NEW Three Kingdoms – Three Kingdoms (blu-ray) (Blu-ray)

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1. Luz M. Garcia

   May 27, 2011 at 2:24 pm

   17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

   
   Best Season Yet, January 17, 2011

   By 

   Luz M. Garcia –
     

   This review is from: Mad Men: Season Four (DVD)

   While I cannot rate the packaging/full product itself (though if it is anything like its predecessors, I can at least say it will be good), I can say that this is undoubtedly the best season of Mad Men yet. This season is the most enticing from its queezy beginning, to an earth-shattering end. You will see most complex character development in this seasons then others and bigger dilemmas, dramas and setbacks…this is a must have for Mad Men lovers, and a must see willing to give Mad Men a second (or fourth) chance

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2. carol irvin "carol irvin"

   May 27, 2011 at 2:00 pm

   49 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

   
   Best Show on Tv, Bar None, November 8, 2010

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   carol irvin “carol irvin” (United States) –
     

     

     

   This review is from: Mad Men: Season Four (DVD)

   The excellence continues with this fourth season of MAD MEN. Matthew Weiner, its creator, was one of the writers on the SOPRANOS. He hovers over every detail of MAD MEN, getting it absolutely right, just as creator David Chase did for the SOPRANOS. The first choice he made was absolutely insisting that Jon Hamm had to play the lead. Everyone thought Weiner was crazy insisting on an unknown. Result? Jon Hamm is now a major tv star and probably going to be a major star period. Next bit of historical marvel was that HBO turned this show down so that Weiner took it to an upstart cable channel, AMC, and ended up putting AMC on the map. For those of you who don’t know it, this show IS Weiner and this was nowhere more evident than at the 2010 Emmy Awards show where he walked up to the stage to receive Emmy after Emmy including the best drama show one, the big one. I am dwelling on this point because often viewers do not realize that it is one person off camera who is making the whole thing happen. That is certainly the case here.

   Don Draper (played by Jon Hamm) continues to be the fulcrum for the show; everything pivots around him. However, it is a very rich band of characters indeed who do that pivoting. In season four, everyone is coming into his or her own, whether for good or ill. Draper himself goes through a huge melting down crisis post divorce, flailing around now that what little identity he had seems gone. His entire identity now comes down to his job, which is finding a way to brilliantly project falsity, which is a metaphor for his entire life.

   Betty, his ex, is becoming more of what she has been in the prior three seasons. More brittle, more vicious, more intent on achieving her ever elusive goal of perfection. This becomes so paramount that one scarcely notices her Grace Kelly like appearance anymore. Her new husband belatedly realizes what a morass he has gotten himself into by marrying her. Her relationship with Sally becomes one of the best of the show. There is a boiling point coming between the two of them which I am awaiting more eagerly than any other plot development,

   Don Draper’s secretary also becomes a pivotal force. For half of the show it is an old battleaxe who is just fantastic and then we get a very attractive, very maternal young French Canadian woman. As the show gathers steam towards its end, it becomes apparent that this is a very important character to watch.

   Peggy and Joan also remain big characters. Rounding them out as the women of the mid 60s in the work force, is a woman who is the harbinger of things to come. She has her doctorate in psychology and is using it to measure and predict consumer acts in the advertising world. She begins dating Don and Peggy sees her as a role model for herself, a woman much further up in the business world model. Joan is still mired in the head secretarial world and also is stuck with unfinished business with her major weasel of a boss, Roger Sterling.

   Don Draper’s nemesis Peter becomes no longer his nemesis but now a comrade in arms. Where once these two were at odds, they now need one another, more than even they realize as Roger Sterling gives them only half the tale of a major crisis. Pete Campbell has changed a great deal as a character and is now a force for stability that once seemed impossible.

   The only bad thing about season four is that it ended. For those of us who are in its thrall, that we have to wait until next summer to delve into season five, is a very sad state of affairs indeed.

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3. J. A Bowen "tabithajab"

   May 27, 2011 at 1:34 pm

   124 of 132 people found the following review helpful:

   
   What happens to a dream blown to pieces?, October 13, 2010

   By 

   J. A Bowen “tabithajab” (Millersville, MD) –
     

   This review is from: Mad Men: Season Four [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

   When I think about Season 4, one word comes to mind — “dark”. This is the season of Don’s discontent — indeed, his comeuppance, if you will — and as the season opens we find him living in a seedy Greenwich Village apartment, where his rendevous with the ladies end all too often in rebuffs rather than ravishings. On the work front, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce has all the trappings of success. They have nice offices, a corral of secretaries, and a big client list. Don is being interviewed by a magazine asking the question “Who is Don Draper?” and further on into the season, we see him accepting a Cleo for his talents. The only problem is, he’s drunk when he’s accepting it. In fact, he’s drunk most of the time. Dead drunk, and his decisions and fine-honed genius with words suffer for it.

   Of course, being Don, he looks good. Hard to believe a man can drink that much and still not show the wages of sin. But as the season progresses, we see him losing his grip more and more, on the business as well as the personal front. He blows up at clients, neglects his children, and uses his women to get what he thinks he wants. At the same time, he is watching himself, from a distance, deconstruct. He starts keeping a journal and swims every day to clear his mind. You keep thinking he’s going to get a grip on it. He has to. He’s Don Draper.

   The supporting staff is suffering too, all the with exception of Peggy, who seems to have really come into her own this season. She is confident, perky, and looks great. She’s even dressing the part. Joan Holloway is given more to do this season, thankfully, and her character only gets more intriguing. There’s really no telling what Joan can pull off, because no matter what happens to her, she keeps on going. As for Betty Draper, she isn’t present too often, but when she is, she is still very much the Mom you love to hate, and she doesn’t seem to have learned a thing.

   I can’t reveal too much more without spoiling the season. In fact, I probably should have put spoiler alerts in the beginning of this, but I don’t think I’ve ruined anything for anybody. This is great stuff, amazing stuff for television, and no matter how painful the journey, you’ve just got to watch Season Four. All of it.

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4. Woopak "The THRILL"

   May 27, 2011 at 11:51 am

   22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

   
   3 ½ Stars: Entertaining and Beautifully Shot, A Little Cold but Action-Packed, January 19, 2009

   By 

   Woopak “The THRILL” (Where Dark Asian Knights Dwell) –
     

     

   This review is from: Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon (DVD)

   Review of the Uncut HK version.

   Amid the beloved historical epic tales of the “Battle or Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, arose three movies in 2008. The very mediocre “Empress and the Warriors” with Donnie Yen, and late last year came the first chapter of John Woo’s “Red Cliff”. Daniel Lee’s (Dragon Squad) “Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon” was released a few months earlier in Asia than Woo’s star-studded film (which I will review later), and has Hong Kong’s Andy Lau (Running on Karma) in the lead as the famous General Zhao Zhilong–yes the same guy in the video game named Zhao Yun in “Dynasty Warriors”. The film has massive commercial appeal, and the film is beautifully shot. However, purists of the tales of the Three Kingdoms will be annoyed and repulsed, as the film does feel a little empty in regards to an intricate storyline and full of historical inaccuracies. (Hint: John Woo’s overly exaggerated film about the three kingdoms isn’t much better)

   228 A.D, before the rise of the Jin Dynasty. The kingdoms of Shu, Wei and Wu are divided. Zhilong (Andy Lau) is a simple soldier from Changsan who becomes a legendary warrior under the employ of Liu (Yueh Huah) who rises from the ranks of the Shu forces to become one of the “Five Tiger Generals”. Zhilong becomes famous for his many campaigns against Cao and the last surviving general of the “Five Tigers”. Now, after many years of war, Zhilong is set to make his last stand against Cho’s granddaughter–who has become a beautiful, cold and stoic warrior woman; Cao Ling (Maggie Q, Live Free and Die Hard).

   The film is narrated by Pingan (Sammo Hung), Zhilong’s oldest friend who joined the Liu army with him many years ago. The film is supposed to cover thirty years, Zhilong was a simple soldier who ascends to become a simple general and so the film feels a little too short. There are a lot of plot holes and several important parts missing, but then as a tale being narrated by Pingan who remained a simple soldier in the ranks, I can accept its shortcomings. Pingan never became a part of Zhilong’s military unit until his final campaign. The viewer is privy to Zhilong’s achievements through the musings of humble Pingan and it is rather hard for Sammo Hung to carry this burden, and purists will undoubtedly become disconnected. Zhilong is a renowned general in the Shu kingdom, he may be remembered as the “Spartan” of the Liu army–truly legendary and whose name struck fear in the hearts of his enemies.

   Thankfully, Andy Lau does turn in a great performance and I am happy to say he isn’t miscast. This may well be his best performance since his role in “The Warlords” with Jet Li. The plot may be a little too simple and doesn’t reach Zhilong’s epic grandeur, but Lau does the best of what he’s got; Lau is playing a larger-than-life character and despite the simple plot, he manages to project the character competently. Maggie Q. is alluring as Cao Ling, and despite her limited screen time, she was exciting and enchanting to watch. The rest of the supporting cast isn’t so bad, but we all have to remember that this is a film with Zhilong as its central focus.

   Aside from the Pingan narrations, the real problems begin when the film has some “add-on” characters played by two lesser known performers in the persona of Vanness Wu, and Andy On; they seem to be mere attempts to give the young stars some exposure. (Maggie Q. is just so hot, I don`t mind her at all) A lot of folks would be interested to see this film because of truly iconic characters played by accomplished actors such as Sammo Hung, Yueh Hua, Ti Lung, Chen Zhihui; but sadly the film does nothing with them. Zhilong may be the center of the film but all others, disappear after the first half. This film definitely needed to be longer and the significance of the other four “Tiger Generals” to Zhilong a little more fleshed out.

   The action sequences have the usual style of Chinese epics and reminiscent of other films of this kind. The choreography by Yuen Tak is fairly good, although it looked too flashy for my tastes. (as with Woo’s “Red Cliff’) The shots are cool and well-choreographed, a blend of the usual wire-fu, wild slow-mo and blood and some gore. Highlights include Zhilong rescuing Liu’s son, (which was fairly exciting) and the fight between Cao Ling and Zhilong were very cool to watch. The fights provide great eye candy, but that’s all they were; pure eye candy. The film does have a lot of action, it feels more like an action drama and abandons the contemplative nature of the horrors of war.(although it does touch on this idea a little in the final act) Writer/director Daniel Lee does an average job in mixing in emotions and action, but it felt that it reduced its visceral effect. The film has colorful, elaborate costumes and some beautiful cinematography that it will no doubt attract mainstream audiences…

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