Home Media Magazine - March 16-22, 2008 - (Page 21) www.homemediamagazine.com REVIEWS scenes in Black Hawk Down. Trane’s varied skills in the art of killing, be it hand-to-hand combat or from the end of a blazing gun barrel, are simply savage. The weaponry used by both the bad guys and our war hero runs the gamut from serrated knives to Russian Kalashnikov machine guns, and the action is intense, even unpredictable at times. One of the villains, Juju (Cimarro), who has turned our hero’s sister Caridad (Cotto) into his wife and prostitute, is one of the most despicable characters in the film. As the plot develops, you can’t help but chuckle as Juju becomes more and more frustrated at continually losing in a combat video game. This is a definite dude flick, targeted toward the profitable 16-35 male audience. The soundtrack is well produced, highlighting a Spanish-language rap theme that gradually transcends into a one-off of a Gypsy Kings flamenco guitar sonata that rounds out a mournful tone at the end of the film. Our hero Trane asks, “Is it wrong to pray for revenge?” Not if you’re making an action film. – Brett Sporich I ROCKAWAY Street 3/18 First Look, Action, $28.98 DVD, NR. Stars Nicholas Gonzalez, Ricardo Chavira, Mario Cimarro, Oleg Takarov, Delilah Cotto. T he writer-director team of Joshua and Jeffrey Crook has graduated during the past five years from comedies to thrillers and now to the actiondrama genre in their latest film, Rockaway. Trane (Gonzalez) is a highly decorated war hero who becomes a one-man army seeking revenge on the corrupt officials and criminals who murdered his wife and child, turned his home into a brothel and his neighborhood of Rockaway, Queens, into a crackinfested slum while he was away fighting America’s foes in the mountains and caves of Afghanistan. While the storyline is predictable, the photography and acting are a cut above your typical $2 million-budget fare, and the special effects employed in the combat flashback sequences are framed in a stark and realistic hue that is reminiscent of those horrific I SISTER AIMEE: THE AIMEE SEMPLE MCPHERSON STORY Prebook 3/21; Street 4/22 Maverick, Drama, $16.98 DVD, NR. Stars Mimi Michaels, Joe Gonzalez, Rance Howard. O f all the strange Hollywood scandal stories that kept tabloids and gossip hounds busy during the first part of the 20th century, one of the morenotorious stories had nothing to do with movies. The odd tale of famed evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson is set in the world of organized religion. McPherson was a Los Angeles evangelist and founder of the Foursquare Church. She preached to the seriously faithful every Sunday, aided by radio transmitters at her church. Known for her dramatic style and supposed power to heal through God’s will, McPherson also was known to allow non-whites into her following, leading to threats from white-supremacist organizations. Her personal life made McPherson equally as famous, especially her alleged affair with a fellow church worker. When McPherson disappeared from a Los Angeles beach one day in 1926, she was presumed drowned. When she showed up some time later and claimed she had been kidnapped, the story didn’t hold up under scrutiny, and accusations were made that she was off with her lover. The full truth of the incident remains a mystery, but McPherson’s Foursquare Church organization still stands, though she died long ago. Sister Aimee employs a camcorder to fictionalize the story, and a sepia tone designed to match the filmmaking style of the period. The story takes us through McPherson’s journey from agnostic to believer. Michaels plays the title role with a believable, spooky innocence. Though the movie sometimes looks as lowbudget as it really is, the story remains fertile for exploration, and this film frequently captivates and engages, reminding us again that celebrity gossip wasn’t invented yesterday. – Dan Bennett I BEATLES: THE JOURNEY ELVIS ON ELVIS JOHNNY CASH: THE LINE Street 3/18 Well Go USA, Music, $12.98 DVD each, NR. his series of biographies of music legends may be unofficial, but they contain a lot of material that should appeal to true fans. At $12.98 each, the price sure is right. The programs are cobbled together through a combination of interviews and archival footage most people probably haven’t seen. T The quality of the recordings varies due to the obscure nature of the footage. Some of it comes from home movies, some from kinescope recordings off of televisions. As far as libraries of random footage go, these are more watchable than most. Musical performances are thrown in for good measure. Beatles: The Journey contains no original Beatles music but does offer a few songs aping the Beatles’ style. Johnny Cash: The Line runs for just less than an hour; Elvis on Elvis and Beatles: The Journey each clock in at just less than two hours. The Elvis disc also includes bonus footage. Elvis on Elvis covers the entire life of The King, from him discussing his childhood ambitions, to friends describing his last days. Johnny Cash: The Line gives us footage of various ceremonies honoring Cash before his death. About half of Beatles: The Journey is devoted to reactions to the deaths of John Lennon and George Harrison. The Lennon section offers not only a remembrance of a music producer who was set to meet with Lennon the night he died, but also a chilling interview with Mark David Chapman, Lennon’s killer. – John Latchem March 16–22, 2008 Home Media Magazine 21 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
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