valentino the last emperor Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Crank: High Voltage (Two-Disc Special Edition)
With Gamer out in theaters, the mini-debate about Neveldine and Taylor -- mad geniuses of action cinema or destroyers of all that is visually coherent? -- can continue. Never-say-die Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) comes roaring back to life for another adrenaline-fueled adventure, accompanied once again by the very game Amy Smart. It's the only new mainstream film out on DVD today, so be prepared to fight like a dead man if you want to rent a copy at your local shop. Also on Blu-ray. Rent it.

Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon

Valentino: The Last Emperor
Why not try something a little more refined, a little more elegant, a little more ... Valentino? The legendary fashion designer himself is showcased in Matt Tymauer's doc, and by all accounts he's a charismatic, charming personality. In other words, no need to fear if you feign little interest in fashion; the film is more interested in listening to Valentino talk than in delineating the vagaries of changing styles, which may help explain why it became a box office success. Also on Blu-ray. Rent it.

Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon

The Quick and the Dead
Sharon Stone got the lion's share of the attention during the film's original 1995 release, but her star billing could not eclipse the burning talents of young Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, not to mention the villainous Gene Hackman and the incredible supporting cast, including Gary Sinise, Pat Hingle, Lance Henriksen, Keith David, and Tobin Bell (the future Jigsaw). It all hangs on the ferocious, audacious direction by Sam Raimi. New on Blu-ray. Buy it.

Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon

Indies on DVD, more Blu-ray picks, and Collector's Corner -- all after the jump!

After time off for good behavior, Indie Roundup returns with an opinionated look at recent news.

Awards. The Cinema Eye Honors seek to recognize "the breadth of the [documentary] genre." Their second annual awards were handed out on Sunday, with James Marsh's superb Man on Wire deservedly taking home prizes for Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking, Production, and Editing. Ari Folman's Waltz with Bashir received awards in the International Feature, Direction, and Graphic Design and Animation categories. Yung Chang's Up the Yangtze won the Audience Choice Award and Debut Feature Film honors, while Werner Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World was recognized for Peter Zellner's cinematography. More information on the films is available at the official site of the Cinema Eye Honors.

Deals. IFC Films acquired Alexis Dos Santos' Unmade Beds and plans to make it available via their IFC in Theaters or IFC Festival Direct on demand offerings later this year, according to indieWIRE. Dos Santos previously made Glue, which drove me nuts with its motion-sickness handheld camera work, but his work has won critical acclaim and may, come to think of it, play better on television rather than on a big screen. Heresy, I know. Unmade Beds is described as "an exuberant, warmly romantic film about youth culture."

Adam Wingard's Pop Skull, "a sonic fury of abstracted imagery bathed in menacing splashes of light and sound," has been picked up by Halo-8 Entertainment and will received a limited theatrical release before hitting DVD in July. The description comes courtesy of my friend Collin Armstrong at Twitch. The film follows an Alabama drug addict battling personal demons and, oh yeah, murderous ghosts in his house. We've embedded the trailer below (if you dare).

After the jump: A fashion doc, a film critic, and Gen Art.