From Deseret News archives:
New, vintage flicks out on DVD
New movie
"Gridiron Gang" (Columbia, 2006, PG-13, $28.95). Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars in this feel-good melodrama about tough kids in a juvenile-detention center who get a chance to learn how to pull together when a probation officer organizes a football team. Predictable but well-acted, although the shaky-cam cinematography gets old real fast. Based on a true story.
Extras: Separate widescreen and full-frame editions, deleted scenes, audio commentary (writer/director Phil Joanou), featurettes, multi-angle football scene
Reissued movie
"Where Angels Fear to Tread" (Image, 1992, PG, $9.99). This was one of my favorites of the '90s spate of prim-and-proper English period pieces, marked by "A Room With a View" and "Howards End." "Angels" also stars Helena Bonham Carter, here in a wicked comedy, in which she plays a companion to a widow (Helen Mirren) traveling in Italy. Unexpected romance ensues. Judy Davis co-stars.
Extras: Widescreen
Foreign films
"The Protector" (Weinstein/Genius, 2006; R for violence, sex; two discs, $29.95). If you saw "Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior," you know that Tony Jaa is an astonishing martial artist, capable of stunts that seem impossible. Unfortunately, he's not a great actor, and this film suffers from the same story and plot and performance problems as "Ong-Bak." But if you can ignore that and just watch his action scenes, you'll be well entertained.
Extras: Widescreen, alternate unrated international version, deleted scene, audio commentary, featurettes, short films, trailer
"Seven Swords" (Weinstein/Genius, 2005, not rated, two discs, $24.95). This Chinese martial-arts epic is way over the top, and extremely violent (there's also some sex), but that won't bother fans of the genre. Directed with flourish by Tsiu Hark and starring Donnie Yen, the story is basically about seven swordsmen who come together to prevent 17th-century Manchurian invaders from slaughtering villages for monetary gain. Superficially similar to "The Seven Samurai," but it quickly goes its own way. Plenty of action.
Extras: Widescreen, deleted/extended scenes, audio commentary (by Hark and Bey Logan), featurettes, storyboard, trailers
Vintage movies
"Rock, Rock, Rock!" (Alpha, 1956, b/w, $6.98). This Alan Freed vehicle is truly awful, with stilted performances, an idiotic story about a high school love triangle and an array of blossoming rock stars who each get one number, and most of whom went nowhere. Highlights are the Moonglows and Chuck Berry, and Tuesday Weld's songs are dubbed by Connie Francis!
