yo-yo girl cop Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Right across the street from my apartment sits a nice, fat, corporate-owned video rental store that I rarely visit. It's conveniently located and if I rent older releases I can keep them for a week, but I've simply fallen out of the habit of renting in person. Online rentals are even more convenient, and if I'm patient, most US releases come to video on demand and eventually premium cable. I could admit that I'm just too lazy to schlep across the street to return my rentals, but I'd rather imagine that I'm trying to stay on the cutting edge.

Recently, though, I ventured into the store. Based solely on its premise, I was predisposed to like Yo-Yo Girl Cop: Japanese schoolgirl recruited as a secret agent for a government organization armed only with a yo-yo. It sounds an entertaining action flick; sadly, director Kenta Fukasaku, son of the late, great Kinji Fukasaku, sucks all the joy out of the concept. The action is shot in the fashionable, quick cut, crazy angle, handheld style, but without any grace or distinguishing rhythm. That's typical of the entire picture, which stitches sequences together without any style, wit, or originality, to diminishing and wearisome effect. The DVD includes a 40-minute "making of" feature that is informative and makes me curious to see the original films and TV show.

Paul Verhoeven's Black Book was just as good as everyone has been saying, including our own Ryan Stewart and Christopher Campbell: a rollicking, humanistic Nazi adventure thriller that sizzles right up until it goes off the rails to deliver a heavy-handed message about man's inhumanity to man (as if the preceding two hours hadn't already made that apparent). I'm sorry I missed it on the big screen, though. Carice VanHouten is stunning.

William Friedkin's Bug was even better than I expected from reading Jette Kernion's review; a mesmerizing descent into madness that I resisted initially. It's so powerfully cohesive, though, and features such amazing, award-caliber performances from Michael Shannon and Ashley Judd that my objections melted away. Friedkin is especially forthcoming about his strengths and weaknesses as a filmmaker in an interview on the DVD, which helped make my trip across the street surprisingly worthwhile.

A lovely, light comedy/drama, Avenue Montaigne is out this week on DVD, and it's my top pick because of one scene. French country girl Jessica (Cécile De France) stumbles onto a rooftop and sees the Eiffel Tower looming across the Seine. The early morning sky is gray and threatening, but it seems like the perfect moment for the sun to burst forth upon our plucky heroine. Instead, the clouds grow darker and a rainstorm soaks her. It's a welcome reversal of expectations, for up until that point it appears Jessica will skip merrily around the upscale Avenue Montaigne forever, making friends and influencing lives with the light touch of an angel. But the rooftop rainstorm -- intercut with wordless images of the other key characters -- makes it apparent that writer/director Danièle Thompson is after something more elusive than simply riffing on Amelie. The DVD includes a "making of" feature and is anamorphic, so it should look gorgeous.

When I wrote about Dynamite Warrior earlier this week, I didn't mean to damn it with faint praise. Among the new releases, it's what I would choose for a weekend party picture rental: gather your friends, shake some cayenne on your popcorn, serve the beverages of your choice and have a cheesy good time with the Thai rocket master of your dreams. You can even be a heretic and (horrors!) play the English dub. Extras include a "making of" feature, "behind the scenes" stunts and on-set footage. Other indie releases that sound like mindless treats include Baxter, a 1989 French horror flick about a bull terrier who can think (?!), and Yo-Yo Girl Cop, a 2006 Japanese action pic about an undercover operative who uses ... wait for it .. a yo-yo as her weapon of choice. Will wonders never cease?