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Hong Kong Action DVDs

Naked Weapon (Chiklo Dakgung)

Sales Rank:
List Price: $9.95
Lowest New Price: $4.49
Lowest Used Price: $3.50
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)

Format:

Color
Dolby
Full Screen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Marit Thoresen
Almen Wong Pui-Ha
Daniel Wu
Kai Yan Kwok
Renee Nichole Rommeswinkel

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Unleashed (R-Rated Full Screen)

Sales Rank:46580
List Price: $12.98
Lowest New Price: $5.30
Lowest Used Price: $0.99
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)

Format:

AC-3
Color
Dolby
DTS Surround Sound
DVD-Video
Full Screen
Subtitled
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Jet Li
Bob Hoskins
Morgan Freeman
Kerry Condon
Vincent Regan

Luc Besson wrote and directed the stylish thrillers La Femme Nikita and The Professional; though he didn't direct Unleashed, the script has his trademark fusion of outrageous sentimentality and over-the-top violence. Hong Kong action superstar Jet Li (Romeo Must Die, Hero) stars as Danny, a man raised to be a brutal attack dog by a nasty gangster named Bart (Bob Hoskins, Mona Lisa)--when Bart removes Danny's collar, Danny pulverizes everyone in the room. But a chance encounter with a blind piano tuner (Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby) reveals to Danny the possibility of a less brutal life, and when a retaliation attack gives him the chance to escape, he does--but Bart won't let him go that easily. The fighting in Unleashed is effectively jolting; Li and fight choreographer Yuen Wo Ping (The Matrix) have purposefully stripped away the smoothness of most movie combat (especially with a genuine martial artist like Li) with raw, unnerving results, especially when juxtaposed with the sweet and earnest scenes of Li regaining his humanity with Freeman and his step-daughter (Kerry Condon). This freewheeling cocktail of bloody noses and ice-cream cones isn't for everyone, but fans of both Besson and Li will leave satisfied. --Bret Fetzer

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Operation Condor

Sales Rank:26006
List Price: $9.99
Lowest New Price: $4.51
Lowest Used Price: $3.74
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

Closed-captioned
Color
DVD-Video
Letterboxed
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Wayne Archer
Bryan Baker
Brandon Charles
Carol 'Do Do' Cheng
Eva Cobo

Years before he became a genuine Hollywood action star in Rush Hour, Jackie Chan played a daredevil secret agent out to recover a lost cache of Nazi gold, in this globe-trotting 1990 action comedy--with a trio of beautiful women at his side (one Chinese, one Japanese, and one German) and a stereotyped bumbling Arab terrorist hot on his heels. Condor is still one of the most expensive Hong Kong movies ever made, and looks it: there are actual Spanish castles and huge vistas of North African desert sand. (Months later, several planeloads of the stuff were shipped back to Hong Kong for some pick-up shots). A full-size set depicting an underground German wind tunnel was constructed on a Hong Kong sound stage. But there's also an extended car-and-motorcycle chase that employs an obvious stunt double, and episodes of bawdy farce (trimmed for the U.S. release) that feel like padding. Chan was already 36 when he directed this superstar vehicle, and he'd sensibly decided to soft-peddle the hard action stunt work---until the finale, that is, an all-out head-kicking kung-fu battle that moves back and forth across huge seesawing slabs of clockwork machinery. Chan seems to be working harder than ever in other areas, too; he's never given a more energetic or engaging comic performance. For pure mind-boggling entertainment value, the peak Jackie experiences are still Project A Part II, and the original Police Story and its semi-sequel, Supercop, in which Chan costarred with Tomorrow Never Dies Bond girl Michelle Yeoh. --David Chute

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Shaolin Master Killer (Widescreen Edition)

Sales Rank:31657
List Price: $19.98
Lowest New Price: $5.89
Lowest Used Price: $5.88
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)

Format:

Color
DVD-Video
Letterboxed
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Chia Hui Liu
Lieh Lo
Chia Yung Liu
Norman Chu
Yang Yu

A pure old-school martial arts movie, beloved by aficionados, that also appeals to nonfans simply as a rousing action film. The often-imitated fact-based plot (see The Karate Kid) centers upon the rigorous training process undergone in the mid-19th century by the anti-Manchu Chinese patriot San Te (Gordon Liu). It's depicted as a grueling voyage into the unknown. Cast out of his home village when he stands up to the cruel warlord (Lo Lieh) who slaughtered his parents, the refugee seeks out the martial monks of the Shaolin Temple, who steer him through a torturous series of "chambers"--horrendous ordeals designed to build strength and agility--before he's even allowed to study boxing or swordfighting. Finally he defeats a rival by inventing a brand-new weapon, the three-section chain-linked staff. But innovation can be carried only so far; when San Te suggests opening a "36th chamber" in the temple that would teach Shaolin techniques to the populace at large (so that they can fight the nasty Manchus) he is drummed out of the corps. Naturally he returns to his home village, slaughters the baddies, and prepares to open China's first public Shaolin-style kung fu school. Many of the pupils San Te recruits in the final reel became legendary martial artists in their own right, the "Fathers of the Church" of the Chinese kung fu tradition. This is strong action entertainment with real historical resonance. --David Chute

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The Promise

Sales Rank:20512
List Price: $19.98
Lowest New Price: $11.00
Lowest Used Price: $6.00
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

AC-3
Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
Dubbed
DVD-Video
Subtitled
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Dong-Kun Jang
Hiroyuki Sanada
Cecilia Cheung
Nicholas Tse
Ye Liu

The Promise came to American shores with endless hype about its visual splendor--and for once, the hype is deserved. Lush and luminous, almost every shot will make you want to weep from its sheer loveliness. A starving young orphan girl named Qingcheng is offered a deal by a capricious goddess: The girl will be staggeringly beautiful and have all the wealth, delicious food, and fabulous clothing she could ask for--but every man she ever loves will die. Thus begins a twisty tale in which a fleet-footed slave (Korean actor Dong-Kun Jang) and a mighty general (Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada, The White Countess) compete for the love of the adult Qingcheng (Hong Kong beauty Cecilia Cheung), while a vengeful usurper (Hong Kong star Nicholas Tse, Time and Tide) seeks to destroy them all. Like many of the classics of Hong Kong fantasy--such as A Chinese Ghost Story, Swordsman II, and Green Snake--The Promise combines the epic storylines of Chinese mythology with the headlong momentum and energetic editing of kung-fu action movies. The result can sometimes seem absurd to American audiences--though these same audiences will happily swallow the absurdities of American science fiction, simply because they're familiar with the conventions of the genre. Viewers who embrace the conventions of Hong Kong fantasy will find The Promise engaging and emotionally rich...and there's just no denying the gorgeousness. Compared with the sterile spectacle of the later Star Wars movies or the clumsy, labored Matrix sequels, The Promise bursts with human warmth, dynamic storytelling, and elegant design. More Western audiences should open themselves to its pleasures. --Bret Fetzer

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Gorgeous

Sales Rank:13676
List Price: $14.94
Lowest New Price: $8.72
Lowest Used Price: $3.52
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

Anamorphic
Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
Full Screen
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Bradley James Allan
Jackie Chan
Emil Chau
Sung Young Chen
Stephen Chow

In between the Hollywood productions Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon, Hong Kong's most popular export, Jackie Chan, returned home to indulge his romantic side in this modern fairy tale. He plays a modern Prince Charming, a big business mogul and notoriously eligible big-city bachelor to dreamy teenager Shu Qi, a girl from a Taiwan fishing village. When a heartbreaking message in a bottle washes ashore, she traces it back to Hong Kong, where she meets Jackie in the midst of a mid-ocean brawl on a luxury yacht. Hong Kong heartthrob Tony Leung has a grand time spoofing his image, playing a gay fashion photographer who "adopts" Shu Qi and helps her woo her handsome dream lover. It's a pleasant change to see 40-plus Jackie discard his usual goofy lovesick fool to play a suave swinger, but next to giggly teen Shu Qi, who proves to be a spunky and winning actress, he seems a little too mature. There are still plenty of opportunities to see Jackie in acrobatic action with a subplot involving a boyhood friend turned shady business rival, but at heart it's a sweet, silly little love song full of unabashed romantic imagery, elegant art design, snazzy fashions, and a gooey happy ending. Jackie doesn't provide his own voice in the English dubbed edition, which makes a minor dent in his charm but does little to affect the film as a whole. --Sean Axmaker

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The Tai Chi Master

Sales Rank:49005
List Price: $14.95
Lowest New Price: $10.95
Lowest Used Price: $7.95
MPAA Rating: Unrated

Format:

Color
Dolby
DTS Surround Sound
DVD-Video
Full Screen
Subtitled
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Billy Chow
Jacky Wu
Amy Fan

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Lara Croft Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (Full Screen Edition)

Sales Rank:29825
List Price: $12.98
Lowest New Price: $4.96
Lowest Used Price: $0.84
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

Closed-captioned
Collector's Edition
Color
DVD-Video
Full Screen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Angelina Jolie
Gerard Butler
Chris Barrie
Ciarán Hinds
Noah Taylor

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The Cradle of Life is certainly better than its 2001 predecessor, but its appeal is mostly aimed at fans of the video games that inspired both movies. That pretty much leaves you with some fun but familiar action sequences, and the ever-alluring sight of Angelina Jolie (reprising her title role) as she swims, swings, kicks, shoots, flies, jet-skis, motorcycles, and free-falls her way toward saving the world, this time by making sure that a grimacing villain (Ciarán Hinds) doesn't open Pandora's Box (yes, the actual mythological object) and unleash a deadly plague that will "weed out" the global population. Exotic locations add to Jolie's own coolly erotic appeal, but we're left wondering if this franchise has anywhere else to go. --Jeff Shannon

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City Hunter

Sales Rank:40018
List Price: $9.98
Lowest New Price: $3.53
Lowest Used Price: $3.42
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

Anamorphic
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
Subtitled
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Jackie Chan
Joey Wang
Chingmy Yau
Richard Norton
Michael Wong

Hong Kong superstar Jackie Chan gives his self-mocking humor full flourish in City Hunter, adapted from a Japanese comic book. But that doesn't mean there isn't a solid dose of action--after a brilliantly cartoonish opening, the movie settles into a half-comedy, half-thriller variation on Die Hard, in which Eurotrash terrorists have hijacked a plush ocean cruise liner and super-detective Ryu Saeba (Chan) has to stop them, aided by his lovely, love-lorn assistant (Joey Wong, A Chinese Ghost Story, Green Snake) and a beautiful undercover secret agent (Chingmy Yau, Naked Killer). Though City Hunter is short on breathtaking stunts, there's plenty of well-choreographed hand-to-hand combat. Jackie Chan's lecherous, self-absorbed character (accompanied by a parade of girls into skimpy or skin-tight outfits) come across like a gleeful parody of James Bond (slightly marred by a bit of homophobia). All in all, a high energy romp. --Bret Fetzer

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Tomorrow Never Dies

Sales Rank:46834
List Price: $24.98
Lowest New Price: $5.00
Lowest Used Price: $2.50
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

Anamorphic
Closed-captioned
Color
DVD-Video
Full Screen
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Pierce Brosnan
Jonathan Pryce
Michelle Yeoh
Teri Hatcher
Ricky Jay

Pierce Brosnan returns for his second stint as James Bond (after GoldenEye), and he's doing it in high style with an invigorating cast of costars. It's only appropriate that a Bond film from 1997 would find Agent 007 pitted against a media mogul (Jonathan Pryce) who's going to start a global war (beginning with stolen nuclear missiles aimed at China) to create attention-grabbing headlines for his latest multimedia news channel. It's the information age run amok, and Bond must team up with a lovely and lethal agent from the Chinese External Security Force (played by Honk Kong action star Michelle Yeoh) to foil the madman's plot of global domination. Luckily for Bond, the villain's wife (Teri Hatcher) is one of his former lovers, and at the behest of his superior M (Judi Dench), 007 finds ample opportunity to exploit the connection. Although it bears some nagging similarities to many formulaic action films from the '90s, Tomorrow Never Dies (with a title song performed by Sheryl Crow) boasts enough grand-scale action and sufficiently intelligent plotting to suggest the Bond series has plenty of potential to survive into the next millennium. Armed with the usual array of gadgets (including a remote-controlled BMW), Brosnan settles into his role with acceptable flair, and the dynamic Yeoh provides a perfect balance to the sexism that once threatened to turn Bond into a politically incorrect anachronism. He's still Bond, to be sure, but he's saving the world with a bit more sophisticated finesse. --Jeff Shannon

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