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The Castle of Fu Manchu, a review by GSyren

The Castle of Fu Manchu (827058-100892)

Spain 1969 | Released 2003-09-30 on DVD from Blue Underground

92 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 1.78:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo

Directed by Jess Franco and starring Christopher Lee, Richard Greene, Tsai Chin, Maria Perschy, Howard Marion-Crawford

Christopher Lee returns as the diabolical super-villain who along with his sadistic daughter Lin Tang (Tsai Chin of THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU and THE JOY LUCK CLUB) creates a fiendish new chemical weapon that will turn the seas into a giant block of ice. But when his Archenemy Nayland Smith (Richard Greene of TALES FROM THE CRYPT) tracks the madman's trail of kidnapping, murder and massive global destruction, he himself becomes trapped in Fu's impenetrable lair of cruelty. Can any of the world's top secret agents (including a wild performance by Director Jess Franco) now stop the cold-blooded terror that lives in the CASTLE OF FU MANCHU? Maria Perschy (99 WOMEN) and Rosalba Neri (JUSTINE) co-star in this notorious sequel to THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU directed by Jess Franco (THE BLOODY JUDGE, VAMPYROS LESBOS) that marked Christopher Lee's final performance as the infamous Chinese madman. This definitive edition of THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU has been newly restored from it's original print and packed with exclusive new Extras for a disc full of Fu Manchu mayhem!

My thoughts about The Castle of Fu Manchu:

I recently got the idea that I should rewatch all five Fu Manchu movies starring Christopher Lee. And I did so in the span of three days. Producer Harry Alan Towers is supposed to have said that Jess Franco managed to do what no one else could - he killed Fu Manchu. And I'm rather inclined to agree, although I think that Towers must bear part of the responsibility. After all, he re-hired Franco for this second film! So, The Castle of Fu Manchu was the nail in the coffin for the Fu Manchu franchise. And when you watch all five films in close order, the start of Castle really makes no sense. But in order to explain why, I need to describe the ending of The Brides of Fu Manchu. In Brides, Fu Manchu has developed a weapon that transmits energy in the form of radio waves. When enough energy is transmitted, the receiver turns the radio waves back into energy with a force of a big bomb. And the explosion is supposed to level a large part of London. But the signal is being jammed, and Fu Manchu orders his henchmen to turn up the output beyond the safe level. Feng (played by Burt Kwouk) protests and tries to retract the lever. Fu Manchu shoots him, and when Feng falls on the lever he pushes it down to the point where Fu Manchu's entire lair is blown sky high. Now, at the beginning of Castle we see the exact same sequence. So is this a flashback? No, because this time the target is not London, but a passenger ship in the Caribbean. And this time the machinery somehow creates an iceberg. So, if this is not a flashback, what is it? Are we supposed to believe that Fu Manchu built a new lair just like the old one, and now commits the same fatal error as he did the last time, in exactly the same fashion? A genius like Fu Manchu? And since he already killed Feng, I guess that this time it's Feng's twin brother being shot? The fact that the sequence showing the stricken ship is actually lifted from the black-and-white movie A Night to Remember (about the sinking of Titanic) doesn't really make things any more believable. Later in the movie there is even more borrowed scenes, a dam collapse lifted from Campbell's Kingdom. I guess Franco (like many a b-movie director) is an acquired taste, and one that I never really have acquired. The only Franco film that I have really liked was The Bloody Judge, also with Christopher Lee. Christopher Lee adds something to any film that he appears in, but even he can't save The Castle of Fu Manchu from being a hopeless mess. Recommended only if you are a Christopher Lee, Jess Franco or Fu Manchu completist. Or if you are a masochist.

I rate this title

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on August 17th, 2015)

The Princess Diaries, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: The Princess Diaries: Special Edition: 2-Disc Collector's Set
Year: 2001
Director: Garry Marshall
Rating: G
Length: 115 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1, Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Julie Andrews
Anne Hathaway
Hector Elizondo
Heather Matarazzo
Mandy Moore

Plot:Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Music Videos
Outtakes/Bloopers
DVD-ROM Content
Closed Captioned
THX
Princess Diaries 2 Sneak Peek

My Thoughts:
I got this movie free when I joined Disney Movie Club. And I haven't watched it since I first got it about 4 or 5 years ago. Decided to watch this one today when I wanted to find one I could watch with Brittany. Ironically while not the best movie I ever seen... I did enjoy this movie. Unlike Brittany... she just couldn't get into it. But I found while this is a movie probably geared more towards teen girls (or at least that is what I thought)... it has some good funny moments for the entire family. I think both Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews did a wonderful job. I also liked Hector Elizondo in his role as well. And what is it about the gym teacher? I swear she looks familiar... but damn if I can place her. And the credits/imdb were of no help to me either. As she really wasn't in that many things.



(From Addicted2DVD's November Alphabet Marathon on November 22nd, 2009)

Veronica Mars Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

Episode 13: Lord of the Bling
"Bone" Hamilton is a gangsta-rap impresario whose hits may include more than CDs. But he's also a desperate father eager to find his missing teen daughter. Logan suspects his mother is alive.

My Thoughts:
This was a pretty good episode... but one where not much happens for the season long mystery. But it does start another multi-episode mystery as well.


Episode 14: Mars vs. Mars
Both can't be right. When one of Veronica's favorite teachers is accused of sexual misconduct, she works to exonerate him while Keith finds details that discredit him. News about Lynn is bad... and good.

My Thoughts:
This was a good episode. Being a father of a daughter... a daughter that is just about to go into her teens... this is a subject matter that truly scares me... because the thought of someone like that taking advantage of my daughter in that way infuriates me even now!

Episode 15: Ruskie Business


My Thoughts:
Decent episode here... nothing really too special though.


Episode 16: Betty and Veronica
Bogart had a Maltese falcon. Veronica has a Neptune parrot. The school mascot is birdnapped just before the big game. From silly to serious: Veronica has found her mother... and more pieces to the puzzle of Lilly's murder.

My Thoughts:
This one was kinda fun...  I enjoyed it. This stealing of school mascots... is this real?... it is something I personally only ever seen on TV... to be honest the highschool where I went didn't even have a mascot... well not a real one at least... but being the Jaguars I guess that is a good thing! :-p

(From Veronica Mars Marathon on August 25th, 2007)