RUSH HOUR (a J!-ENT DVD Review)
October 1, 2002 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
MOVIE COMPANY: New Line Cinema
CAST: Starring Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Tom Wilkinson, Chris Penn and Elizabeth Pena
DIRECTED BY: Directed by Brett Ratner
PRODUCED BY: Roger Birnbaum
RATING: Rated PG-13
INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE URL: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0120812
TYPE OF MOVIE: Action, Comedy
One’s all talk…the other’s all action!…Jackie Chan (Rumble in the Bronx, First Strike) and Chris Tucker (Money Talks, Friday) mix punches with punchlines in this hilarious action-comedy!
Culture’s clash and tempers flare as these two cops from different worlds quickly discover one thing in common: they can’t stand each other. With time running out, they must join forces to catch the criminals — if they don’t kill each other first.
DVD EXTRAS:
• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby
• Commentary by director Brett Ratner
• Isolated musical score with commentary by composer Lalo Schifrin
• Theatrical trailer
• Deleted scenes
• Original featurette “A Piece of the Action: Behind the scenes of Rush Hour”
• Short movie Whatever Happened to Mason Reese (1990) by director Brett Ratner
• Music video: “Nuttin’ But Love” by Heavy D
• Music video: “How Deep Is Your Love” by Dru Hill
• Widescreen anamorphic format
KNOWN DVD SECRET(S): None that I could find.
DVD REVIEW:
I really enjoyed this movie when it first came out and when I found out that this DVD was going to be jam packed, I couldn’t wait!
All I can say is this movie is definitely worth the wait because not only do you get a cool movie with pretty good colors and good sound, you get a DVD that’s fully packed and this is what I mean.
First, let’s talk about the music videos. You get the two music videos but you get director’s commentary on the music videos. You don’t see that too much. Also, you get Brett Ratner’s short movie that he did back in college. The featurette is pretty long and full of information. Especially how Tucker improvises a lot and you get to see how Jackie suggests and feels about certain action scenes. Very cool!
There is so much more to this DVD and if you love Jackie Chan and Christ Tucker, you can’t go wrong with this DVD. Also, you start to gain respect for Brett Ratner because you get to see how how this director really cares for his two actors. Very cool!
This DVD is highly recommended!
THE MOVIE: A
THE DVD EXTRAS: A+
THE DVD OVERALL: A
SHANGHAI NOON (a J!-ENT DVD Review)
October 1, 2002 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
MOVIE COMPANY: Touchstone Pictures
CAST: Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Lucy Liu
DIRECTED BY: Tom Dey
WRITTEN BY: Miles Miller, Alfred Gough
RATING: PG-13
INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE URL: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0184894
TYPE OF MOVIE: Action, Western, Comedy
DURATION: 110 minutes
A 19th century Western directed by Tom Dey, Shanghai Noon stars Jackie Chan as Chon Wang, a clumsy Imperial Guard to the Emperor of China. When Princess Pei Pei (Lucy Liu) is kidnapped from the Forbidden City, Wang feels personally responsible and insists on joining the guards sent to rescue the Princess, who has been whisked away to the United States. In Nevada and hot on the trail of the kidnappers, Wang is separated from the group and soon finds himself an unlikely partner with Roy O’Bannon (Owen Wilson), a small time robber with delusions of grandeur. Together, the two forge onto one misadventure after another. (IMDB)
DVD EXTRAS:
• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Widescreen, Dolby, Surround Sound, Digital Sound, Closed-captioned
• Commentary by Jackie Chan
• Commentary by Owen Wilson
• Commentary by director Tom Dey
• Music Video
• Production Stills
• Deleted Footage
• 3 Making Ofs: “Making an Eastern Western,” “The Shanghai Kid,” “Western Stunts, Eastern Style”
• Full-screen and widescreen anamorphic formats
KNOWN DVD SECRET(S):
Mini-game bonuses:
Select the “Special Features” option at the main menu, then choose the “Shanghai Surprise” selection. Successfully complete the “Roy’s Revenge” mini-game to view a pre-production look of a train crash scene that was planned to be included in the film. Successfully complete the “Chon’s Challenge” mini-game to view a translated version of the drinking game scene from the movie.
DVD REVIEW:
I remember how I enjoyed this movie when it first came to the theaters. I could remember people debating if this movie or “Rush Hour” was better. Needless to say, it’s another good US movie from Jackie Chan and the more he is paired up with talented actors instead of English speaking bad actors, the movie is going to be a hit.
As for the DVD, this DVD is packed. You get the commentary from Chan, Wilson and the Director Tom Dey. 7 Deleted Scenes which include selectable commentary. Behind-the-scene featurettes, Shanghai Surprise game which leads to two goodies, a music video and more.
The DVD’s video quality was brilliant and colorful. The ratio is 2:35:1 Widescreen with Digital 5.1 surround for English and French language tracks.
If you love Jackie Chan films, this is one to have in your collection. The extra features are a definite bonus if you enjoyed the film.
THE MOVIE: B
THE DVD EXTRAS: A-
THE DVD OVERALL: B+
King of Comedy (a J!-ENT DVD Review)
April 22, 2001 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
A definite must buy DVD for Steven Chiau fans!
KING OF COMEDY (1999)
CAST: Stephen Chiau, Cecelia Cheung, Karen Mok, Jackie Chan (Cameo) and more.
DIRECTED BY: Lee Lik Chee
TYPE OF MOVIE: Comedy
DURATION: 92 minutes
Note: Viewed Universe DVD version with removable English subtitles.
Movie Synopsis:
Wan Tin Sau is dedicated to acting. However, nobody like Wan in the studio as the always argues. Lau Piu Piu, a nightclub PR. comes to Wan’s neighbor stage theatre to learn how to please her customer. she finds Waan’s theory ridiculous but she eventually falls for him. To, Kuen-Yee a famous actress, recognizes Wan’s acting spirit and makes his become a leading actor. Wan gradually falls in love with to too.
DVD EXTRAS:
Includes the trailer, plus trailers for Hot War, Rush Hour and Gorgeous.
Includes info on Cast Members Stephen Chiau, Karen Mok, Cecilia Cheung and Ng Mang Tat.
Includes interviews with Stephen Chiau, Karen Mok, Cecilia Cheung and Co-director Lee Lik Chee. All in Cantonese without any subtitles.
Includes Premiere footage, in Cantonese without any subtitles.
Includes Press Conference footage, in Cantonese without any subtitles.
Includes NG 30-minute special in Cantonese.
KNOWN DVD SECRET(S): None that I know of
DVD REVIEW:
This is probably the first Universe DVD that I can say is fully packed with special features. Wow!
As for the movie, the movie is very interesting and very funny. Trademark Stephen Chiau comedy which pokes fun at the HK movie genre especially John Woo movies. For those who have never heard of Stephen Chiau, you can call him the Jim Carrey of Hong Kong but he’s been in the business much longer. Also, who can miss a movie starring the beautiful Cecelia Cheung who plays a bad girl trying to be good girl.
The only thing that might unnerve some foreign viewers is the scene with the naked kid walking around.
This DVD also includes the Jackie Chan cameo that some audiences did not see at some foreign film festivals.
As for the special features, there are long interviews, premiere footage, press conference footage and a 30 minute NG special and more. Awesome!
A definite must buy DVD for Steven Chiau fans.
THE MOVIE: B
THE DVD EXTRAS: A
THE DVD OVERALL: A-
