Over the course of the past week, I was able to have some unique video acquisitions.

First was Invincible, originally a made-for-television movie that was later released on video.

This film is a surreal martial arts fantasy, rife with cliches and rip-offs from more popular film and video game fare, such as The Matrix and Mortal Kombat.

However, I do love both Billy Zane and Byron Mann to pieces, so I contented myself with the hunky eye candy and the display of varied martial arts techniques.

Second was Kill Bill: Volume 1. Finally, it arrived in our area after waiting for more than two months since the home video edition was released last April.

I suppose this is some sort of an appetizer for the local premier of Volume 2 next month. I am already raring to catch the David Carradine goodness, he who portrays the suave, sleek, debonair and very, very deadly Bill.

Anyway, here is the Amazon.com summary of Invincible for the curious:

Invincible stars Billy Zane in an invigorating martial arts fantasy about the ultimate fight of good versus evil.

Os (Zane) is a martial arts expert whose life purpose is to train a band of misfits to fight the ultimate evil. Once part of the Shadowmen, a cult of dark angels who want to destroy the Earth, Os was shown “the Way” and gave up his immortality to help mankind.

Now, Os and his students must take on his former friend, Slate, the ultra-powerful leader of the Shadowmen, in a battle to save the world.

The movie also stars Byron Mann and features amazing fight scenes staged by renowned martial arts choreographer Tony Ching.

At the dawn of the Millennium, the nation collapsed. At 15% unemployment, 10 million were out of work, 800,000 students boycotted school. The adults lost confidence, and fearing the youth, eventually passed the Millennium Educational Reform Act a.k.a. The Battle Royale Act.

This is the dystopic future in which Battle Royale takes place. Also known as Batoru Rowaiaru, it was originally a bestselling novel by Koushun Takami.

The first film, directed by Kinji Fukasaku, premiered in Japan on 16 December 2000. The sequel, Battle Royale II, was helmed by Fukusaku’s son Kenta and it was released on 5 July 2003. There is also a manga version available.

The novel, manga and first movie’s plots are basically the same, wherein the 9th Grade Class 3-B from Shiroiwa Junior High School goes on a field trip only to be gassed unconscious in the bus. They come around on an island where their teacher Kitano informs them that they have been placed in Battle Royale, a competition in which each is given a different weapon and they must kill each other until only one is left alive.

The BR franchise was a cult hit not only in Japan but also in other parts of the world.

Battle Royale’s popularity is largely due to the stylized, graphically gory first movie. Amazon.com has the following review:

With the Japanese currently leading the way in thought-provoking cinematic violence, it’s only fitting that Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale is being touted as a Clockwork Orange for the 21st century.

Based on the novel by Koushun Takami, the film opens with a series of fleeting images of unruly Japanese schoolchildren, whose bad behavior provides a justification for the “punishments” that will ensue.

Once the prequel has been dispensed with, the classmates are drugged and awaken on an island where they find they have been fitted with dog collars that monitor their every move.

Instructed by their old teacher (“Beat” Takeshi) with the aid of an upbeat MTV-style video, they are told of their fate: after an impartial lottery they have been chosen to fight each other in a three-day, no-rules contest, the Battle Royale.

Their only chance of survival is through the death of all their classmates.

Some pupils embrace their mission with zeal, while others simply give up or try to become peacemakers and revolutionaries. However, the ultimate drive for survival comes from the desire to protect the one you love.

Battle Royale works on many different levels, highlighting the authorities’ desperation to enforce law and order and the alienation caused by the generation gap.

To end this post on a positive, uplifting note, I would like to wish my fellow Filipinos: Happy Philippine Independence Day!

Earlier today, I was able to catch Van Helsing in the local cinema.

This monster action movie has Hugh Jackman (Wolverine in the X-Men films) in the title role as Gabriel Van Helsing. Kate Beckinsale (Selene in Underworld) played Transylvanian princess Anna Valerious, while Richard Roxburgh was the hero’s nemesis, Count Dracula.

Van Helsing’s sidekick, the friar Carl, was portrayed by David Wenham, who captivated audiences as Gondor steward Faramir in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Van Helsing was quite a pulse-quickening thrill ride, very well complemented by its powerful soundtrack and cutting-edge special effects.

I loved the way classic creatures such as Dracula, Mr. Hyde and the Frankenstein Monster were integrated into the plot with fresh storylines of their own. My favorite of them all is the latter, into whom actor Shuler Hensley breathed fierce, poignant and heartbreakingly beautiful life.

Here is the Amazon.com film summary:

Van Helsing pits legendary vampire hunter Gabriel Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) against Dracula (the deliciously campy Richard Roxburgh), his deadly blood-sucking brides, and the Wolfman (Will Kemp).

In alliance with a Transylvanian princess (Kate Beckinsale) and the Frankenstein monster (Shuler Hensley), Van Helsing must prevent Dracula from hatching his bat-winged progeny.

Earlier tonight, I was able to buy an original video CD copy of the 2003 action film Underworld.

The movie is topbilled by Kate Beckinsale as the vampire death-dealer Selene and Scott Speedman as immortal-in-the-making Michael Corvin.

My favorite character is, without a doubt, the vampire lord Viktor. He was played by the charismatic, magnificent, scene-stealing Bill Nighy.

This film never fails to entertain me, although I have already seen it a number of times when it was being run in the theaters.

Rumor on the Internet has it that a sequel for Underworld is currently in the works.

Personally, I would like to see just how powerful the new “Corvinus” will turn out to be, as pitted against the last Vampire Elder, Marcus, who was referred to in passing as a “descendant of (the first) Corvinus.”

Here is the Amazon.com film summary for Underworld:

Underneath the city streets, amid the labyrinth of subway tunnels and gothic ruins, the two most notorious creatures of the night are embroiled in an all-out war that has been going on for centuries.

It is the culmination of a blood-thirsty battle between the vampires and their mortal enemies, the werewolves.