Charlie’s Angels (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

July 22, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

The 2000 film “Charlie’s Angels” was a box office success and also brought the fun, sexy and kitschy elements of the TV series to the big screen. If you were a big fan of the film, then you will probably enjoy the vibrant colors displayed on HD and also how much better the film sounds via lossless.

TITLE: Charlie’s Angels

DURATION: 98 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (2:35:1), English, French and Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish

COMPANY: Columbia Pictures

RATED: PG-13 (For Action, Violence, Innuendo and Some Sensual/Nudity)

RELEASE DATE: August 3, 2010

Based on the TV series by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts

Directed by McG

Written by Ryan Rowe, Ed Solomon, John August

Executive Producer: Joseph M. Caracciolo, Aaron Spelling, Betty Thomas, Jenno Topping

Producer: Drew Barrymore, Leonard Goldberg, Nancy Juvoven

Music by Ed Shearmur

Cinematography by Russell Carpenter

Edited by Peter Teschner, Wayne Wahrman

Casting by Justine Baddeley, Kim Davis

Production Design by J. Michael Riva

Art Direction by David F. Klassen, Richard F. Mays

Set Decoration by Lauri Gaffin

Costume Design by Joseph G. Aulisi

Starring:

Cameron Diaz as Natalie Cook

Drew Barrymore as Dylan Sanders

Lucy Liu as Alex Munday

Bill Murray as John Bosley

Sam Rockwell as Eric Knox

Kelly Lynch as Vivian Wood

Tim Curry as Roger Corwin

Crispin Glover as Thin Man

Matt LeBlanc as Jason Gibbons

LL Cool J as Mr. Jones

Tom Green as Chad

Luke Wilson as Pete Komisky

Sean Whalen as Pasqual

Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu star as the captivating crime-fighting trio who are masters of disguise, espionage and martial arts. When a devious mastermind embroils them in a plot to destroy individual privacy, the Angels, aided by their loyal sidekick Bosley (Bill Murray), set out to bring down the bad guys. But when a terrible secret is revealed, it makes the Angels targets for assassination.

Trailer

Long before director McG directed films such as “Terminator Salvation” and “We are Marshall” and before he would be executive producer for TV Shows such as “The O.C.”, “The Mountain” and “Fastlane”, McG was known for directing music videos for bands like Sublime and Korn.

But every director has their first start and for McG, his first theatrical debut was the 2000 film “Charlie’s Angels” based on the Aaron Spelling produced ’70′s television show showcasing sexy women taking on various disguises in order to defeat crime while following their mystery boss Charlie. Known for boosting the careers of Jaclyn Smith, Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, Cheryl Ladd and many more women who took part in the show from 1976-1981.

Featuring actresses Cameron Diaz as Natalie Cook, Drew Barrymore as Dylan Sanders and Lucy Liu as Alex Munday, the three take on crime alongside Charlie’s assistant Bosley (played by Bill Murray), the three take on their latest mission to find the software genius Eric Knox (played by Sam Rockwell) who may have been kidnapped by Redstar owner Roger Corwin (played by Tim Curry).

While Bosley tries to get information from Corwin in regards to the whereabouts of Knox, the women follow the lead of going after a man who was was seen on surveillance videos ford kidnapping Knox, a man known as Thin Man (played by Crispin Glover).

Featuring action, sexiness, a variety of disguises and hair tossing, “Charlie’s Angels”, the film version continues the tradition of the popular TV shown for modern viewers and was a box office success earning over $264 million worldwide.

VIDEO:

“Charlie’s Angels” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:40:1). For anyone who remembers this film, because there were so many mini-segments, there were many times the film would emphasize reds, blues, blacks and for the most part, the HD presentation shows off the vibrant colors on Blu-ray. Contrast levels are well-done, colors really pop, blacks are nice and deep and there is a good amount of grain.

The film definitely delivered when it came to set design, costume design and it helps that McG worked with a talented cinematographer, Russell Carpenter, who worked on films such as “Titanic” and “The Negotiator”. This is a film that required various styles of footage and it helps to have an experienced cinematographer behind the camera.

If anything, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has proven to us within these past two years that they can take these past films and really make them shine on Blu-ray visually (and also via lossless audio). Definitely a major improvement compared to its original DVD counterpart.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Charlie’s Angels” is presented in English, French and Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD MA and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital. The film definitely shines via lossless from the opening scene with the jet flying and the engines coming from the surround channels and also hearing it via LFE to the battle with Thin Man and hearing the fight sequences, steel against steel, windows crashing and hearing them quite nicely through the surround channels. Dialogue is clear through the center channel and the film does sport a lot of contemporary music and may it be from Destiny’s Child to Blink-182, good amount of music as well.

Subtitles are presented in English, English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Charlie’s Angels” comes with the following special features (in standard definition, English Stereo and subtitles in Spanish and Portuguese):

Blu-ray exclusive movieIQ®+sync
Commentary with Director McG and Cinematographer Russell Carpenter – An interesting commentary to listen to McG about his first major film and how it helped to work with an experienced cinematographer.
Deleted Scenes – (4:42) Featuring three deleted scenes: Marco Polo!, The Men’s Room Extended, Extra Shake & Bake
Outtakes & Bloopers – (2:39) Outtakes from “Charlie’s Angels” that were seen at the ending credits.
Getting G’d Up – (6:32) An in-depth profile of Director McG and McG behind-the-scenes. Film staff and talent talk about how they love working with McG and how energetic he is.
The Master and the Angels – (7:25) A look behind the martial arts and stunts in the movie and working with world renown Cheung-yan Yuen and how much training the main talents had to go through to prepare for the film.
Welcome to Angel World – (4:48) A behind-the-scenes look at the film’s set design with production designer J. Michael Riva.
Angelic Attire: Dressing Cameron, Drew and Lucy – (3:25) Costume Designer Joseph G. Aulisi discusses the costumes for the film and how he styled each angel.
Angelic Effects – (6:45) A discussion of the exciting special effects used throughout the film’s production.
Wired Angels – (2:35) A scene deconstruction of the Chinese Alley scene and the wiring work used during filming
Music Videos - Featuring “Independent Women Part 1” by Destiny’s Child and “Charlie’s Angels 2000” by Apollo Four Forty.

“Charlie’s Angels” is one of those films that you don’t take seriously and like the television series, you know it’s going to be a bit kitschy but with three sexy women kicking ass, you just sit back and enjoy no matter how crazy the film may get and hopefully, you find something fun or entertaining about it.

If anything, “Charlie’s Angels” is one of those films which is a straight-up action popcorn flick. A film that you just don’t come in and watch it with any high expectations and if there were any expectations, probably from those who watched the original TV series and wonder how the Angels and their sexiness would be displayed on the big screen.

Yes, you’re going to see Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu in tight outfits, outfits that showcase cleavage and quite a bit of hair tossing but of course, you’re going to get a lot of action and in this case, with the film utilizing world renown Cheung-yan Yuen (who was involved in major martial arts films with Jackie Chan and also the “Matrix” films) for the fighting sequences and putting these women through difficult training prior to the making of the film, the fight sequences were done very well.

Also, you can’t help but be amazed by costume and set design for the film. With every individual sequence created for each of the women, various costumes and disguises they had to wear, director McG and staff really went all out in making “Charlie’s Angels” a fun, visual film.

With that being said, if one owns the DVD, is “Charlie’s Angels” on Blu-ray worth it? If you enjoyed the film, then the improved visuals and the lossless audio would make things worth it. The special features are the same standard definition features that were included on the original DVD and although I have read that there were two Easter Eggs (which were part of the original DVD) included, I’ve tried many ways to figure where it would be in the Blu-ray version to no avail.

But what it comes down to is one’s enjoyment of “Charlie’s Angels”. Watching it again, I have to admit that I wasn’t really getting into this time around and the watching it again, I admit I was even questioning myself of why I even enjoyed this film back then. Yes, the plot was ludicrous and the dialogue and storyline was kitschy. Even the talent in the film also found the dialogue kitschy, Bill Murray even found himself at odds with Lucy Liu verbally because he found the script to be ludicrous. Even comedian Tom Green who has a short stint in the film thought the script was terrible but only participated because of his ex-wife (Drew Barrymore) asked him to.

But I’m not going to be invidious towards this film. Because the TV show was also cheesy to begin with and having grew up around watching the TV series as a kid, I was not expecting anything deep from the film but I did expect the film to deliver in special effects and also with Cheung-yan Yuen’s involvement, I was expecting to see a good amount of wirework and awesome fight choreography and the film did deliver in that respect.

There has been a lot of talk about a third film and I’m sure McG’s style of filmmaking has gotten much better since the making of this film and hopefully with what he accomplished with “Terminator Salvation”, if he was involved with the third film, maybe a series that could still incorporate the fun elements of the film but possibly less cheesiness. Who knows? I guess we’ll find out if the third film does receive the green light.

Overall, “Charlie’s Angels” on Blu-ray definitely looks much better and sounds much better than its previous DVD counterpart and if you were a big fan of the film or any of the talent, then this Blu-ray is definitely for you!

Filed Under: Blu-ray Reviews

Afro Samurai: The Complete Murder Sessions (a J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Disc Review)

June 11, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Violent, gory and stylish! Definitely an original and unique, action-packed short anime series featuring an awesome collaboration with actors Samuel L. Jackson, Ron Perlman and Kelly Hu in to bring out the original manga vision of Takashi “Bob” Okazaki. Beautiful artistic visuals and animation by GONZO, if you’re into anime that focuses more on the action, “Afro Samurai: The Complete Murder Sessions” is definitely for you.

TITLE: Afro Samurai: The Complete Murder Sessions

DURATION: (Disc 1) 5 Episodes (125 Minutes) / (Disc 2) Afro Samurai: Resurrection 97 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition 16×9 HD Native, Dolby TrueHD English 5.1 and Dolby Digital: English 2.0, Subtitles: English (for special features)

RATED: TV MA

COMPANY: FUNimation Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: June 22, 2010

Directed by Fuminori Kizaki

Written by Takashi Okazaki

Executive Produced by Leo Chu, Eric Garcia, Shinichiro Ishikawa, Samuel L. Jackson and Arthur Smith

Co-Produced by Eric S. Calderon

Consulting Producer: Tommy Blacha

Character Design and Chief Animation Director: Hiroya Iijima

Art Director: Shigemi Ikeda

Music by RZA and Michael Baiardi

Casting by Jamie Simone, Kendra Carter

Featuring the voices of:

Samuel L. Jackson as the voice of Afro Samurai/Ninja Ninja

Ron Perlman as Justice

Kelly Hu as Okiku

Yuri Lowenthal as Juma

S. Scott Bullock as Dharman

Jeff Bennett as Foo

Tara Strong as Otsuru

Jason Marsden as Sasuke

Phil LaMarr as Brother

Afro Samurai: Resurrection:

Samuel L. Jackson as the voice of Afro Samurai/Ninja Ninja

Lucy Liu as the voice of Sio

Mark Hamill as the voice of Bin/ODen Shop Master

Grey DeLisle as the voice of Tomoe/Ogin

Dave Wittenberg as the voice of Adolescent/Fencing Brother

Liam O’Brien as the voice of Shichogoro

Zachary Gordon as the voice of Kotaro

Yuri Lowenthal as the voice of Jinno

Afro Samurai. A relentless brother with an ice-cold soul and a jones for revenge. His path is long and violent, and the entire journey so far is now yours to witness.

First, the legendary series: Afro Samurai. As a kid, he saw his father slaughtered. Now a man, Afro walks to the mountain where destiny waits on high. The perpetrators must atone, and they’re gonna get what they deserve. Nothing personal – it’s just revenge.

The saga continues in Afro Samurai: Resurrection. Afro is forced back into the game by a beautiful and deadly woman from his past. She won’t quit until Afro is schooled in the brutal lessons he dealt those who stood in his way. One brother. One path. One thousand deaths.

Violent and visually entertaining! Definitely an original and unique, action-packed anime series featuring a fantastic collaboration with actor Samuel L. Jackson, Takashi Okazaki and GONZO.

The popular anime and manga series is created by mangaka Takashi “Bob” Okazaki and produced by world renown Japanese animation company STUDIO GONZO (”Full Metal Panic”, “Vandread”, “Gantz”, “Samurai 7″ and many other anime) brought us the popular five-episode series (which aired in the US on SPIKE TV back in 2007 ) was released as a special Director’s Cut featuring 15 minutes of never before seen footage.

The short animated TV series featured a collaboration with Samuel L. Jackson, creator Takashi Okazaki and anime production studio GONZO and took three years to develop and the series was followed by a movie titled “Afro Samurai: Resurrection” which takes place a year later after this series.

Because of it’s impressive visuals, violent action scenes, unique characters (especially since the main character is a Black samurai) and its hip hop music courtesy of RZA (of Wu-Tang Clan fame), the anime attracted many fans in the US. Although both the series and the film “Afro Samurai: Resurrection” were previously released on DVD and Blu-ray, FUNimation Entertainment is re-releasing both in one complete Blu-ray package on June 22, 2010.

The five-episode series revolves around a wandering samurai known as Afro Samurai in his goal of wanting to exact revenge for his father’s death.

In this futuristic, feudal-like Japan, the country is dominated by the person who is known as the top #1 fighter (which is designated by a “ichiban” headband). Afro’s father happened to be the #1 man at the time, the person to beat and one day, he was killed by the #2 opponent (note: only the person who has the #2 headband can challenge the #1 fighter) that goes by the name of “Justice”.

Justice decapitated Afro’s fathers head in front of him when he was a child and since that traumatic moment, Afro has trained and has become an excellent swordsman in order to become #1. So, the series focuses on Afro trying to get his vengeance by challenging the top opponents out there and becoming #2 and finally getting the opportunity to challenge his father’s killer, Justice.

Accompanied by the mouthy Ninja Ninja (also voiced by Samue L. Jackson) during his adventures, the five episodes feature Afro taking on a variety of opponents and also flashbacks of his past when he was a child.

“Afro Samurai-Director’s Cut” features a total of 5 episodes on the first Blu-ray Disc:

DISC 1:

EPISODE 1 – Revenge – The series features Afro when he was young and watched as his father was killed during a battle. Now Afro, grown up and a feared samurai, is now wanting his revenge on the man who killed his father.
EPISODE 2 – The Dream Reader – Afro is taken care of by a woman named Okiku and we see flashbacks of Afro’s past as a child bent on revenge.
EPISODE 3 – The Empty Seven Clan – A clan sends out a robot based on Afro to take on the Afro Samurai.
EPISODE 4 – Duel – Afro comes face-to-face on someone sporting a bear mask (a face resembling a teddy bear that Afro’s young female friend used to have) and a flashback from Afro’s past.
EPISODE 5 – Justice – The final battle between Afro and his childhood friend and the final confrontation between Afro and Justice.

Afro Samurai: Resurrection:

The top samurai with the afro is back for another round of slicing and dicing galore. Okazaki’s “AFRO SAMURAI” returns with the animated film “AFRO SAMURAI: RESURRECTION” that is action-packed and poetically violent.

The popular anime and manga series is created by mangaka Takashi “Bob” Okazaki and produced by world renown Japanese animation company STUDIO GONZO (“Full Metal Panic”, “Vandread”, “Gantz”, “Samurai 7″ and many other anime) that brought us the popular five-episode series (aired on SPIKE TV back in 2007) made its return returned with a feature film in 2009.

The series revolves around a wandering samurai known as Afro Samurai in his goal of wanting to exact revenge for his father’s death.

Justice decapitated Afro’s fathers head in front of him when he was a child and since that traumatic moment, Afro has trained and has become an excellent swordsman. So, the series focuses on Afro trying to get his vengeance by challenging the top opponents out there and becoming #2 and finally getting the opportunity to challenge his father’s killer, Justice who is #1.

With “AFRO SAMURAI: RESURRECTION”, the action takes place a year later. The story focuses on Afro who tries to live an ordinary, peaceful life since the last events (from the TV series) have transpired. Afro is literally hated by people due to the people he had to kill in order to get the #1 spot. Some people who were really bad but some who are pretty good.

As Afro tries to live this normal life, his peaceful life is suddenly changed when Sio and Kuma make their return and steal his #1 headband and also his father’s remains. Sio’s goal is to avenge the many people killed by Afro but also what Afro did to her step brother Kuma. By resurrecting Afro’s father, the former #1, Afro will be made to suffer because he will have to fight and kill his own father.

So, Afro’s peaceful and normal life is dampened and now the samurai must return to his old killing ways in order to find out what happened to his #1 bandanna but also to get back at the people who stole his father’s remains.

VIDEO:

GONZO has done a remarkable job with this series. Presented in 1080p High Definition, the animation and the painted backgrounds are well-done! Daytime scenes are colorful and vibrant and night-time scenes are dark and work well with this series. It’s also important to note that “Afro Samurai – Director’s Cut” has quite a bit of talent involved with the look of the film such as character designer and animation director, Hiroya Iijima (”Gantz”, “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex” and “Black Cat”). Also, art direction from Shigemi Ikeda (”Gantz”, “Gasaraki”, “Inuyasha”, Infinite Ryvius, “Black Cat” and many of the “Mobile Suit Gundam” TV series and films).

The series is featured in 16×9 and for the most part, the picture quality really brings out the detail of the surroundings, including the rocky cliffs to the disembowelment of several characters. And color from the lush green painted backgrounds, blue skies and huge clouds, villages and buildings to the action sequences which showcases a lot of blood.

“AFRO SAMURAI: RESURRECTION” is an anime film that looks absolutely gorgeous on Blu-ray. One thing is clear, the film just looks so much better than the TV series and the film showcases its vibrant colors during daylight scenes, its darkness during the night and most of all, impressive detail in the backgrounds courtesy of its 1080p High Definition (16×9) transfer. The film just looks great!

It’s also important to note that “AFRO SAMURAI: RESURRECTION” has quite a bit of talent involved with the look of the film such as character designer and animation director, Hiroya Iijima (“Gantz”, “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex” and “Black Cat”). Also, art direction from Shigemi Ikeda (“Gantz”, “Gasaraki”, “Inuyasha”, Infinite Ryvius, “Black Cat” and many of the “Mobile Suit Gundam” TV series and films).

The picture quality really brings out the detail of the surroundings, including the rocky cliffs to the disembowelment of several characters. And color from the lush green painted backgrounds, blue skies and huge clouds, villages and buildings to the action sequences which showcases a lot of blood.

“AFRO SAMURAI: RESURRECTION” is just far superior to the look of the “AFRO SAMURAI” television series in picture quality and animation detail.

AUDIO:

As for the audio, “Afro Samurai: The Complete Murder Sessions” is featured in Dolby TrueHD English 5.1 and Dolby Digital: English stereo. The series actually sounds quite awesome with the clanging of the swords and the metal healing, sounding quite awesome. Also, scenes with weapons being launched or fireworks being shot up to the sky, “Afro Samurai” has a solid lossless presentation.

“Afro Samurai – Director’s Cut” is featured only in English, there is no Japanese soundtrack. Voice acting is well done by actors Samuel L. Jackson, Ron Perlman and Yuri Lowenthal. Samuel L. Jackson definitely brings out the believability of both Afro and Ninja Ninja and gives the series that cool, funky vibe.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Afro Samurai: The Complete Murder Sessions” comes with the following special features:

Disc 1:

In the Booth – Voice Talent of Afro Samurai – (14:48) Interviews with voice talent Samuel L. Jackson, Ron Perlman, Kelly Hu, creator Takahashi Okazaki and co-producer Eric Calderon discussing how the series came about.
RZA Music Production Tour – (4:54) RZA showing us how he created the music and crew talking about how RZA’s music was important for the series. How hip hop is blended with Japanese animation.
Character Profiles with Commentary by Co-Producer: Eric Calderon – (23:42) Gonzo’s Eric Calderon talks about Afro Samurai, Okazaki’s vision, the voice talent involved in the series and what is cool about the character and the series.

Disc 2:

Afro Samurai: The Game - (11:41) Interview with the staff who created the “Afro Samurai” video game. From the cuts, the music, movement, character animation for the video game and more.
Enter the RZA - (6:20) RZA talks about how he came up with the music for the film and the various hardware and software used.
Afro In-Depth – (6:37) Interview wtih Takashi “Bob” Okazaki and how “Afro Samurai” became a manga, an animated series and an action figure.
Afro Samurai: East Meets West, Part 1 – (19:14) Interviews with creator Takashi “Bob” Okazaki and director Fuminori Kizaki about having more freedom now than when they had with the TV series and now, wanting to blend of the cultures and how they had much more freedom to work for “AFRO SAMURAI: RESURRECTION”. Also, interviews with the crew that includes character designs and artistic backgrounds. And also the Eastern staff working with the Western staff.
Afro Samurai: East Meets West, Part 2 – (25:03) Interview with actor and executive producer Samuel L. Jackson, executive producer Arthur Smith, voice actor Yuri Lowenthal, actress Lucy Liu and the crew from the Western staff.
Afro Samurai at San Diego Comic-Con 2008 - (8:10) Series creator and mangaka Takashi “Bob” Okazaki, Samuel L. Jackson and RZA at San Diego Comic-Con discussing the series during their panel and also interviews with the excited audience.
Part A Video Commentary – (28:59) A roundtable video/audio commentary by Director Fuminori Kizaki, Creator Takashi “Bob” Okazaki, Character Designer/Chief Animation Director: Hiroya Iijima, Animation Producer: Yuji Hori and Animation Producer: Kenichi Hayashi. The guys have a fun time watching the animation and discuss what they wanted to accomplish for the film, things that they wanted people to see and taking pleasure in discussing scenes that were well done and more.
Trailers – FUNimation Entertainment trailers for upcoming or currently released series or films.

EXTRAS:

“Afro Samurai: The Complete Murder Sessions” comes with a cardboard slip cover.

“Afro Samurai – Director’s Cut” is a solid, violent action anime series.

It’s definitely a violent series (and I emphasize “violent”) that features plenty of blood and dismembered body parts but it’s interesting to see how samurai anime-based series has come since the early 90′s. The action is fast and fierce but for “Afro Samurai”, the series is highly stylized. Even the blood flowing and how the colors are feature is quite artistic in presentation.

Of course, some people may have a hard time seeing characters that are non-Japanese who are samurai, especially a Black anti-hero with a huge afro. But Takashi “Bob” Okazaki, who was a big hip hop fan definitely was inspired by the music and wanting to do something different and sure enough, Afro Samurai was a unique creation. Okazaki has done a wonderful job with this series and for the most part, doing something unique and different. “Afro Samurai” may feature five episodes but in the overall plan, Okazaki has mentioned, that the series is just a very small part of what he has planned for Afro Samurai and for the most part, one can only hope that the series receives a larger storyline than just five episodes.

The “Afro Samurai” series has star power with Samuel L. Jackson, Ron Perlman and Kelly Hu contributing their voices to the series. You have RZA bringing the hip hop to Japanese animation, so for the most part, it’s a unique blend of East meets West in bringing two cultures together. I felt that was pretty awesome!

GONZO also has done a fantastic job on the animation and artistic backgrounds for this series. I felt the action and fighting choreography was well done! Again, everything is stylized. Even down to the packaging of this release. I have to say that “Afro Samurai-Director’s Cut” also features a pretty awesome package design. Featuring a magnetic case and how the folds are, it’s pretty cool.

As for the TV MA rating, despite the series being shown on television, this is not a series to have children around watching. It’s violent, bloody and features nudity and a sex scene. In fact, some might find the series a bit disturbing and too gory for their tastes.

Overall, if you are a fan of “Afro Samurai” that was shown on television, the director’s cut features 15 extra minutes will definitely entertain you. I personally can’t comment on where the extra footage is located but I would assume that the majority of those extra minutes are the extremely violent scenes.

As for my opinion on the series, for one, its short. The series obviously focuses more on the fighting and violence and the goal for people to become #2 in order to fight the #1 fighter. I felt that the nature of this series was keeping the Western audiences in mind but utilizing Japanese animation by GONZO. As far as storyline execution goes, “Afro Samurai” is nowhere near the deepness of other samurai anime like “Samurai Champloo”, “Hakkenden”, “Rurouni Kenshin” or “Samurai 7″. But again, the series is short and Okazaki has not had the opportunity to have a full-length animated series.

But it’s also a different style of anime that although it uses the concept of samurai and has some inclusion of Japanese culture, the series is very Western. Afro is stoic, while Ninja Ninja could be easily too vocal or mildly annoying but what I did like about the series is its style. Sure, it’s bloody but somehow the way these fight scenes, no matter how violent they were, the execution was quite artistic in someway.

Also, the series is unique and how it tries to bring together samurai and hip hop music. And of course, having the main character being a Black protagonist. But “Afro Samurai” is a series that is literally action and style over substance. If Okazaki was given a chance to have a full-length anime series of 26 episodes, it would be interesting to see what he would be capable of plot-wise.

“AFRO SAMURAI: RESURRECTION” is definitely going to appeal to the fans of the show. It was pretty unique to see the collaboration between the East and the West for this series and I can only hope that GONZO continues to further production of more episodes (note: Okazaki says that what we have seen so far on the TV series and film is such a small part of what he has already written/planned for the characters).

As far as samurai anime goes, “AFRO SAMURAI: RESURRECTION” is a violent anime. Part of Afro’s unique fighting style is his ability to slice and dice people with multiple hits with his sword. There are a lot of decapitations, loss of limb and blood featured throughout the series, so for the parents wondering if this film is child-safe, the answer is that this film is definitely not child-safe.

There is a lot of Western appeal and as seen at San Diego Comic-Con back in 2008, this series has its large fandom who love this series. For those who enjoy samurai violence and a samurai anime that is just full of action, there are many positives of “AFRO SAMURAI: RESURRECTION” from its beautiful animation, magnificent art and of course, the music by RZA just adds another positive reason why people the series but also the film.

Also, another major plus is that this Blu-ray goes beyond what many anime Blu-ray tend to have in terms of special features. You get several featurettes and the Blu-ray definitely explores the Japan and American side of their working collaboration. So, there are a good number of special features include on this Blu-ray disc.

Of course, the biggest question is if you own these previously on DVD or Blu-ray, is there a reason to buy “Afro Samurai: The Complete Murder Sessions”? The answer is that if you have the DVD, then the upgrade to 1080p HD is worth it, if you enjoyed the series. For those who own the previous two Blu-ray releases, the answer is no. This is simply a collection of both releases, re-released in one complete package. So, if you haven’t purchased “Afro Samurai” before, then most definitely, “Afro Samurai: The Complete Murder Sessions” is the way to go!

Overall, “Afro Samurai: The Complete Murder Sessions” is an anime film that features a ton of action, humor and violence. If you dig samurai anime and a lot of fighting and violence, definitely check this film out!

Filed Under: Anime on Blu-ray, Blu-ray Reviews, TV BOXSETS: DVD/Blu-ray

Charlie’s Angels (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

September 27, 2003 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

BUY THIS DVD

MOVIE COMPANY: Columbia Tristar
CAST: Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, Bill Murray, Sam Rockwell, Crispin Glover, Tim Curry and more.
DIRECTED BY: Joseph McGinty Nichol
WRITTEN BY: Ivan Goff, Ben Roberts III
RATING: PG-13
INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE URL: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0160127
TYPE OF MOVIE: Action, comedy
DURATION: 98 minutes

King and Jack are experts in finding lovers of first love for their clients. One day, a young guy, a man of concealed identity, and Taiwan’s richest business tycoon ask King and Jack to look for their first lovers. To King and Jack’s astonishment, the women all look like the same ……

DVD EXTRAS:

• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
PLEASE NOTE: Warner and Columbia have recently added a Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE) to Region 1 titles like the The Patriot and The Perfect Storm. Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called “region-free” DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
• Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• Director and Cinematographer Commentary
• Featurettes:
• Fashion Featurette
• Set Design Featurette
• Martial Arts and Stunts Featurette
• Special Effects Featurette
• Director McG Featurette
• Wired Angels – Special Effects Deconstruction
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• Outtakes and Bloopers
• Music Videos by Destiny’s Child and Apollo Four Forty
• Widescreen anamorphic format

KNOWN DVD SECRET(S): Three Easter Eggs

Hidden scenes:
Select the “Special Features” option at the main menu. Highlight the “Getting G’d Up” option and press Right. A box will appear on Cameron Diaz’s waist. Press Enter to view the scene.

Select the “Special Features” option at the main menu. Highlight the “Wired Angels” option and press Left. A box will appear on Bill Murray’s jacket. Press Enter to view the scene

Select the “Special Features” option at the main menu. Advance to the last screen in the special features section. Highlight the back arrow and press Right. A square will appear over Sam Rockwell’s eyes. Press Enter to view the scene.

DVD REVIEW:

A fun movie to watch and a fun movie to watch if you grew up in the 70′s during the Charlie’s Angel phenomenon.

One of the problems with this movie when it debuted was that some people loved it and some people hated it. Those who hated it, didn’t like the MTV look of the film and how the film wasn’t serious. Some may say it’s more eye candy for the male fans.

Perhaps. But you maybe asking why buy this DVD? Well, it’s kind of hard to convince you if you hate this movie but if you enjoyed it, then the reasons why to buy this DVD is because it’s jam packed. Note: If you have a multi-region player, this DVD may not play.

The video quality is very cool. Since they experimented with different ways to film the movie, colors are brilliant but at times I felt that the colors were over saturated (note: Beach scene, look at the reds). The audio was nice but for some reason I felt that I got more from my digital 5.1 from the trailers. (Yes, the trailers are in 5.1 except Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).

As for DVD special features, a small featurette for the director, the action-stunt coordinator, fashion/clothing, for the movie, extended scenes, deleted scenes, outtakes (the ending of the film without the credits), director’s commentary, two music videos and trailers that are in digital 5.1 (including a sneak peak of the highly anticipated CGI film, “Final Fantasy”).

So, if you enjoyed the movie, you will be in for a treat with the special edition DVD.

THE MOVIE: B-
THE DVD EXTRAS: A-
THE DVD OVERALL: B+

Filed Under: DVD Reviews

SHANGHAI NOON (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

October 1, 2002 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

BUY THIS DVD

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+

Filed Under: Asian Cinema DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews