New home video releases – June 14-20, 2009

Top home video picks this week include Media Blasters’ DVD release of Shaw Brothers’ supernatural horror film BLACK MAGIC 2 and Joy Sales’ re-mastered release of the Hong Kong action comedy classics MY LUCKY STARS, TWINKLE TWINKLE LUCKY STARS and WINNERS AND SINNERS. The “so bad it’s good” pick of the week is Godfrey Ho’s UNDEFEATABLE, starring Cynthia Rockrock. Check out the accompanying video preview for comedy gold. Also included is one animated chambara feature, Masahiro Ando’s SWORD OF THE STRANGER.

BLACK MAGIC 2 (DVD – Tokyo Shock)
Starring: Ti Lung, Tien Ni, Lily Li

In this mind-blowing sequel to the Shaw Brothers huge horror hit, it’s Zombigeddon! Mysterious zombies run amok while baffled doctors try to find out why. The zombies vomit, melt, spontaneously combust, explode and may be abducting the local lady folk. While the doctors Look for a natural cause, the real cause appears to be supernatural.Released on VHS in the U.S. as REVENGE OF THE ZOMBIES. (Buy it at Amazon.com)

CHANDNI CHOWK TO CHINA (DVD – Warner Home Video [UK])
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Gordon Liu

Chandni Chowk to China, the first Kung Fu Bollywood movie, takes you on a madcap journey from the by-lanes of Chadni Chowk in Deli, to Shanghai, the Great Wall and rural China, marrying in its in wake gags, action, spectacular locations and strong emotions.

Sidhu (Akshay Kumar) is the lowest on teh totem pole, cutting vegetables at a roadside food stall in Chadni Chowk. He longs to escape his dreary existence. When two strangers from China arrive and claim him as a reincarnation of a war hero, Sidhu is whisked away to China where mayhem and chaos ensues.

FIGHT RING (DVD – Leo Films)
Starring: Sean Gallimore, Drew Torrez, Debra Jans

A tense mixed martial arts fight film, where a group of men form a club where whenever you meet a member you must go somewhere secluded and fight. The winner takes the other’s ring. The one with the most rings wins. No rules, no refs. When a black clad ninja group gets involved it becomes a matter of life and death. (Buy it at Amazon.com)

Trailer

KICKBOXER (Blu-ray – Lionsgate)
Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dennis Alexio, Dennis Chan

Accompanied by his brother Kurt (Van Damme), American kickboxing champion Eric Sloane (Dennis Alexio) arrives in Thailand to defeat the Eastern warriors at their own sport. His opponent: ruthless fighter and Thai champion, Tong Po. Tong not only defeats Eric, he paralyzes him for life. Crazed with anger, Kurt vows revenge. After a crash course in the ancient techniques of kickboxing from Thai master Xian Chow, Kurt challenges Tong. Their battle to the finish, born of lust, power and revenge, will leave only one man standing. (Buy it at Amazon.com)

MY LUCKY STARS (DVD – Joy Sales [HK])
Starring: Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao

In this sequel to the comedy hit WINNERS AND SINNERS, MY LUCKY STARS stars Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao as a pair of Hong Kong cops, Muscles and Ricky who are in pursuit of a criminal in Tokyo. After fighting off ninjas in an amusement park, Ricky is rendered unconscious and is kidnapped. When Muscles calls for backup, help comes in the shapes and sizes of the Lucky Stars (Sammo Hung, Eric Tsang, Richard Ng, Fung Shui Fan and Chin Hsiang Lin), a group of ex-cons who band together for government missions and assorted high jinks. (Buy it at HKFlix.com)

SWORD AND THE STRANGER (DVD – Bandai)
Directed by Masahiro Ando

No Name is a ronin who abandoned his name in troubled times, and who vowed to never unsheathe his sword again. Luo-Lang is a blond-haired, blue-eyed Western assassin working for the Ming Dynasty who feels something is missing from his life. No Name and Luo-Lang are destined to clash, as the only thing they believe in is their swordsmanship. These two strangers meet when a mysterious young boy named Kotaro enters their lives. They kill—and kill some more—in a blazing display of Japanese sword action, and ultimately find that they share a common destiny. This high-quality Japanese animated film features both dynamic action and delicate drama.

TWINKLE TWINKLE LUCKY STARS (DVD – Joy Sales [HK])
Starring: Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao

In this third installment of the LUCKY STARS series, the famous 5 take a well earned vacation in Thailand after the success of their last mission. It is interrupted when they are summoned to get in touch with an informer who can provide a name list of drug lords in Hong Kong and Thailand. When they arrive at the scene, the informer is dead and the list has been sent to Wang Yi-ching (Rosamund Kwan) in Hong Kong. While the Lucky Stars are busy protecting Wang from assassins, they also keep themselves occupied as they try to cozy up to her in their own wacky way. Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao also join in for some fun with their own peculiar brand of high kicking and outrageous antics, showcasing some of the greatest fight sequences of their celebrated careers. (Buy it at HKFlix.com)

THE ULTIMATE BOURNE COLLECTION (Blu-ray – Universal Pictures UK)
Starring: Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, Joan Allen

Features the action-packed Jason Bourne thrillers THE BOURNE IDENTITY, THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, and THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM.

In THE BOURNE IDENTITY, a man who may or may not be Jason Bourne is found floating in the Mediterranean Sea and is hauled onto a fishing boat. When the ship’s doctor examines the unconscious castaway, he discovers two bullet wounds and an implanted device that displays a Swiss bank account number. With nothing but this code, the amnesiac Bourne travels to Zurich and gains access to a safe-deposit box containing a gun, thousands of dollars in various currencies, and valid passports from numerous countries–each listing a different identity. Within minutes, Bourne is on the run from a seemingly ever-present agency.

In THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, Bourne is forced out of hiding as the result of an attempt on his life and fulfills his earlier promise to wreak vengeance on his former CIA employers, some of whom may be in league with murderous Russians.

In THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, Jason Bourne searches for his own identity after a bout of amnesia, leading him on a globe-trekking trip in which he must avoid the zinging bullets of cops and assassins who are out to stop him before he uncovers the truth.

UNDEFEATABLE (DVD – Henstooth Video)
Starring: Cynthia Rothrock, Don Niam, John Miller

Martial arts superstar Cynthia Rothrock is Kristi Jones, a member of a local street gang who waits tables to send her younger sister, Karen, to med school. When funds are short, she returns to what she knows best-street fighting. But when Karen is suddenly found murdered, Kristi is determined to avenge her death, venturing into seedy corners of the city to bring the deranged killer to justice. This Hong Kong-style fight flick (shot in the US) has rightly earned cult classic status for Don Niam’s over-the-top performance as Stingray, a psychopathic Kung Fu master who murders young women and saves their eyeballs in his fish tank. (Buy it at Amazon.com)

WINNERS AND SINNERS (DVD – Joy Sales [HK])
Starring: Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, Cherie Chung

Sammo Hung, Richard Ng, Chin Hsiang Lin, John Sham and Fung Shui Fan team up in this screwball comedy as the “Five Lucky Stars”, a ragtag band of two-bit criminals who met in jail. After their release, they formed a cleaning company and tried to make an honest living but instead spend most of their time engaging in embarrassing shenanigans and groping women, especially one in the shape and size of Cherie Chung. In the meantime, they inadvertently get caught up in a counterfeiting scam when a thug in possession of the plates is chased by a cop (guest starring Jackie Chan) and throws them into their truck. (Buy it at HKFlix.com)