Category: Home Entertainment

Look, Up in the Air, It’s a Flying Swordsman Coming to Home Video This Week!

Ultimately, The Flying Swordsman plays out like a video game on steroids, and those familiar with Bushido Blade may see similarities.

The Flying Swordsman DVD
Available to pre-order on Amazon USA

Well GO USA
Release Date: Jan 9, 2024

Hidden in some secret valley are untold riches, and for The Flying Swordsman (雪山飞狐之塞北宝藏 / The Hidden Fox) to find it, he will have to defeat other treasure seekers for it! They’re all after this pirate’s bounty, as I like to call it, but for Hu Yidao (Ben Ngai-Cheung Ng) who is the sacred guardian of an iron box that contains the key to finding this place, he won’t give up those secrets easily!

Emperor Tian Guinong (Gang Wang) wants it and even tries to trick this master into giving it up. However, the people he sends die, and time passes where its legend only grows. This setup is rather mighty, because without a knowledge of this history, this film feels like every other wuxia style motion picture I’ve seen. What’s different about this work is a storytelling technique rarely used. Lots of flashbacks reveal what was, as Tao Baisui (Ray Lui) embarks on the same quest. As for what’s presented, it’s a very stylish martial arts film where the heroes and villains are very much involved in a game of hunting each other down!

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What’s Believable about The UnBelievable With Dan Aykroyd is That Some Segments are Verifiable Truths!

Thankfully the later episodes of The UnBelievable With Dan Aykroyd are better and are based on lesser known aspects dating back to things the military or science would rather people forget.

The UnBelievable With Dan AykroydAvailable on History Channel,
Amazon Prime and YouTube

As much as I love a certain paranormal enthusiast, I think he’s pining for the fjords by agreeing to be the host of The UnBelievable with Dan Aykroyd. This latest History Channel offering is produced by Six West Media and Wonderland West is simply copying from William Shatner’s The UnXplained, and when we’re dealing with some rather semi inspired titles to entice folks to watch, I was still curious.

Thankfully, what this on screen and off-screen Ghostbuster shows is in just how passionate he is about the subject. He acknowledges his family’s lifelong interest in the spiritual world (I.e. ghosts) in the first episode, “Strange Locations,” that’s dedicated to all things spooky. From a book to being at the forefront of the spiritualist movement in Canada, the gambit is well covered. Besides introducing a few familiar locales that are cursed, there are others not as often talked about.

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It’s all Hi-Yah High Stakes Action with Unboxing Shaw Brothers Classics Volume 4!

There’s lots to unpack and unravel in this latest release from Shout! Studios for fans of Wuxia style cinema. We look at what’s included in Shaw Brothers Classics Volume 4!

Shaw Brothers Classics Volume 4 Box
Available to order through Amazon USA

Over winter break, I received a lot of packages from the PR firms representing of various studios, and a few direct from the distributors themselves. As the past unboxing videos have revealed, there was a lot for me to go through! Over Boxing Day, I did the opposite and posted my unboxing video of Shaw Brothers Classics Volume 4 from Shout! Studios (formerly Shout! Factory).

There will be a follow-up written piece to go into greater detail on the new featurettes that’s been made exclusively for this set. There’s certainly a lot to unpack, and to give this set its fair diligence, I’d rather not speed through the content since it goes into academic detail. Also, there’s a lot of reflection from those folks who worked for this studio to digest too!

For those curious in what the past volumes are like, my review can be here by following through with this link.

That 90s Christmas Special! A Top Five List of Cartoons To Tickle Your Funny Bone

From films to television, we offer a list of our favourite animated 90s Christmas Specials and films!

A Pinky and the Brain Christmas - 90s Christmas SpecialBefore the 21st century, not many animated yuletide themed works were made. Even in the theatrical front, there was lots of live-action material, but when all I craved were cartoons, there just wasn’t many to find at all. Sure there was Frosty Returns, and the obligatory Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie, but they weren’t memorable.  All I recall is that there were more televised 90s Christmas Specials than cinema scale. When I look back with the knowledge I have know, maybe the studios were waiting to hear back from what a new generation of kids said they liked.

Also, there’s the chance that all those fond cartoons from the 60s to 80s were getting sunsetted. As interest waned, and just what got played while the television station would have to change to keep with the time.

What I offer is a look at those ‘toons that were personal to me. And although The Nightmare Before Christmas (Amazon Link) is alone, perhaps there’s an obscure international flick to give Jack company! This work deserves to be a special entry.

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Tis the Season for Candy Cane Lane. Too Saccharine for My Tastes

Alls not well for some people living on Candy Cane Lane when they take the Christmas spirit to the next level and chaos erupts!

Candy Cane Lane Movie PosterSpoiler Alert

In order to get my holiday mojo going, I caved and finally watched the Christmas comedy Candy Cane Lane. This movie starring Eddie Murphy has a few moments to like, but it’s ultimately the supporting cast that gives this film character.

Also, I noticed this superstar’s reserved movies about family togetherness have a common plot. When someone has difficulty with him as the father-figure, he’ll have to do his best to the clan together. Here, he has to deal with a devil in disguise. The wicked elf of the north pole has an agenda, and I like to know why Pepper (Jillian Bell) is the way she is. When she offers Chris Carver (Murphy) a chance at creating holiday magic, he’s all for it, but it’ll come at a cost! Little does he know that the bargain he makes will even further distance himself from his kids. Continue reading “Tis the Season for Candy Cane Lane. Too Saccharine for My Tastes”

Last to See Gran Turismo the Movie. It’s Just Another Day at the Races, and That’s Okay

There’s really nothing new that hasn’t been done before in Gran Turismo. This latest movie to be based on a videogame at least has its heart in the right place.

Grand Turismo 4K Case
Available to purchase on Amazon USA

Gran Turismo is a movie I never raced to the theatres to see. That’s because the director, Neill Blomkamp, is more synonymous with indie than studio manufactured content. I adore Chappie and District 9, and when he’s not attached to writing this latest, my trepidation was warrented.

The idea of telling the story about a video gamer turned racer is interesting enough to adapt to a motion picture. After all, if I’m to say I love Jean-Claude Van Damme‘s Bloodsport, then I should give this movie a chance too. And when Santa Sony Pictures sent me their home video release for me to evaluate. I’m glad I saw this film through my home theatre’s sound system. The only Dolby ATMOS certified cinema is out in the Western Communities and everything else in town pales in comparison (save for the Royal BC Museum’s IMAX).

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