I am loving the first season of Hung, I knew I would enjoy it after seeing the excellent opening credit suggestion (phallic imagery anyone?) and the use the Black Keys song I'll Be Your Man.

My favourite Asian DVD retailer DDDHouse currently having a Blu-Ray sale.  At the moment you can pick the Blu-Ray releases of the three Bruce Lee classics The Big Boss (Wei Lo, 1971), Fist of Fury (Wei Lo, 1972) and The Way of the Dragon (Bruce Lee, 1972).  Considering their age and the reputation that the Hong Kong film industry has for preserving films they all look very strong, particularly The Big Boss which has a high level of detail.  With shipping, you can order each title for under £9 delivered; it is cheaper to order all three at the same time.  Be aware that all of these Blu-Ray discs are Region A encoded.  Reviews, containing screenshots, for each of the Blu-Ray discs can found over at DVD Beaver.  Don't be tempted by the cheap prices for the Blu-Ray releases of Jackie Chan's excellent Police Story series.  The discs are nothing more than upconverts of the Fortune Star DVD releases.

A few weeks ago I received what was thought to be the last HD-DVD release.  In September 2009, director Gary Ugarek announced that he intended to release his latest film Deadlands 2: Trapped (2008) as a 500 piece limited edition HD-DVD.  This caused quite a stir amongst HD format aficionados who thought this would be the last official HD-DVD release.  As the release was touted as being 'limited' a number of people decided to pre-order the HD-DVD in order to secure a copy.  Over the course of the year the release faced a number of difficulties, the most problematic being the difficulty in finding a plant to replicate the HD-DVD.  This led to the release being a burned HD-DVD-R rather than a pressed HD-DVD.  Surprisingly, this led a number of people to withdraw their pre-orders presumably because the release lacked the authenticity of a 'genuine' release.  I had completely forgot about the release until I received a shipping confirmation from Anthem Pictures.

The package is very nicely presented, coming with a certificate of authenticity that states that I have number 186 out of the 500.  Also included was a printed flyer for the film.  I haven't had a chance to check the disc out yet, I haven't bought it for the film but purely out of curiosity for it being the last HD-DVD release.  Despite the long wait I find this idea to be a novel one for independent film makers, using an all but obsolete format that has a decent following.  It is therefore not surprising that the makers of an independent documentary called Smokers (Michael Bilinski, 2010) have chosen to follow a similar path.  The only difference is that it will a factory pressed HD-DVD.  Perhaps this will be the last official HD-DVD release?

The Smokers HD-DVD can be ordered from here.

Each trailer gets better and better.

Oliver Stone's Platoon has finally been released on DVD but is currently only available in Hong Kong.  My copy arrived from DDDHouse, the best online Asian DVD retailer, yesterday and despite the video being MPEG-2 encoded the picture quality is very nice indeed.

No, it's not my handiwork but I did help get them produced. 

One of the funniest scenes in the history of comedy cinema.

I have just finished watching season three of Breaking Bad and firmly believe that it is the best television show currently being aired.  The show focuses on high school chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston) who upon learning that he has lung cancer decides to 'break bad' and cook crystal methamphetamine with a former student in order to provide money for his struggling family.  The show has similar production values to AMC's excellent Mad Men and is brilliantly written, lensed and acted.  I am not quite sure I have ever felt such unease when watching a television show; it is never clear what could happen next and places the viewer firmly on the edge of the seat.  It is also extremely funny and also touching.  Cranston's performance is currently unmatched on American television and the supporting cast is equally as strong.  The episode 'Fly', directed by Rian Johnson, director of the film noir inspired Brick (2005), was a particular stand-out for me.  Season three has ended on an unsurprisingly tense cliffhanger.  I am not looking forward to waiting eight months for the next episode to air in the US.  At least season three of True Blood has now started and will help make the wait more bearable. 

On the 5th June we went to see Jonah Matranga at The Hare and the Hounds in Kings Heath.  The venue was perfect, it was a small intimate performance and the set list was ideal.  But the big surprise of the evening was the support act Howard James Kenny.  Most support acts I have seen over the past 15 years have been very bland.  Perhaps the most memorable band was the Texan alternative rock band And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead who supported the Foo Fighters at the Birmingham Academy in 2000.  Armed with two acoustic guitars, a microphone and an array of effects pedals, Howard James Kenny played one of the captivating sets of music I have ever seen.  Using loops and other effects he created the sound of a band.  The small crowd were quiet and appeared to be equally as fascinated with him.  We were so impressed that we purchased his album at the end of night.  The stand out tracks were My Wrongs and Good Fortune.  Videos of both are below.  I really believed that I had seen something special and I am eager to see him continue his career.  I look forward to his next album.

I thought the ending could have been tighter but the presentation went well.  Watch at your own peril.