A couple of weeks ago, Warner Bros invited me to take a look at the Clint Eastwood 35 films 35 years at Warner Bros collection which is now available on DVD or for download on iTunes and Playstation 3. At first glance, the name seems like a catchy gimmick, but with one glance at the iTunes page you see the large and varied list of movies Clint has participated in.

Many of us know Clint’s more famous films, but while he may be famous for particular lines in his westerns, his dramatic films are just as strong. Letters from Iwo Jima, Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River and A Perfect World to name a few. In glancing over the large list, I realized just how many of his films I have yet to see.

For this article, Warner Bros sent me a download code for iTunes. The hardest part is deciding which movie to purchase. Downloading gives you two cost effective options. You can either rent the movie ($2.99 on iTunes) for a lessor price or purchase the movie ($9.99 on iTunes).

I chose to download Heartbreak Ridge. The process for purchasing is easy but you will want to plan ahead because it did take some time to download (I have an average connection). Once it’s downloaded the quality of the movie is excellent. The movie plays in a window that can easily be enlarged to full screen.

If you would rather own all 35 films in a great looking set, you can purchase it at the Warner Bros store for $149.95. That makes it about $4.29 a movie. Not a bad deal! The boxed set also comes with a documentary about Eastwood’s life and career created by Richard Schickel.

The documentary is narrated by Clint’s friend and Invictus star, Morgan Freeman. The film looks at Clint through the ages but be careful if you don’t want spoilers! Many of the sections completely spoiled movies I have not seen yet but are on my list. One can tell that this film was made with care and with friendship. Richard has worked with Clint in the past and says that Clint was pleasant to work with and has a humor about his old films. You get to see that humor when he talks about his various old costumes.

Clint Eastwood has had an amazing career from spaghetti westerns to creating 35 films with Warner Bros. But don’t think he’s slowing down! He is already working on two other films. I definitely recommend to take the time and take a look at all 35 films and catch up on ones you may have missed.

Review copy supplied by Warner Bro.

On Jan 9th, we were treated to a two hour special made for TV movie Saigo no Yakusoku (The Last Promise), in which the five singers play individuals trapped inside the main office building of a major biofuel company while it locked down by terrorists.

Taking on the roles of a janitor (Satoshi Ohno), a delivery driver (Matsumoto Jun), an insurance salesman (Sakurai Sho), a coffee shop employee (Aiba Masaki) and security systems engineer (Ninomiya Kazunari), the five heartthrobs attempt to save the rest of the hostages before the ninety minute counter on the bomb runs down.

The boys are no strangers to the big and small screens of Japan. Most notably Nino’s Hollywood debut in Letters to Iwo Jima and Jun’s role as Tsukasa in the Hana Yori Dango series and follow-up movie.

If you are a fan of ARASHI, add this to your must-see list.

Original Air Dates: Jan 9, 2010
Number of Episodes: Made for TV Movie
Genre: Suspense Drama
Broadcast Network: Fuji TV

Asian Film Festival of Dallas

The 8th Annual Asian Film Festival of Dallas kicks off July 17 and runs through July 23. You can find out all the information of the various events at http://2009.affd.org

One of the things you can do is see the live action screening of films Ichi and Mushi-shi. Ichi will be on Friday, July 17, 2009 at 9:30pm.

Here is a little about the story:
ICHI –
She cuts through darkness in search of light.

Beautiful Ichi wanders blindly from village to village, searching for the sightless swordsman who long ago taught her to kill. Her technique is exquisite and explosive, her defenses as impenetrable as the darkness in which she moves. Many along her solitary path are touched – some by the sound of her delicate music, others by the edge of her lethal blade. Also starring Shidou Nakamura (Letters from Iwo Jima), with original music by Lisa Gerrard (Gladiator, Dead Can Dance).

Mushi-Shi is showing Wednesday, July 22 at 3:30 pm. Both events are at the Magnolia Theater in Dallas.