Mandrill (Marko Zaror) on DVD and Blu Ray

[The Amazing Psycho Per]

Well the titles sums it up. According to amazon the movie will be released by Magnet (Magnolia pictures) on both format on Feb. 28 2012... Better late then never I guess.

http://www.amazon.com/Mandrill-Marko-Zaror/dp/B006A9XTSA/ref=sr_1_3?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1323967017&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.com/Mandrill-Blu-ray-Marko-Zaror/dp/B006A9XTT4/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1323966969&sr=8-13

[ShaOW!linDude]

Finally!!!!!!! Glad you found this!

[ToryK]

Sir, you just made my effing day, 'cause I've been waiting for this for a long, long time. Thank you!

[ShaOW!linDude]

Wow! Somehow I missed this news and only discovered it today. I've been waiting for this!

Here's a review of the Blu-ray on Twitch.

http://twitchfilm.com/reviews/2012/02/blu-ray-review-mandrill.php

[KUNG FU BOB]

Next week. Yes! My son and I saw this at the Phill Film Festival. Fun, but obviously done very much on the cheap. It is a case of taking one step back in my opinion (KILTRO 7/10, MIRAGE MAN 7.5/10, MANDRILL 6.5/10), but still fun.

[ShaOW!linDude]

Finally!!!!!!! Glad you found this!

Wow! Somehow I missed this news and only discovered it today. I've been waiting for this!

Wow!.........did I have a massive brain fart between the time of these 2 posts or what?

[KUNG FU BOB]

Wow!.........did I have a massive brain fart between the time of these 2 posts or what?

We both know- you lose brain cells as you get older brother.

I did see your double posts, but decided against being the obnoxious friend that pointed it out. But since you did...

Don't worry, in a week I'll post to let you know that it's out, and you can be very surprised and happy... again... for the third time.

[ShaOW!linDude]

Don't worry, in a week I'll post to let you know that it's out, and you can be very surprised and happy... again... for the third time.

Cool beans! Thanks, bro!

Um.......what are you talking about? What's coming out?

[KUNG FU BOB]

Got the MANDRILL (2009) BD and here are my thoughts/review...

I actually enjoyed it more this second time around (I first saw it at the Philly Film Festival with my son a couple of years ago). I really enjoy the films of star Marko Zaror and director Ernesto Díaz Espinoza (both from Chile). They often seem deadly serious in their presentation, but there's always a sly satirical thread through each one of their three films. They're never silly, but there are always parts that are very dryly funny. Zaror is 6' with a muscular build, but he moves like Yuen Biao or Brad Allen, performing jaw-dropping gravity-defying acrobatic kicks and strikes. He moves with an almost balletic smoothness, yet his strikes almost always look brutally powerful. He's a surprisingly good (and brave) actor, and his subtle comic timing is wonderful. He manages to look both ruggedly handsome (my wife thought he was very easy on the eyes) and a bit brutish at the same time. He has super hero-like exaggerrated features, yet they are marred/accentuated by a scar that connects his eyebrows. If you haven't seen any of his films, I highly recommend you check them out. He also turned up in a terrific role as cocky, crazed, Tango-loving fighter Raul 'Dolor' Quinones in the ass kicking film UNDISPUTED III: REDEMPTION.

MANDRILL follows Zaror and Espinoza's first two collaborations- KILTRO (2006) and MIRAGE MAN (2007). I don't want to ruin this fun film with any spoilers, which makes it difficult to present a synopsis. So I'll just say that Zaror appears to be a James Bond type that is looking to avenge his parents' murder. He plays a Mr. Smooth sort in this, but with a totally believable human side to his character. Unlike a lot of action films where romance elements seems forced and awkward, Zaror always comes across great. He has palpable chemistry with the actresses he works with, and I always find myself rooting for him to "get/win over the girl". He plays a very different role in this than in his other films, and shows with each film that he's not just a one dimensional actor that was only hired primarily for his martial artist abilities (yup, I'm looking at you Don "The Dragon" Wilson... ... among many others). The film has an enjoyable '70s vibe (though it seemingly takes place now), beautiful location shooting, and a nice over all look to it. Zaror has a great screen presence and brings "the cool" in heaps, joining other magnetic performers like Bruce, Clint Eastwood and Steve McQueen in having that certain something. The action, which Zaror choreographs along with his team of stuntmen, is stunning. None of that wire nonsense, ridiculous editing, nor too tight shots here. The action is very clearly filmed and executed, with a nice sprinkling of slow-motion shots here and there. It's also a pleasant change that although Zaror plays a very capable combatant, he doesn't just wipe out every opponent like Steven Seagal is famous for doing. He sometimes comes up against other skilled fighters that he has to actually make an effort to beat. There is a slightly long lull in the action in the middle of the film, but it comes back strong at the end. One of the MA highlights is seeing Zaror fight three capoeira students simutaneously!

The film was shot on HD video, then processed to look like '70s style film. The BluRay looks magnificent with great colors, black levels and good details in textures. The film's audio tracks are a Spanish language DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and a DTS-HD MA 5.1 English dub (that I didn't bother to check out). The English subs are timed nicely and are presented in an easy-to-read font. The special features are as awesome to watch as they are disappointingly short. There's a bit of "behind the scenes/making the fights" footage that's split into two features- Behind the Scenes (2:32) and Anatomy of a Fight Scene (7:24). This footage is fascinating to watch, but it all amounts to only 10 minutes! I could easily have watched an hour of this stuff. The US trailer is also included.

I give MANDRILL a 7.5 out of 10.

[Lionclaw]

Got the MANDRILL (2009) BD and here are my thoughts/review...

I actually enjoyed it more this second time around (I first saw it at the Philly Film Festival with my son a couple of years ago). I really enjoy the films of star Marko Zaror and director Ernesto Díaz Espinoza (both from Chile). They often seem deadly serious in their presentation, but there's always a sly satirical thread through each one of their three films. They're never silly, but there are always parts that are very dryly funny. Zaror is 6' with a muscular build, but he moves like Yuen Biao or Brad Allen, performing jaw-dropping gravity-defying acrobatic kicks and strikes. He moves with an almost balletic smoothness, yet his strikes almost always look brutally powerful. He's a surprisingly good (and brave) actor, and his subtle comic timing is wonderful. He manages to look both ruggedly handsome (my wife thought he was very easy on the eyes) and a bit brutish at the same time. He has super hero-like exaggerrated features, yet they are marred/accentuated by a scar that connects his eyebrows. If you haven't seen any of his films, I highly recommend you check them out. He also turned up in a terrific role as cocky, crazed, Tango-loving fighter Raul 'Dolor' Quinones in the ass kicking film UNDISPUTED III: REDEMPTION.

MANDRILL follows Zaror and Espinoza's first two collaborations- KILTRO (2006) and MIRAGE MAN (2007). I don't want to ruin this fun film with any spoilers, which makes it difficult to present a synopsis. So I'll just say that Zaror appears to be a James Bond type that is looking to avenge his parents' murder. He plays a Mr. Smooth sort in this, but with a totally believable human side to his character. Unlike a lot of action films where romance elements seems forced and awkward, Zaror always comes across great. He has palpable chemistry with the actresses he works with, and I always find myself rooting for him to "get/win over the girl". He plays a very different role in this than in his other films, and shows with each film that he's not just a one dimensional actor that was only hired primarily for his martial artist abilities (yup, I'm looking at you Don "The Dragon" Wilson... ... among many others). The film has an enjoyable '70s vibe (though it seemingly takes place now), beautiful location shooting, and a nice over all look to it. Zaror has a great screen presence and brings "the cool" in heaps, joining other magnetic performers like Bruce, Clint Eastwood and Steve McQueen in having that certain something. The action, which Zaror choreographs along with his team of stuntmen, is stunning. None of that wire nonsense, ridiculous editing, nor too tight shots here. The action is very clearly filmed and executed, with a nice sprinkling of slow-motion shots here and there. It's also a pleasant change that although Zaror plays a very capable combatant, he doesn't just wipe out every opponent like Steven Seagal is famous for doing. He sometimes comes up against other skilled fighters that he has to actually make an effort to beat. There is a slightly long lull in the action in the middle of the film, but it comes back strong at the end. One of the MA highlights is seeing Zaror fight three capoeira students simutaneously!

The film was shot on HD video, then processed to look like '70s style film. The BluRay looks magnificent with great colors, black levels and good details in textures. The film's audio tracks are a Spanish language DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and a DTS-HD MA 5.1 English dub (that I didn't bother to check out). The English subs are timed nicely and are presented in an easy-to-read font. The special features are as awesome to watch as they are disappointingly short. There's a bit of "behind the scenes/making the fights" footage that's split into two features- Behind the Scenes (2:32) and Anatomy of a Fight Scene (7:24). This footage is fascinating to watch, but it all amounts to only 10 minutes! I could easily have watched an hour of this stuff. The US trailer is also included.

I give MANDRILL a 7.5 out of 10.

Sounds alright but I need to know is this worth a blind buy. About how many fight scenes are there and is there a decent final battle?

[ShaOW!linDude]

Excellent review, KFB! Couldn't agree more, especially about the extra features. Love stuff like that.

@ Lionclaw

Just posted my own review. Hope it helps. (It's definitely worth a blind buy, bro.) Here's the link.

http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?p=185861#post185861

[KUNG FU BOB]

Sounds alright but I need to know is this worth a blind buy. About how many fight scenes are there and is there a decent final battle?

I'd say so. But ShaOW!linDude gives you the action breakdown (very nicely I might add) here: http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?p=185861#post185861

Excellent review, KFB! Couldn't agree more, especially about the extra features. Love stuff like that.

Thanks man.

Yeah, it was kind of like a tease! Isn't this great?! That's it.

[blue_skies]

Apologies if someone has already mentioned this I don't want to get spoiled. Is Mandrill an English language film or like Zaror's previous efforts Spanish?

[DeathFuMaster]

Apologies if someone has already mentioned this I don't want to get spoiled. Is Mandrill an English language film or like Zaror's previous efforts Spanish?

This is a Spanish Language film, but it does come with an awful English Dub haha.

[blue_skies]

This is a Spanish Language film, but it does come with an awful English Dub haha.

much appreciated:smile: