Coffin Joe Trilogy, R1

Actors: Coffin Joe
Studio: Fantoma
DVD Release Date: October 7, 2003

Unholy undertaker, evil philosopher, denizen of dreams and hallucinations...Coffin Joe, with his trademark top hat, black cape and talon-like fingernails, is a horror icon in his native Brazil. Revered as the national boogeyman, Coffin Joe has been immortalized in films, TV shows, radio programs, comic books and popular songs. He is the creation of writer-director-star Jose Mojica Marins whose perversely original and strangely personal filmmaking style has been compared to an unholy blend of Mario Bava, Luis Bunuel and Russ Meyer. Fantoma is proud to present new director approved editions of these three seminal tales of terror in a specially priced limited-edition boxed set.

The Valiant, R3

Actors: Annette Badland, Jim Broadbent, Tim Curry, Alison Dowling, Christopher Fairbanks
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Disney
DVD Release Date: December 13, 2005

A host of great British thespians, from Ewan MacGregor to John Cleese, lend their voices to Valiant, a computer-animated bird's-eye-view of World War II. Valiant (MacGregor, Big Fish, Down With Love), though but a small pigeon, is determined to join the homing pigeon brigade and do his part to help win the war. He and a handful of other misfits are assembled into a motley squad and suddenly find themselves thrust into combat with the responsibility of delivering a crucial message. Unfortunately, the villainous Von Talon (Tim Curry, The Rocky Horror Picture Show), a Nazi falcon, intends to tear them to feathers over the English Channel. Aside from some delightful voice work from Ricky Gervais (The Office) as a filthy but cunning pigeon, there's not much to recommend about Valiant. The story is clunky, cliche-ridden, and underdeveloped; the design is charmless and inexpressive; the characters are so generic that even a cast as talented as Jim Broadbent (Topsy-Turvy, Iris), Hugh Laurie (House), and John Hurt (1984, The Elephant Man) can do little to make them anything but bland stereotypes from a long-exhausted movie genre. Overall, poorly conceived and clumsily executed. --Bret Fetzer

Corpse Bride, R3

Actors: Johnny Depp, Emily Watson, Helena Bonham Carter
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: January 31, 2006

Donnie Darko, R2

Actors: Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Patrick Swayze, James Duval, Mary McDonnell
Studio: Prism Leisure Corporation
DVD Release Date: 2 Feb 2004

Cars

Actors: Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Rodger Bumpass, George Carlin
Directors: John Lasseter
Studio: Walt Disney Video
DVD Release Date: November 7, 2006

The House of the Flying Dagger, R6 China

Actors: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Ziyi Zhang, Dandan Song, Hongfei Zhao
Directors: Yimou Zhang
Studio: Sony Pictures
DVD Release Date: April 19, 2005


No one uses color like Chinese director Zhang Yimou--movies like Raise the Red Lantern or Hero, though different in tone and subject matter, are drenched in rich, luscious shades of red, blue, yellow, and green. House of Flying Daggers is no exception; if they weren't choreographed with such vigorous imagination, the spectacular action sequences would seem little more than an excuse for vivid hues rippling across the screen. Government officers Leo and Jin (Asian superstars Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro) set out to destroy an underground rebellion called the House of Flying Daggers (named for their weapon of choice, a curved blade that swoops through the air like a boomerang). Their only chance to find the rebels is a blind women named Mei (Ziyi Zhang, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) who has some lethal kung fu moves of her own. In the guise of an aspiring rebel, Jin escorts Mei through gorgeous forests and fields that become bloody battlegrounds as soldiers try to kill them both. While arrows and spears of bamboo fly through the air, Mei, Jin, and Leo turn against each other in surprising ways, driven by passion and honor. Zhang's previous action/art film, Hero, sometimes sacrificed momentum for sheer visual beauty; House of Flying Daggers finds a more muscular balance of aesthetic splendor and dazzling swordplay. --Bret Fetzer 

War of the World, R2 Japan

Actors: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, Justin Chatwin, Tim Robbins
Directors: Steven Spielberg
Studio: Dreamworks Video
DVD Release Date: December 22, 2005

Despite super effects, a huge budget, and the cinematic pedigree of alien-happy Steven Spielberg, this take on H.G. Wells's novel is basically a horror film packaged as a sci-fi thrill ride. Instead of a mad slasher, however, Spielberg (along with writers Josh Friedman & David Koepp) utilizes aliens hell-bent on quickly destroying humanity, and the terrifying results that prey upon adult fears, especially in the post-9/11 world. The realistic results could be a new genre, the grim popcorn thriller; often you feel like you're watching Schindler's List more than Spielberg's other thrill-machine movies (Jaws, Jurassic Park). The film centers on Ray Ferrier, a divorced father (Tom Cruise, oh so comfortable) who witnesses one giant craft destroy his New Jersey town and soon is on the road with his teen son (Justin Chatwin) and preteen daughter (Dakota Fanning) in tow, trying to keep ahead of the invasion. The film is, of course, impeccably designed and produced by Spielberg's usual crew of A-class talent. The aliens are genuinely scary, even when the film--like the novel--spends a good chunk of time in a basement. Readers of the book (or viewers of the deft 1953 adaptation) will note the variation of whom and how the aliens come to Earth, which poses some logistical problems. The film opens and closes with narration from the novel read by Morgan Freeman, but Spielberg could have adapted Orson Welles's words from the famous Halloween Eve 1938 radio broadcast: "We couldn't soap all your windows and steal all your garden gates by tomorrow night, so we did the best next thing: we annihilated the world." --Doug Thomas

Casablanca

Actors: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt
Directors: Michael Curtiz
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: February 15, 2000


A truly perfect movie, the 1942 Casablanca still wows viewers today, and for good reason. Its unique story of a love triangle set against terribly high stakes in the war against a monster is sophisticated instead of outlandish, intriguing instead of garish. Humphrey Bogart plays the allegedly apolitical club owner in unoccupied French territory that is nevertheless crawling with Nazis; Ingrid Bergman is the lover who mysteriously deserted him in Paris; and Paul Heinreid is her heroic, slightly bewildered husband. Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Conrad Veidt are among what may be the best supporting cast in the history of Hollywood films. This is certainly among the most spirited and ennobling movies ever made. --Tom Keogh

Gone with the Wind

Actors: Thomas Mitchell, Barbara O'Neil, Vivien Leigh, Evelyn Keyes, Ann Rutherford
Directors: Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Sam Wood
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: March 7, 2000

David O. Selznick wanted Gone with the Wind to be somehow more than a movie, a film that would broaden the very idea of what a film could be and do and look like. In many respects he got what he worked so hard to achieve in this 1939 epic (and all-time box-office champ in terms of tickets sold), and in some respects he fell far short of the goal. While the first half of this Civil War drama is taut and suspenseful and nostalgic, the second is ramshackle and arbitrary. But there's no question that the film is an enormous achievement in terms of its every resource--art direction, color, sound, cinematography--being pushed to new limits for the greater glory of telling an American story as fully as possible. Vivien Leigh is still magnificently narcissistic, Olivia de Havilland angelic and lovely, Leslie Howard reckless and aristocratic. As for Clark Gable: we're talking one of the most vital, masculine performances ever committed to film. --Tom Keogh

Vivien Leigh is Scarlett to Clark Gable's Rhett in cinema's greatest epic of passion and adventure. With its immortal cast, magnificent cinematography and sweeping score, this cherished classic continues to thrill audiences today. Year: 1939

The Banquet

The Banquet has been described as a loose adaptation of "Hamlet"; it is a tale of fate and revenge set in 10th century China. A new Emperor has usurped the throne through murder. Zhang Ziyi plays the widowed Empress, who marries the new Emperor (Ge You) only to protect herself, but also secretly plots his death with the help of the Crown Prince (Daniel Wu) and the Chief Minister (Ma Jingwu).






The Banquet now comes with a bonus disc and a CD in a limited collector's edition wooden box! Disc #2 consists of making-of features, interviews, trailers, and photo gallery, whereas the CD features the 3 enchanting songs from this film. Also in the boxset are a 2:1 mini sword resembling the one in the film, a poster autographed by director Feng Xiaogang plus four other posters , 6 collectible cards, plus a 44-page production note. Get this if your wish to have a complete collection of The Banquet!

Actors: Zhang Ziyi, Daniel Wu, Zhou Xun, Ge You, Ma Jingwu
Directors: Feng Xiaogang
Studio: Mega Star (HK)

Superman Ultimate Tin Boxset DVD Collection in the Philippines

Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition (Superman - The Movie/ Superman II/ Superman II - The Richard Donner Cut/ Superman III/ Superman IV - The Quest for Peace/ Superman Returns

Actors: Christopher Reeve, Brandon Routh
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: May 29, 2007

Spiderman 1 and 2 Boxset from Japan

Spider-Man

Actors: Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Cliff Robertson
Directors: Sam Raimi
Studio: Sony Pictures
DVD Release Date: 2002/10/23

Spider-Man 2

Actors: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina, Rosemary Harris
Directors: Sam Raimi
Studio: Sony Pictures
DVD Release Date: 2004/12/03

DVD in clear plastic slipcase

Some of my DVDs in clear plastic slip case.

Cats The Musical

Actors: Elaine Paige, John Mills, Ken Page, Rosemarie Ford, Michael Gruber
Directors: David Mallet
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Release Date: September 12, 2000

Dirty Dancing - Ultimate Edition

Actors: Kelly Bishop, Jane Brucker, Thomas Cannold, Max Cantor, Charles 'Honi' Coles
Studio: Lions Gate
DVD Release Date: December 9, 2003

Patch Adams -Ultimate Edition

Actors: Robin Williams, Daniel London, Monica Potter, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bob Gunton
Directors: Tom Shadyac
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Release Date: July 17, 2001

American Pie - Ultimate Edition

Actors: Jason Biggs, Molly Cheek, Jennifer Coolidge, Shannon Elizabeth, Alyson Hannigan
Directors: Weitz, Chris
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Release Date: July 31, 2001

Notting Hill -Ultimate Edition

Actors: Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, Richard McCabe, Rhys Ifans, James Dreyfus
Directors: Roger Michell
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Release Date: July 17, 2001

Meet Joe Black - Ultimate Edition

Actors: Fredric March, Evelyn Venable, Guy Standing, Katharine Alexander, Gail Patrick
Directors: Mitchell Leisen, Martin Brest
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Release Date: July 17, 2001

Legend - Ultimate Edition

Actors: Tom Cruise, Alice Playten, Billy Barty, Cork Hubbert, Peter O'Farrell
Directors: Ridley Scott
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Release Date: May 21, 2002

Basic Instinct - Collector's Edition

Actors: Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Denis Arndt
Directors: Paul Verhoeven
Studio: Live / Artisan
DVD Release Date: September 18, 2001

DVD from Korea

Some of my favorite DVDs from Korea:


Fighter in the Wind (2004)

Starring : Yang Dong-Geun, Aya Hirayama
Director : Yang Yun-Ho
Publisher: I Vision ENT
Release Date : 10/12/2004

Taegukgi - Tin Case, 3Disc digipak, Photobook, Postcard

Taegukgi - The Brotherhood of War (2004)
Starring : Jang Dong-Gun, Won Bin, Lee Eun-Ju
Director : Kang Je-Gyu
Publisher: KD Media
Release Date : 07/30/2007


Duelist : Spectial Edition (3disc digipak) : Limited Edition

Starring : Ha Jio-Won, Kang Dong-Won, Ahn Seong-Gi
Director : Lee Myung Sae
Publisher: Enter One
Release Date : 04/19/2006

Il Mare : Re-Edition Limited Special Edition (dts / 2disc + OST CD)

A Love Story : Sil Wal Ae (2000)
Starring : Jeon Ji-Hyun, Lee Jung-Jae, Kim Moo-Saen
Director : Lee Hyun-Seung
Publisher: Spectrum DVD
Release Date : 12/13/2006

Kingdom of Heaven -Deluxe Edition (dts, 2 disc / Tin Case L.E.)

Starring : Orlando Bloom, Martin Hancock, Nathalie ...
Director : Ridley Scott
Publisher: 20th Century Fox
Release Date : 10/11/2005

The Classics


My Sassy Girl

Yeobgijeogin Geunyeo (2001)
Starring : Jeon Ji-hyun,Cha Tae-hyun
Director : Kwak Jae-yong
Publisher: Starmax
Release Date : 12/12/2001

Ping Pong DVD from Japan

Ping Pong

    * Actors: Yosuke Kubozuka, Shidou Nakamura, Sam Lee, Koji Ohkura
    * Director: Fumihiko Sori

Based on Taiyo Matsumoto's highly successful manga of the same name. Ever since the day Peco (Yôsuke Kubozuka) rescued Smile (Arata) from a gang of bullies and introduced him to the game of table tennis, the pair have been inseparable friends. Now Peco is a peculiar teenager who wants no less than to be the best player in the world, but lacks the self-discipline to carry his plan through - while the withdrawn, slightly arrogant Smile probably has more natural talent than anyone, but just plays'to kill time' rather than to win, and his reluctance to see other players (especially Peco) humiliated makes him hold back in his own game, much to the annoyance of Ota, his coach (Naoto Takenaka). After Peco is sorely beaten in a tournament and quits the game, Smile continues his rise to the top, preparing the way for the return of his hero Peco, whom he is destined to meet in one last match.

Men In Black Boxset Collection from Japan

Men In Black Boxset Collection from Japan
(Men in Black 1 and 2)

Actors: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Rip Torn
Directors: Barry Sonnenfeld
Studio: Sony Pictures
DVD Release Date: 2002/11/20

Men in Black

This imaginative summer comedy from director Barry Sonnenfeld (Get Shorty) is a lot of fun, largely on the strength of Will Smith's engaging performance as the rookie partner of a secret agent (Tommy Lee Jones) assigned to keep tabs on Earth-dwelling extraterrestrials. There's lots of comedy to spare in this bright film, some of the funniest stuff found in the margins of the major action. (A scene with Smith's character being trounced in the distance by a huge alien while Jones questions a witness is a riot.) The inventiveness never lets up, and the cast--including Vincent D'Onofrio doing frighteningly convincing work as an alien occupying a decaying human--hold up their end splendidly.--Tom Keogh

Men in Black II

More remake than sequel, Men in Black II safely repeats everything that made Men in Black the blockbuster hit of 1997. That's fine if you loved the original fresh humor, weird aliens and loopy ingenuity, but as sequels go, it's pure déjà vu. Make-up wizard Rick Baker is the only MIB alumnus who's trying anything new, while director Barry Sonnenfeld and costars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones (as alien-fighting agents Jay and Kay, respectively) are on autopilot with an uninspired screenplay. The quest of a multi-tentacled alien--on Earth in the form of Lara Flynn Boyle--for the light of Zartha requires Jay to deneutralize Kay, whose restored memory contains the key to saving the planet. The tissue-thin premise allows all varieties of special effects--mostly familiar, with some oddly hilarious new stuff tossed in for good measure. Certainly enjoyable as a popcorn distraction, but the MIB magic has worn a bit thin. --Jeff Shannon

Boxset DVD Collection

Some of my Boxset DVD Collection : Swat (Philippines), Tremors (UK), Ping Pong (Japan), Men in Black (Japan), Kill Bill (Japan), Kill Bill 2 (Japan), Hero (Japan), Phantom of the Opera (Hong Kong), Hulk (Korea), Chicago (japan)

My Rare DVD Collections

Overview of my DVD Collections. I've been collecting DVDs since about 2001. I'm happy to share with you the pictures of my collection. Because of Bluray DVD format, I (maybe) will be disposing these soon. :-)