Why So Blu?

DVD Roundup – 2 New Indie Titles (DVD Reviews)

A couple of slice and dice international martial arts imports make their way into eager DVD hands this week – viva la wire work!  A dangerous gal who goes into hiding and the iconic real-life story of a general slaying warrior make up the two tales touched upon this time out.  Check out the review skinny via DVD Roundup for both The Lost Bladesman and Reign Of Assassins below!  (As always tech specs provided at the end for the DVD purist!)

THE LOST BLADESMAN
(Anchor Bay Home Entertainment)

A chronicling of the exploits of real life bladesman Guan Yu who kickstarted the collapse of the Han Dynasty but running rogue crossing five passes and killing six generals, The Lost Bladesman is as entertaining as it is historic.  Meshing actual events with some of the greatest fight sequences since John Woo’s Red Cliff, the film is the kind of work you wished your history teacher had shown in class.  Oozing with sullen character chemistry, lead man Donnie Yen long blade battles his way through war (the opening castle storming puts you right in the action!), twenty to one confrontations (even large numbers don’t make a dent!) and even the most adverse conditions (he manages to fight through the effects of a poison dart!) with a powerful and lethal force that brings the moxie back to martial arts.  A learning lesson with kick-ass kills, don’t let this gem get lost.

REIGN OF ASSASSINS
(Anchor Bay Home Entertainment)

A flick doused in way too much narrative exposition, Reign Of Assassins is a ‘been there, done that’ affair.  From the outset the film seems solid with Michelle Yeoh playing a gal who betrays her gang and with the help of some unconventional face changing tries to begin life anew.  (Plus this one is co-directed by action wunderkind John “2 guns” Woo!)  But mired in a boring complex story, a desire to cover every movie genre and featuring some of the worst looking Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon style fight sequences ever, the film falters fast.  (Especially unsightly and ridiculous are the scenes of CGI sword twisting and bending they call ‘water-shedding sword maneuvers’!)  A bogged down rehash that Woo should be ashamed to put his name on, the only thing this turkey would rein is the Razzie awards.

Video

Encoding: MPEG-2 AVC

Resolution: 480i

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Audio

Audio Formats(s): Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Video

Encoding: MPEG-2 AVC

Resolution: 480i

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Audio

Audio Formats(s): Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles: English, Spanish