VexilleAfter premiering at Cannes in 2007, Fumihiko Sori's Vexille traveled the world, got a limited US release in February, and has now, finally, arrived on DVD. Set in Japan during the year 2077, Vexille is a female agent sent to Tokyo to determine whether Japan is developing robotic technology that has been banned by the UN -- this after being dumped by the UN and lurking under a satellite cloaking device.
The flick is all sorts of pretty; it's got women as the two main heroes, and a score by Paul Oakenfold, which makes the whole deal even more tasty. Reviewing it from TIFF, Scott said the film has "the most eye-popping animation this side of Miyazaki." How can you beat that?
Well, you could beat that with a disc or two full of special features, but unfortunately, this is all we're getting for the time being. Just the movie. However, if you demand special features on your discs, and happen to have a region-free player, there IS a Region-3 2 DVD version with a Making of featurette, interview, CG images, and trailers.
Check out Scott's review | Buy the DVD
George A. Romero's Diary of the DeadThis is the week of TIFF 2007 releases that Scott reviewed -- and this one just happened to start with: "Fear not, Romero junkies. The old guy still has it." Ripped free of the sequellic restraints of Night, Dawn, Day, and Land, Diary of the Dead is a stand-alone film that follows a group of students who head into the woods to make a horror movie. Unfortunately, this quest is complicated by some nasty zombies. Kids, zombies, an old alcoholic prof and a scythe-wielding Amish guy -- that's what you get.
There have been some dissenting opinions about the quality of this flick, but there is a slew of special features to further occupy you. You can check out the obligatory trailers, a commentary with Romero, Adam Swica, and Michael Doherty, MySpace contest video winners, character confessions, featurettes, interviews, background audio recordings from the likes of Stephen King, Simon Pegg, and Guillermo Del Toro, and finally, a 5-part documentary on the films particulars, from makeup to casting.
Check out Scott's review | Buy the DVD
Other New DVD Releases (May 20)
National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets
The Air I Breathe
1. It took me a few seconds to remember that I saw Vexille at TIFF as well. It really is a visually great film, with a fairly coherent storyline. It was pretty predictable though, but that's not why you watch this one. It could be double-billed with Renaissance from the previous year's TIFF for decent movies that are great to watch.
Posted at 2:31PM on May 20th 2008 by Astin