DVD Collectors Online

Audition, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Audition: Uncut Special Edition
Year: 1999
Director: Takashi Miike
Rating: Unrated
Length: 110 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: Japanese: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Japanese: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
Ryo Ishibashi
Eihi Shiina
Tetsu Sawaki
Jun Kunimura
Renji Ishibashi
Miyuki Matsuda

Plot:
A middle-aged widower is urged by his teenage son and a film producer friend to start dating again. They devise a plan to hold a phony film audition to meet new women. The widower falls for a beautiful ballerina with a suspicious past, and their courtship veers from polite romance to psycho-nightmare!

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Bonus Trailers
Featurettes
Gallery
Interviews
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:
I have been curious about this film for some time now. Seen several good reviews for it. And I basically agree. Though I did have a bit of trouble with the subtitles. I am a rather slow reader so there was some pausing and rewinding going on... even though most the dialog was fairly short and to the point.... some of it was not. I like how they built up this movie... basically going from a drama to a psychotic horror movie. There is some graphic violence in this one. It is a pretty disturbing film. And it is one that will leave you thinking well after the movie is over. If you never seen this one... it is definitely worth checking out.



(From The Movies From Within My Lifetime on April 21st, 2011)

One Night Stand, a review by Rich

One Night Stand



Max is a happily married and successful man with two healthy children. However, on a business trip to New York, he meets the beautiful Karen and they embark on a brief affair. On his return home he finds his life different and he begins to withdraw from the people closest to him, even though he and Karen had vowed to forget the relationship. A year later he returns to New York to comfort his hospitalised best-friend and finds himself face-to-face with Karen...

Better than I anticipated, Snipes was the wrong lead for this film, but the other characters were convincing, and Downey in particular gives a strong and moving performance.
A good storyline, basically an inter-racial NY romance, developing into more following the surprise meeting of the couple with their partners at a dying mans hospital bed.
I am not to aware of Mike Figgis' work, but on the back of this will try and source Leaving Las Vegas, which critically was more successful than this movie.
 

(From Riches Random Reviews on January 19th, 2009)

"Due South" marathon, a review by Tom

1.07 Chicago Holiday - Part 1 (1994-11-10)
Writer: Paul Haggis (Created By), Jeff King (Writer), Paul Haggis (Writer)
Director: Paul Lynch
Cast: Paul Gross (Constable Benton Fraser), David Marciano (Detective Ray Vecchio), Beau Starr (Lt. Harding Welsh), Daniel Kash (Detective Louis Gardino), Tony Craig (Detective Jack Huey), Catherine Bruhier (Elaine), Lisa Jakub (Christina Nichols), Stacy Haiduk (Janice DeLuca), Ron Lea (Mr. Nichols), Deborah Rannard (Medical Examiner), Peter Williams (Gerome), Stephen Shellen (Eddie Beets), Jonathan Shapiro (Teenager), Daniel DeSanto (Jerry), Kelly Proctor (Janus), David Rosser (Quigly), Beth Amos (Housekeeper), Kevin Rushton (Henry)

Another good episode. Nice gag with naming the housekeeper "Mrs. McGuffin"
This is the episode Kathy didn't like. I haven't watched the second part yet this time around, but at least in the first part, the diplomat's daughter doesn't know yet, that she has killers after her (except if I had missed something). She just runs away again and again, because she doesn't want to be babysit and rather go out partying. For now the two storylines with Ray searching for the killer and Ben escorting the daughter are separate as far the characters is concerned.


Rating:

(From "Due South" marathon on July 5th, 2009)