John Wayne as Ghenghis Khan? Miscasting out to rent on DVD

Captain America - The First Avenger
Out to rent on DVD and Blu ray

Hot on the heels of Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and more, the fifth installment of a series films spanning the Marvel Comics Universe sees the rising star that is Chris Evans take on the role of Steve Rogers, the man who, when deemed unfit to participate in military action during World War Two, takes part in top secret research instead.

The result, of course, is that he is transformed into the Captain America that we all know and love - a superhero determined to protect the world from the enemies of American ideals.

It's a prospect many people would be justified in baulking at in light of the devastation Geroge W. Bush wreaked while apparently on the same mission, but director Joe Johnston may have given it just enough time - and care - to make it work.

The film trades a nice line in nostalgia for the comic book vintage of yore, while carefully sidestepping any references to contemporary troubles in favour of the now common enemy that is the Nazi party.

In a more character-based narrative than its contemporaries, steady performances from Evans and his supporting cast of Hugo Weaving and Hayley Atwell give the production a solidity many gung-ho action flicks lack these days - not celestial enough for some, perhaps, but a beautifully earthy movie for it.

Escapee
Out to rent on DVD

Campion Murphy writes and directs this below-average stalker flick about Jaxon (Dominic Purcell) an escaped mental patient who develops a bloodthirsty obsession with psychology student Abby Jones (Christina Evangelista).

Plodding storylines, wooden acting and some truly disappointing moments of supposed gore fail to elevate this to the levels of intesity to which it aspires, an aspiration which prevents it from becoming the cult B-movie treat it could have been.

The next escape, from the depths of the bargain bin, will be much trickier.

The Conqueror
Out to rent on DVD

John Wayne stars, amazingly, as Ghenghis Khan in this 1956 turkey telling the story of the Mongol emperor's lust for women and warfare.

Roundly panned by critics at the time and still to this day considered one of the worst films of the 1950s - if not all time - Dick Powell's The Conqueror comes out to rent on DVD this week.

This comes as something of a surprise seeing as, out of shame, co-producer Howard Hughes kept the film completely under wraps until its 1974 television debut.

Many die hard John Wayne fans will cite as far more interesting the controversy regarding the cancer 'epidemic' which wiped out 91 of the 220 cast and crew members, including Wayne himself, allegedly due to the use on the set of sand contaminated by fallout from nuclear tests.

With this in mind it's perhaps harder to marvel at the sheer brilliance of a film so comprehensively awful that it never ceases to amaze - there is not a single Asian actor in it, and Wayne, resplendent in Fu-Manchu moustache and heavily altered eyes, plays Khan with all the cowboy swagger of Roster Cogburn.

Its release will no doubt cause an admittedly small controversy of its own, but it is one the Hollywood archivists out there will be no doubt relishing.

Salt of Life
Out to rent on DVD

Gianni di Gregorio's latest offering, a Woody-Allen esque take on romance and fantasy, sees the director himself play the lead role of the gloomy househusband whose dictatorial mother and underwhelming marriage lead him to seek life and love outside of the marital home.

This charming and highly amusing take on the effects of ageing on the red blooded male follows on from his successful previous effort, Mid-August Lunch as di Gregorio wanders through parks and streets looking not just to avoid the haranguing of his elderly mother, but for a youthful satisfaction which has long since passed him by.

Thankfully, this film never strays into the Benny Hill-esque creepiness of the desperate old man, and instead radiates an emotional depth it is very difficult to deny.

Yumurta
Out to rent on DVD

This first installment of what is to be known as the 'Yusuf trilogy' sees Turkish director Semih Kaplanoglu tell the story of poet Yusuf, who here returns to his home village to attend his mother's funeral.

Wracked with guilt and unsettled at the unexpected presence of Ayla, a teenage cousin who had been living with his mother, Yusuf and his new companion embark on a journey to Istanbul to complete the ritual sacrifice which his mother was unable to carry out.

Yumurta (simply 'Egg' in English), is part of a trilogy released in reverse chronological order, with Milk and Honey 'preceding' it, has featured in many a Film festival since its 2007 release, and it's easy to see why.

Weighty performances from Nejat Isler as Yusuf and Saadet Isil Aksoy under inspired direction make for a film which just begs you follow Yusuf along his other two journeys.

And the rest
more new dvd releases this week:

Out to rent on DVD
Pulse
Villain.

Comments