DVD Round Up

Spider Lilies



I saw this on a whim and I'm definitely glad I checked it out. It's the second feature by Zero Chou and won the Teddy Award for best feature film down at the Berlin International Film Festival and got released on DVD in the U.S. this summer. If you like love stories with a twist - specifically some of the dream sequences that character Takeko has - I think you'll enjoy it.

It stars pop icon Rainie Yang as webcam girl Jade (in her first lead role) and Isabella Leong as tattoo artist Takeko.



The Go-Getter



Released this summer and put out on DVD last month, I'm not exactly sure what I liked about this film - but I liked it - and that's pretty much all I wanted to say about it (and this is the reason why I'm not a film reviewer for a living).

Here's the trailer which is what made me check out the film in the first place.



Bella



I have to admit that I think sometimes I just get lucky when I pick out films to see. I'll just grab them, or pop them in my queue, or order them online and hope for the best - and in Bella, which got released on DVD this year it seems I was lucky again. Love, redemption, great acting, and a killer soundtrack to boot. What more can I ask for?



American Fusion



So this is an older Asian American film - it technically came out in 2005 - but it's still been going strong (picking up awards at the 2007 VC Film Fest) and it's actually going to be released on DVD in early 2009, but I happened to be able to borrow a copy of it from a friend who happened to have a screener of it. It's definitely a fun movie which made a good point, but didn't beat you over the head with it like a PSA (although it does play up the stereotypes but seemingly for a good cause). Sylvia Chang, Esai Morales, and the whole cast are really enjoyable so make sure to check it out on DVD when it comes out next year (January of 2009).



The Forbidden Kingdom



They can't all be winners, and even though I didn't expect much from this - almost nothing - I still thought to be fair I would give it a view, but I didn't expect that it was going to be so bad that I would turn it off after the first 10-20 minutes.

Seriously. It was that bad.