MVD bares it all with the Skinmax Double Feature of FORBIDDEN PASSIONS and LURID TALES: THE CASTLE QUEEN (review)

Virtual reality gets sexy with this Skinmax double feature.  In FORBIDDEN PASSIONS, software designer Mara dies in a fire while hooked up to her VR program and is given the chance to help her users with their sexual problems on the virtual plane.  In LURID TALES: THE CASTLE QUEEN, a stressed out college student tries a VR rig and wakes up in medieval England as the guest of a sexy widow and her sisters who use their charms to fend off enemies who try to steal their land.

REVIEW LINK: MVD Visual (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVDCompare)

FORBIDDEN PASSIONS/LURID TALES: THE CASTLE QUEEN DVD specs:

• 16:9 Anamorphic 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Video Trailers

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Acorn Media solves whodunits with HARRY WILD: SERIES 1 AND 2 (review)

Jane Seymour is retired literature professor Harry Wild who takes a troubled teen under her wing as she turns into an amateur detective investigating crimes under the nose of her detective son in this AcornTV original series.

REVIEW LINK: Acorn Media (UK) Region 0 PAL DVD (DVDCompare)

HARRY WILD - SERIES 1 AND 2 DVD specs:

• Twelve episodes on four dual-layer DVDs
• 16:9 anamorphic 2.00:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
• Behind the Scenes featurettes
• Picture Gallery
  

88 Films salutes YES, MADAM! (review)

Michelle Yeoh is a Hong Kong cop who teams up with an American copy played by Cynthia Rothrock to track down the killer of their mentor with the unwelcome help of a trio of bumbling thieves.

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

YES, MADAM! Blu-ray specs:

• Hong Kong Version:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen 
• Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (theatrical mix), Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (home video mix), and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (home video mix)
• Optional English Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by Hong Kong film expert Frank Djeng
• Export Version:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen 
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (classic dub) 
• Select Scene Commentary by actress Cynthia Rothrock and Frank Djeng on the Airport Scene 
• Select Scene Commentary by actress Cynthia Rothrock and Frank Djeng on the Final Fight Scene 
• Introduction by actress Cynthia Rothrock 
• "Battling Babes" featurette 
• Interview with actress Michelle Yeoh 
• "Ladies First" interview with actor Mang Hoi 
• "A Team Player" interview with actress Cynthia Rothrock 
• Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer
  

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88 Films goes on duty with ROYAL WARRIORS (review)

A Japanese cop bent on avenging his slain partner teams up with a Hong Kong female police officer in pursuit of a pair of deadly Japanese thieves in this early example of the "Girls with Guns" genre starring Michelle Yeoh.

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

ROYAL WARRIORS Blu-ray specs: 

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• Cantonese/Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (theatrical mix), Cantonese/Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (alternate mix), English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (new dub), and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (classic dub) 
• Optional English Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng 
• English "In the Line of Duty" Title Sequence 
• Missing Airplane Scene Inserts 
• Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer 
• English Theatrical Trailer

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Acorn Media investigates WHITSTABLE PEARL: SERIES 1 AND 2 (review)

Having given up her dream of being a police officer in London when she got pregnant, Pearl Nolan has been running a restaurant in her home village of Whitstable for the last twenty years with her mother.  With her son about to go off to college, Pearl decides her second act will be as a private detective but she becomes the chief suspect when her seafood supplier is found dead and tangled in his nets.  Over two series of twelve episodes, Pearl butts heads with "down from London" police detective Mike McGuire in a battle of professionally-honed instincts versus insider knowledge.

REVIEW LINK: Acorn Media (UK) Region 0 PAL DVD (DVDCompare)

WHITSTABLE PEARL SERIES 1 AND 2 DVD specs:

• Twelve episodes on four dual-layer DVDs
• 16:9 Anamorphic 2.00:1 Widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English HoH Subtitles
• Behind the Scenes for both series
• Image Galleries
  

Fun City Editions aims a handgun DEEP IN THE HEART of Texas (review)

Kathleen moves from Boston to Dallas to teach high school where she is introduced to Larry, a handsome attorney whose love of guns is more than a hobby.  When he rapes her at gunpoint, Kathleen decides to take revenge on her own terms in this atypical deconstruction of the rape-revenge film and satire of American gun culture.

REVIEW LINK: Fun City Editions (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

HANDGUN Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historians Erica Shultz and Chris O'Neill 
• Archival interview with producer/writer/director Tony Garnett 
• Image Gallery 
• Theatrical Trailer 
• Comes with a booklet featuring a new essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas. 
• The first pressing includes and a limited edition slipcover with newly-commissioned front and back artwork by Tom Ralston.

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Film Movement and Rainer Werner Fassbinder crack the case of KAMIKAZE 89 (review)

Filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder had his first film lead and final acting role in 1982's KAMIKAZE '89.  Loosely based on Per Wahlöö's "Murder on the 31st Floor", the film finds Fassbinder as alcoholic police lieutenant Jansen investigating a bomb threat against The Combine, the monolithic company that controls all arts, news, and entertainment for The Federal Republic of Germany.  He's got "ninety six hours to crack his last case... his time's already up."

REVIEW LINK: Film Movement/Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

KAMIKAZE 89 Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 widescreen
• German LPCM 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• Audio Commentary by producer Regina Ziegler
• Hour documentary "Rainer Werner Fassbinder: The Last year"
• Theatrical Trailer
• John Cassavetes' Radio Spots for KAMIKAZE 89
• Previews
• Booklet by Nick Pinkerton and Samuel B. Prime

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