Over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theatre in December 1983, filmmaker Jonathan Demme joined creative forces with cinematographer Jordan Cronenweth and Talking Heads ... and miracles occurred. Following a staging concept by singer-guitarist David Byrne, this euphoric concert film transcends that all-too-limited genre to become the greatest film of its kind. A guaranteed cure for anyone's blues, it's a celebration of music that never grows old, fuelled by the polyrhythmic pop-funk precision that was a Talking Heads trademark, and lit from within by the geeky supernova that is David Byrne. The staging--and Demme's filming of it--builds toward an orgasmic release of music, rising from the bare-stage simplicity of Byrne, accompanied only by a boom box on "Psycho Killer" to the ecstatic crescendo of "Burning Down the House", by which time the Heads and additional personnel have all arrived on stage for a performance that seems channelled from heaven for the purpose of universal uplift. (God bless Demme for avoiding shots of the luckiest audience in 80s pop history; its presence is acknowledged but not at the viewer's expense.) With the deliriously eccentric Byrne as ringleader (pausing mid-concert to emerge in his now-legendary oversized suit), this circus of musical pleasure defies the futility of reductive description; it begs to be experienced, felt in the heart, head and bones, and held there the way we hold on to cherished memories. On those three nights in December 1983, Talking Heads gave love, life, and joy in generous amounts that years cannot erode, and Demme captured this act of creative goodwill on film with minimalist artistic perfection. Stop Making Sense is an invitation to pleasure that will never wear out its welcome. --Jeff Shannon
San Ferry Ann: A motley crew of British characters ride The San Ferry Ann to the shores of France where they embark on a weekend of calamity. This is a humorous take on the tradition of the British get-away and is a true classic of the ‘sound effect’ comedy. Simon Simon: Two handyman cause chaos on a new crane whilst haphazardly trying to accomplish jobs for their ever more frustrated boss. A Home Of Your Own: In this satirical look at British Builders, many cups of tea are made, windows are broken and the same section of road is dug up over and over again by the water board, the electricity board and the gas board.
An alien (David Bowie) arrives on Earth in search of water to save his own dying planet. Assuming the name Thomas Jerome Newton he forms a lucrative partnership with patent attorney Farnsworth (Buck Henry). While they build a financial empire Thomas plans to build a ship that will return him to his home world. However he begins to fall prey to earthly pleasures and failings.
While other films directed by Nicolas Roeg have attained similar cult status (including Walkabout and Don't Look Now), none has been as hotly debated as this languid but oddly fascinating adaptation of the science fiction novel by Walter Tevis. In The Man Who Fell to Earth, David Bowie plays the alien of the title, who arrives on Earth with hopes of finding a way to save his own planet from turning into an arid wasteland. He funds this effort by capitalising on several highly lucrative inventions, and in so doing becomes the powerful leader of an international corporate conglomerate. But his success has negative consequences as well--his contact with Earth has a disintegrating effect that sends him into a tailspin of disorientation and metaphysical despair. The sexual attention of a cheerful young woman (Candy Clark) doesn't do much to change his outlook, and his introduction to liquor proves even more devastating, until, finally, it looks as though his visit to Earth may be a permanent one. The Man Who Fell to Earth is definitely not for every taste--it's a highly contemplative, primarily visual experience that Roeg directs as an abstract treatise on (among other things) the alienating effects of an over-commercialised society. Stimulating and hypnotic or frightfully dull, depending on your receptivity to its loosely knit ideas, it's at least in part about not belonging, about being disconnected from the world--about being a stranger in a strange land when there's really no place like home. --Jeff Shannon.
One might reasonably expect Tomcats to be the Porky's of 2001: after all, it concerns a group of young, sexist morons and their fears and fantasies about young women. But Tomcats isn't quite as brain-dead as that, though it is phenomenally more neurotic. Jerry O'Connell plays one of two remaining bachelors within a group of wealthy pals who set aside a cash reward, years before, earmarked for the last among them to get married. O'Connell needs the money to pay off a gambling debt, but his problem is that the other bachelor is a horrendous pig (Jake Busey) unlikely ever to land a gal. A general mean-spiritedness flows through this wearying comedy, manifest in such ugly moments as watching someone's girlfriend run over by a golf cart and an excised, cancerous testicle kicked around hospital hallways. If you're looking for female flesh, however, forget it: Tomcats is far more driven to explore male nudity, while making equally naked today's masculine fears of impotence, mothers and lesbians. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
In the latest comedy from the Farrelly brothers, two conjoined twins find their brotherly bond tested when one of them decides to head to Hollywood to become a movie star.
A hilarious Soul Cinema send-up this ultra-slick urban action comedy blows 70's blaxploitation movies right out of the 'hood! Featuring the very funny Wayans family (Keenen Damon and Kim) Bernie Casey Antonio Fargas Isaac Hayes Jim Brown Ja'net DuBois David Alan Grier Kadeem Hardison and Chris Rock I'm Gonna Git You Sucka is a perfect "mixture of nostalgia silliness and genuinely unpredictable humor" (The New York Times). Jack Spade a goody-goody war hero with medals for short-hand returns to the ghetto to discover that his brother Junebug has OG'd (Over-Golded on jewelry). Jack swears revenge against the local gang boss Mr. Big and sets off to enlist an army of Shaft Superfly and Black Caesarlook-a-likes that is. They don't come easy cheap or young but they do have nice clothes and enough firepower left in them to practically destroy Mr. Big's Big Brim Bar where the bad guys wear you guessed it big hats!
The Man Who Fell To Earth is Nic Roeg's science-fiction cult classic starring David Bowie. Crash landing on Earth from his dying planet an alien humanoid traveling by the name of Thomas Jerome Newton uses his superior intelligence to build a vast business empire. As he takes on and beats every US corporation people can only guess his true purpose - to save his dying world from agonizing death by drought. Newton's ageless fall from grace as he becomes prey to lust alcohol business rivals and the US Government makes The Man Who Fell To Earth not only a bitingly caustic indictment of the modern world but also a poignant commentary on the loneliness of the outsider.
A hilarious Soul Cinema send-up this ultra-slick urban action comedy blows 70's blaxploitation movies right out of the 'hood! Featuring the very funny Wayans family (Keenen Damon and Kim) Bernie Casey Antonio Fargas Isaac Hayes Jim Brown Ja'net DuBois David Alan Grier Kadeem Hardison and Chris Rock I'm Gonna Git You Sucka is a perfect "mixture of nostalgia silliness and genuinely unpredictable humor" (The New York Times). Jack Spade a goody-goody war hero with medals for short-hand returns to the ghetto to discover that his brother Junebug has OG'd (Over-Golded on jewelry). Jack swears revenge against the local gang boss Mr. Big and sets off to enlist an army of Shaft Superfly and Black Caesarlook-a-likes that is. They don't come easy cheap or young but they do have nice clothes and enough firepower left in them to practically destroy Mr. Big's Big Brim Bar where the bad guys wear you guessed it big hats!
Widely regarded as one of the best of the Road To series Bing and Bob play two song and dance men who are forced to leave Melbourne in rather a hurry in order to avoid various marriage proposals which have come their way and so sign on as deep sea divers working for a Balinese prince. Whilst he hopes that they will manage to locate a chest of lost treasure that lies at the bottom of a bay he omits the fact that it is guarded by a sea monster. Or that if they do manage to locate it
Who is Newton? Arriving one day at a remote Kentucky town Newton has soon hired a New York lawyer to help him found a mysterious industrial empire using his advanced technological advantage. As he takes on and beats every major US corporation people can only guess at his true purpose. Initially his noble intention is to save his dying world from agonising death by drought but soon Newton agelessly falls from grace as he becomes prey to lust...
An all-star cast lights up the screen with irresistible laughter and charm in the heartwarming comedy The Cemetery Club. When three spirited widows throw caution to the wind and go in search of eligible bachelors they discover that the transition from mating to dating is a tricky proposition filled with unexpected surprises. Academy Award winners Olympia Dukakis 1987 Best Supporting Actress (Moonstruck) and Ellen Burstyn 1974 Best Actress (Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore) plu
Scott Barnes is an alcoholic turned social worker hellbent on saving a young boy named Tommy from self-destructing when he finds out he has begun selling crack cocaine in an organisation run by Carlos. Posing as a drug dealer to infiltrate their ranks Scott soon discovers that Tommy isn't the only victim; hundreds of children have been abducted and freeing them all is going to take a miracle!
Guess Who (Dir. Kevin Rodney Sullivan 2005): Percy Jones (Bernie Mac) takes great pride in the knowledge that he is always right especially when it comes to the welfare of his family. When his daughter Theresa (Zoe Saldana) brings her new boyfriend Simon Green (Ashton Kutcher) home to meet Percy and his wife Marilyn (Judith Scott) he is unaware that Simon has already popped the question and plans to announce the engagement at Percy and Marilyn's 25th anniversary party. A
The Still Of The Night: Documentary on the life and times of Bing Crosby. Road To Bali: Bob Hope Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour team up in their sixth ""Road"" picture Road To Bali which was the only film in the series to be shot in colour. Hope and Crosby star as two out-of-work vaudeville performers who are on the lam. The two are hired by a South Seas prince as deep-sea divers in order to recover a buried treasure. They meet beautiful Princess Lala (Lamour) and vie
There's a war going down in the hood. A local basketball hero caught deep in the drug game gets his best friend killed when he couldn't pay a debt. Now Dakota Smith is fighting mad and he's going up against Slim the big pimp and Felix a cold-booded assassin to save the young man's life.
Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure: Bill and Ted are two cool dudes, but to their teacher they are high school no-hopers. They fantasise about forming a band called 'Wyld Stallyns' - one day they'll put themselves together and learn to play guitar. But unless Ted achieves the seemingly impossible and passes a history presentation, he will be shipped off to military school. End of friendship. ; A figure from the future appears in the nick of time, providing a time-travelling phone booth...
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