Julian Michaels (Bruce Willis) has designed the ultimate resort: VICE where anything goes and the customers can play out their wildest fantasies with artificial inhabitants who look think and feel like humans. When an artificial (Ambyr Childers) becomes self-aware and escapes she finds herself caught in the crossfire between Julian's mercenaries and a cop (Thomas Jane) who is hell-bent on shutting down Vice and stopping the violence once and for all.
Writer-director Sam Raimi's extremely stylized, blood-soaked follow-up to his creepy Evil Dead isn't really a sequel; rather, it's a remake on a better budget. It also isn't really a horror film (though there are plenty of decapitations, zombies, supernatural demons, and gore) as much as it is a hilarious, sophisticated slapstick send-up of the terror genre. Raimi takes every horror convention that exists and exaggerates it with mind-blowing special effects, crossed with mocking Three Stooges humour. The plot alone is a genre cliché right out of any number of horror films. Several teens (including our hero, Ash, played by Bruce Campbell in a manic tour-de-force of physical comedy) visit a broken-down cottage in the woods--miles from civilization--find a copy of the Book of the Dead, and unleash supernatural powers that gut every character in sight. All, that is, except Ash, who takes this very personally and spends much of the of the film getting his head smashed while battling the unseen forces. Raimi uses this bare-bones story as a stage to showcase dazzling special effects and eye-popping visuals, including some of the most spectacular point-of-view Steadicam work ever (done by Peter Deming). Although it went unnoticed in the cinemas, the film has since become an influential cult-video favourite, paving the way for over-the-top comic gross-out films like Peter Jackson's Dead Alive.--Dave McCoy
Sin City 1: Robert Rodriguez Frank Miller and Quentin Tarantino direct an amazing cast of big –screen favourites (Bruce Willis Jessica Alba Mickey Rourke Clive Owen Brittany Murphy Benicio Del Toro Rosario Dawson and more!) in this acclaimed and visually stunning hit that’s straight from the pages of Miller’s hop series of “Sin City” graphic novels. Sin City 2: Co-directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller reunite to bring Miller’s “Sin City” graphic novels back to the screen in SIN CITY 2: A DAME TO KILL FOR. Weaving together two of Miller’s classic stories with new tales the town’s most hard boiled citizens cross paths with some of its more reviled inhabitants in this visually stunning thrill ride. With an all-star cast including Eva Green Josh Brolin Mickey Rourke Rosario Dawson Jessica Alba Bruce Willis Powers Boothe Joseph Gordon-Levitt Ray Liotta Jeremy Piven and Dennis Haysbert.
David Jason is the gritty and dogged Detective Inspector Jack Frost a man who has little time for paperwork or the orthodox approach. Featuring the complete series 6 of A Touch Of Frost. Episodes include: Appendix Man One Man's Meat Private Lives Keys To The Car.
It's hard not to feel there's something wrong when Army of Darkness, the third entry in Sam Raimi's lively Evil Dead series, opens with a 15 certificate. And indeed, this is not quite the non-stop rollercoaster of splat we're entitled to expect. Like Evil Dead II, it opens with a digest-cum-remake of the original movie, taking geeky Ash (Bruce Campbell) back out to that cabin in the woods where he is beset by demons who do away with his girlfriend (blink and you'll miss Bridget Fonda). Blasted back in time to 12th century England, Ash finds himself still battling the Deadites and his own ineptitude in a quest to save the day and get back home. Though it starts zippily, with Campbell's grimly funny clod of a hero commanding the screen, a sort of monotony sets in as magical events pile up. Ash is attacked by Lilliputian versions of himself, one of whom incubates in his stomach and grows out of his shoulder to be his evil twin. After being dismembered and buried, Evil Ash rises from the dead to command a zombie army and at least half the film is a big battle scene in which rotted warriors (nine mouldy extras in masks for every one Harryhausen-style impressive animated skeleton) besiege a cardboard castle. There are lots of action jokes, MAD Magazine-like marginal doodles and a few funny lines, but it lacks the authentic scares of The Evil Dead and the authentic sick comedy of Evil Dead II. On the DVD: Army of Darkness may be the least of the trilogy, but Anchor Bay's super two-disc set is worthy of shelving beside their outstanding editions of the earlier films. Disc 1 contains the 81-minute US theatrical version in widescreen or fullscreen, plus the original "Planet of the Apes" ending, the trailer and a making-of featurette. Disc 2 has the 96-minute director's cut, with extra slapstick and a lively, irreverent commentary track from Raimi, Campbell and co-writer Ivan Raimi, plus yet more deleted scenes and some storyboards. The fact that the film exists in so many versions suggests that none of them satisfied everybody, but fans will want every scrap of Army in this one package. --Kim Newman
When Nikki Collins witnesses a murder the absence of a body undermines her credibility in the eyes of the police. Undeterred Nikki seeks the help of a popular crime fiction writer. Includes the famous songs: 'Silent Night Holy Night' 'Give Me A Little Kiss' and 'Night And Day'.
Within These Walls offered an authentic portrayal of day-to-day prison life as well as the progress of the penal system reflecting the shift from a Victorian ethos of punishment to an emphasis upon rehabilitation. Focussing on the trials of a newly appointed governor and her attempts to liberalise the regime of Stone Park H.M. Prison for women Within These Walls was a huge success for LWT and would set the template for later series such as Prisoner: Cell Block H and Bad Girls; the series is still fondly remembered more than 30 years after its original screening. Googie Withers (The Lady Vanishes) stars as the principled and compassionate prison governor Faye Boswell whose task is to understand and help the women who find themselves in the closed world of Stone Park. With strong writing and direction Within These Walls remains a high point of British television drama. The third episode of this series - Nowhere for the Kids - no longer exists in any format but its script is included in PDF format on Disc One as a special feature.
Ruthless lawyer Henry Turner is left an amnesiac after being shot when caught up in a store robbery. Trying to rebuild his life Henry must learn to walk again tie his shoelaces and become a better husband...
Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton are a pair of thieves on the run from prison. Their bank robbing exploits make them firm favourites with the public, particularly Cate Blamchett who sees in them an escape from her dull life.
The second series of investigations featuring the gruff detective. Episodes comprise: 'A Minority Of One' 'Widows And Orphans' 'Nothing To Hide' and 'Stranger In The House'.
This paranoia-fuelled thriller, more intelligent and imaginative than you would have reason to believe, owes a huge debt to The Stepford Wives with its premise of a goody-good high school clique programmed by an evil doctor to be wholesome, academically driven and shining examples of clean living. Unlike its predecessor, though, David Nutter's film opts to open up its premise for everyone to see, diluting the scares but amplifying the creepy atmosphere. There's never any question of what's happening to the students of Cradle Bay High, who go from being druggies and sex fiends to the academically excellent Blue Ribbons, but it's a lot of fun to see these programmed teens run amok--and start killing people--when their hormones kick in. And considering they're all horny teenagers, this happens, oh, at least a few times a day. Model-perfect James Marsden, with stunning cheekbones and piercing blue eyes, is the new kid in town who stumbles on the plot with a little help from metalhead Nick Stahl. Moody Marsden stirs up trouble when he refuses to join up with the Blue Ribbons, prompting his concerned parents to consider signing him up for the program, especially after it turns Stahl into a vest-wearing, pep-rallying brainiac. The satire isn't entirely fulfilled (the evil kids hang out at the yoghurt shop and spout inspirational platitudes), but once the action kicks in it's quite an enjoyable ride, thanks primarily to Bruce Greenwood (The Sweet Hereafter) as the mad scientist behind it all and Katie Holmes (Go) as Marsden's love interest. Refusing the advances of the star football player and fighting gamely alongside Marsden, Holmes manages to deck a few bad guys with a fervour that squarely puts her in Linda Hamilton and Jamie Lee Curtis territory. Steve Railsback stars as the colluding chief of police and Dan Zudovic as a janitor with a penchant for getting rid of "rats," rodent and otherwise. --Mark Englehart, Amazon.com
Hedonism isn't just for breakfast anymore. Or so learns TV commercial director Paul (Peter Fonda) on his first LSD trip: a mind-blowing passage through surreal images and stroboscopic light shows... Written by Jack Nicholson and directed by Roger Corman 'The Trip' takes you to a whole new world of extreme beauty and sheer terror on a passport the size of a stamp!
It's 10pm the night before Walnut Lakes neighbourhood supermarket closes its doors forever. The owners and night crew have a long shift ahead of them - longer than they think. Weird things start happening. The phone lines are cut, and the night crew start dying, one by one, in the most gruesome ways imaginable.
A whimsical fantasy, revolving around the world of Bingo, House (2000) was slipped innocuously into the UKs staple cinematic diet of gangster movies and period dramas and emerged as a genuinely charismatic and immensely likeable film, blissfully content with its small-scale ambitions, not to mention lottery money well spent. Linda (Trainspottings Kelly MacDonald) is devoted to her job at the faltering La Scala Bingo Hall in rural Wales, which provides a welcome escape from her domineering aunt. Facing stiff competition from a rival hall, La Scalas owner Mr. Alanzi (the wonderful Freddie Jones) is at a loss of how to save his beloved home, but Lindas discovery of an unexpected gift could reverse their fortunes. Effortlessly charming and perfectly cast, House weaves its spirited feel-good tale with an eclectic set of characters (Jason Hughes flamboyant star number caller, Mossie Smiths monstrous flirting colleague), while delivering a realistic glimpse of what makes a place special and memorable. Highly enjoyable, this is a small-scale gem.On the DVD: Director Julian Kemp delivers a competent, if sometimes rambling commentary that delivers the goods about a straightforward production. Other than six trailers, theres the chance to glimpse Kemps short-film Suckers, a suitably wry and cynical look at the world of door-to-door salesmen. --Danny Graydon
Fresh out of jail motor-mouth con man Gabriel Cane (Woods) sets up a bet with local gangster John Gillon (Dern) in which ageing prize fighter 'Honey' Roy Palmer must knock out 10 opponents within 24 hours. The con is on but exactly who is scamming who?
David Jason is the gritty and dogged Detective Inspector Jack Frost a man who has little time for paperwork or the orthodox approach. This release features all the episodes from Series Five of A Touch of Frost. Episode titles: Penny For The Guy House Calls True Confessions No Other Love.
With more than a decade of cinema in Basic Instinct's wake it's fascinating to look back at just how influential Paul Verhoeven's "erotic thriller" has been. The director's endless fight with censorship and unwillingness to kowtow to social mores meant his movies became notorious for graphically depicting sex and violence while pushing contemporary boundaries of taste. This whodunit about a bisexual femme fatale (Sharon Stone in a career-best performance) caused an enormous furore on its release; but after years of generally inferior imitations there's not much in it that seems quite so shocking now. It's perhaps best appreciated in retrospect more for its Hitchcockian style than the steamy sex. On the DVD: one of the most welcome elements of the disc is an acknowledgement of the film's own influences--from Hitchcock's Vertigo to Verhoeven's own The Fourth Man. The print is far superior to the previous release, looking magnificent in 1:78.1. Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar-nominated score sounds terrific in either 5.1 or DTS, as does Verhoeven's thick accent on the first commentary track alongside then Director of Photography Jan De Bont (Speed), who together reminisce on locations and manipulating their actors' performances. A second commentary from feminist critic Camille Paglia is a brave way of putting paid to the gay/feminist community uproar. There are some standard inclusions (trailer, production notes, photo gallery etc) but far more interesting are two mini-documentaries; "Cleaning Up Basic Instinct" shows how and why the TV version was so dull, while "Blonde Poison" focuses on the film's making and marketing. Finally, there are three storyboard comparisons and nine minutes of screen tests for Stone and Tripplehorn. This is the definitive release of an oft-cited modern classic. --Paul Tonks
On a snowy Christmas Eve in the nation's capital, a team of terrorists has seized a major International Airport, and now holds thousands of holiday travellers hostage. The terrorists, a renegade band of crack military commandos led by a murderous rogue officer (William Sadler), have come to rescue a drug lord from justice. They've prepared for every contingency, except one: John McClane, an off-duty cop seized by a feeling of deadly de-ja-vu. Bruce Willis returns as the heroic cop who battle...
Crimson Tide: Superstars Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman face off in the intense action-thriller Crimson Tide. Viggo Mortensen and James Gandolfi ni also star as the full-throttle tension builds relentlessly! Amidst a global crisis, the USS Alabama is ordered to launch its nuclear missiles - signaling the start of World War III! And when the sub's commander and his executive offi cer clash over the validity of their orders, an epic struggle for control erupts under the sea. The ...
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