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After making several violent Hong Kong action films in the style that’s come to be known as heroic bloodshed, Ringo Lam came to Hollywood to make his first American film with Belgian martial arts star Jean-Claude Van Damme. MAXIMUM RISK, like Van Damme’s previous DOUBLE IMPACT, is the story of twin brothers. Unlike the earlier film–in which he played brothers with contrasting characters–here he’s a French policeman, Alain Moreau, who takes on the identity of his dead brother, Mikhail. They were separated at birth when their mother, Chantal, played by veteran French film actress Stephane Audran, gave one up for adoption to a Russian diplomat. He grew up to become a member of the new Russian Mafia operating out of the Little Odessa section of New York City. When Mikhail is murdered in France after a wild chase through the streets, Alain goes to New York, where he’s assumed to be Mikhail by everyone from the local Russian crime boss to his brother’s beautiful girlfriend, Alex (Natasha Henstridge). Working with a seemingly unlimited budget for car crashes, Lam stages the action scenes with a kinetic flair and smartly knits them together with the help of sharp editing by Bill Pankow. (1 hr. 45 min.)

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Screwball comedy meets film noir in the lighthearted movie WATCHING THE DETECTIVES. Cillian Murphy forgoes the menace of past roles in RED EYE and BATMAN BEGINS to play film buff Neil. He’s so busy watching and quoting movies that life is passing him by. Enter Violet (Lucy Liu, KILL BILL VOL. 1), a free-spirited beauty who doesn’t even own a TV. Opposites (inevitably) attract, and soon Neil’s life is thrown into fun-filled chaos. Violet believes in living life, not watching others do so, and her energetic approach has an effect on Neil.

First-time director Paul Soter (of Broken Lizard comedy troupe fame) helms this film that’s a love letter to cinema’s past. Violet is a modern-day femme fatale to Neil’s naïve sap. His movie geek status gives the film license to reference everything from the strange (TOXIC AVENGER IV: CITIZEN TOXIE) to the classic (BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID). Despite its good intentions, insider references, and strong cast, WATCHING THE DETECTIVES can’t quite reach the heights of the essential films it puts on a pedestal. But with its lighthearted feel, it’s not really about that. The best moments in WATCHING THE DETECTIVES come when Neil indulges the cinephile within, especially when he’s joined by partners-in-crime played by Jason Sudeikis and Michael Panes. (1 hr. 33 min.)

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Sparks fly and walls tremble in this Peach release that gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “heavy artillery.” These girls are packing alright, and their explosive arsenal is unleashed as soon as they unsnap their bras for some erotic fun that’s rated DD.

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From the 1960s to the ’80s, Filmation Animation Studio produced some of the most beloved Saturday-morning cartoons, including HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE and FAT ALBERT AND THE COSBY KIDS. Presented here are some of the company’s early adaptations of DC Comics superheroes, rendered in the studio’s instantly recognizable animation style. This collection includes 18 action-packed cartoons featuring the exploits of crusaders such as Hawkman, Justice League, Teen Titans, Green Lantern, and the Flash.

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Indie rock-loving, graphic novel-reading Jay Brooks (Anthony Montgomery) often feels like the only black guy on the block; his hobbies and interests tend to land him in a sea of white women. Frustrated after yet another break-up with a fair-skinned lady, Jay decides to quit white girls altogether, and attempts instead to woo a quirky, half-Puerto Rican woman. In order to win her heart, however, he’ll have to look into his own–and realize his commitment issues may never have been race-based at all.

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