by The Moff!) but at the same time, I hope some questions are left unanswered. For example... The Doctor's name! Her stand out scene for me this series was definately confronting the lone Dalek as it cried for mercy after looking her up. She's definately hiding something, but she has a good alibi - Spoilers!

"Hang on kid. This is where it gets complicated."

The prize for the scene that made me almost fall off my seat this series goes to (you were warned of spoilers) little Amelia opening the Pandorica to reveal big Amelia... Amy. Some genius writing by Steven Moffat as we find out what happened between Amy being shot and her taking The Doctor's place in the ultimate prison... albeit confused as to why the sonic screwdriver could open so many deadlocks so easily... and quite suddenly. Regardless, Moffat even threw in some harmless time travel humor. After all, this is a show about Time... don't forget that!

"Don't worry your majesty.... we're on our way."

Extra special mention to Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams giving an excellent performance this week and providing a lot of the emotional value this series. I'm thrilled that he appears to have joined the TARDIS crew permanently as he heads off with both The Doctor and Amy (in full wedding attire!) to investigate an egyptian goddess on the loose on the Orient Express..... in space.

So it is with great sadness that I bid farewell to Doctor Who and hope that Christmas can get here that much sooner. GERONIMO!

Summary: An enjoyable low-concept monster movie, "Dog Soldiers" is basically "Night of the Living Dead" with werewolves. A platoon on a training exercise in Scotland, already fed up because they are missing a vital England-Germany match, come across the wounded survivor of a special ops team (Liam Cunningham) that has been attacked by monsters. There's a confused conspiracy angle, with a scheme to sacrifice the squaddies in order to capture a werewolf for military uses, but it's mostly a lost patrol picture with the soldiers besieged in a mysteriously abandoned house in the woods, complete with "pork" stew on the boil.
The hardman sergeant (Sean Pertwee) is disembowelled early but gruesomely patched up with superglue, letting the sensitive Scot (Kevin McKidd) play hero. A pack of effectively glimpsed "Howling"-style bipedal werewolves make repeated attacks on the house, whittling the cast down with each invasion. The soldier characterisations are solid cliché, albeit of a British variety rarely seen in horror movies (a highlight of the use of Brit slang is the Geordie shouting "Come on if you think you're hard enough"). The monsters are okay, but writer-director Neil Marshall's strongest suit is his third, as editor, covering for the old-fashioned monster suit effects and making the suspense and action mechanics work.
On the DVD: "Dog Soldiers" is an excellent DVD package complete with two commentary tracks, a British one with Marshall and the cast and an American one with a couple of producers. Both are interesting and rarely overlap, and there's an amusing contradiction between the Brits who rush over script changes they didn't want to make and the Yanks who imposed a sub-plot they feel saved the picture. Also, a bunch of trailers that amusingly spoof a recent army recruitment ad, deleted scenes and outtakes with optional Marshall commentary, a standard making-of featurette, storyboards and Marshall's short film, "Combat". --"Kim Newman"

Summary: Grab your BFG and get ready to kick some Martian-demon butt in "Doom", another entry in the increasingly crowded videogame-to-movie genre. The Rock plays Sarge, the commander of a squad of Marines sent to investigate a disturbance at a scientific research facility on Mars. Among the squad is John Grimm (Karl Urban, who played Eomer in "The Lord of the Rings"), who turns out to have had a previous relationship with Samantha (Rosamund Pike, "Die Another Day"), the scientist who's accompanying the Marines in order to retrieve some vital data from the facility.
Based on id Software's legendary first-person shooter, "Doom" tries its best to look like a game, with dark, angled corridors, ferocious creatures appearing out of nowhere, and a variety of lethal weapons that will, like the aforementioned BFG, warm the cockles of a gamer's heart. There's also one memorable sequence that actually turns the movie into a first-person shooter; the good news is that in the context of the whole film, it's not quite as goofy as it might have been.
And that's not a bad frame of reference for the film in general. Considering the game-to-movie field includes such duds as "Wing Commander", if you go into "Doom" with low expectations, you'll probably find it a surprisingly respectable horror/sci-fi thriller in the "Resident Evil" vein (including its somewhat obligatory subplot of corporate wrongdoing). Also in its favor is that it's unabashedly R-rated, for the extreme gore that is a trademark of the game. After all, the purpose of the movie is to pack scares and thrills into a setting that gamers will quickly recognize. In that sense, it qualifies as a success. --"David Horiuchi"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Loud, violent, and proudly derivative, the post-apocalyptic action-thriller "Doomsday" is the latest from UK cult director Neil Marshall, who impressed horror fans with his previous efforts, "Dog Soldiers" and "The Descent". Both pictures established Marshall as a director with a knack for reinventing well-worn genre pictures, but here, he seems more interested in stitching together favourite scenes and elements from established horror and science-fiction films. "Escape from New York" is the main source for "Doomsday", though there are plenty of nods to "The Road Warrior" and its multitude of Italian-made carbon copies, as well as the zombie/plague subgenre; the lovely but impassive Rhona Mitra is the Snake Plissken-esque loner sent by police (represented by Bob Hoskins) to infiltrate Scotland, which has descended into anarchy following a viral outbreak. The disease has surfaced in London (now a walled city), and Mitra is dispatched to find a scientist who may possess a cure. Marshall's vision of Scotland in ruins brings together the punk/modern primitive costume design of George Miller's "Mad Max" trilogy with some eclectic homegrown elements (knights on horseback defending a gang leader's castle), and while these touches are novel, the picture as a whole should ring overly familiar to any viewer who's spent time in the exploitation trenches during the past 25 years. Younger and less discerning audience members will undoubtedly enjoy the plentiful violence and gore, as well as the unbridled performances of the supporting cast, especially stuntwoman/actress Lee-Ann Liebenberg as the heavily tattooed Viper. --"Paul Gaita"

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Languages: Deutsch, Englisch

Subtitles: Deutsch

Sound: DTS-HD 5.1

Summary: The future America is an irradiated waste land. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One - a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called "Judges" who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge - a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of "Slo-Mo" experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed. During a routine day on the job, Dredd is assigned to train and evaluate Cassandra Anderson, a rookie with powerful psychic abilities thanks to a genetic mutation. A heinous crime calls them to a neighborhood where fellow Judges rarely dare to venture - a 200 storey vertical slum controlled by prostitute turned drug lord Ma-Ma and her ruthless clan. When they capture one of the clan's inner circle, Ma-Ma overtakes the compound's ...

Languages: English, Cantonese

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Korean, Portuguese

Sound: Mono

Summary: One of the earliest major films starring Jackie Chan, this 1978 Hong Kong offering highlights the relationship between a student and his martial arts master. This theme would dominate the American martial arts genre for years to come, as evidenced by The Karate Kid and many films to follow. Wong Fei-hong, played by Chan, is a 19th-century folk hero in Chinese culture and cinema, a kung fu master who fights injustice in the time of British colonialism. This character would later be portrayed by Jet Li in the more serious Once Upon a Time in China. Drunken Master finds Wong in his early years as a troublesome youth who is sent to receive discipline and martial arts instruction from his uncle (Siu Tien Yuen), the hard-drinking title character. Wong runs away, but runs afoul of some local villains. Beaten badly, he returns to his uncle, who trains him in "drunken-style" kung fu. The martial arts showcased by Chan in this film are important in the development of his career; the staggering, inebriated techniques allow for a looser, more flowing style, but more importantly, they contribute to the elaborate martial-arts slapstick that have become Chan's trademark and have made him an international star.