Werner Herzog's lengthy 1982 fever dream is typical of the director's passion for boundless experience: the story concerns the title character's determination to open a shipping route over the Amazon as well as build an opera house (worthy of Caruso) at a river trading post. Klaus Kinski (star of Herzog's Aguirre, the Wrath of God) plays the visionary/madman with a spooky dignity, and Herzog--as always--thrills to the mystic possibilities of filming where no one else would even think of placing a camera. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
As Sauron's evil threatens the whole of Middle-Earth, Frodo and Sam edge nearer to Mount Doom while the Fellowship must defend the human city of Minas Tirith in Peter Jackson's third and final instalment of the Tolkein trilogy.
When Inspector Morse first appeared on television in 1987, nobody could have predicted that it would run into the next century, maintaining throughout a quality of scripts and story lines that raised the genre of the detective series to a new level. Much of its success can be attributed to John Thaw's total immersion in the role. Morse is a prickly character and not obviously easy to like. As a detective in Oxford with unfulfilled academic propensities, he is permanently excluded from a world of which he would dearly love to be a part. He is at odds with that world--and with his colleagues in the police force--most of the time. Passionate about opera and "proper beer", he is a cultural snob for whom vulgarity causes almost physical pain. As a result, he lives from one disillusionment to another. And he is scarred--more deeply than he would ever admit--by past relationships. But he also has a naïve streak and, deep-down sensitivity, which makes him a fascinating challenge for women. At the heart of Morse's professional life is his awkward partnership with Detective Sergeant Lewis, the resolutely ordinary, worldly sidekick who manages to keep his boss in an almost permanent state of exasperation while retaining his grudging respect. It's a testament to Kevin Whateley's consistently excellent performance that from such unpromising material, Lewis becomes as indispensable to the series as Barrington Pheloung's hypnotic, classic theme music. Morse's investigations do occasionally take him abroad to more exotic locations, but throughout 14 successful years of often gruesome murders, the city of Oxford itself became a central character in these brooding two-hour dramas: creator Colin Dexter stating he finally had to kill Morse off because he was giving Oxford a bad reputation as a dangerous place! --Piers Ford
A 65-year-old printer hatches an elaborate scheme to avoid enforced retirement...
August 18 Horn Island. The peace and quiet of a tiny tropical South Pacific island is shattered when a covert scientific-military research operation goes horribly wrong. The only survivors include the scientist behind the formula and the now disgraced officer in charge - the former out to protect the world from his creation and the latter out for revenge. Ten years later two young men find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time when Tim Mason (Skeet Ulrich) and Arlo (Cuba
A lost world that time forgot populated by prehistoric creatures not seen on this earth for 50 million years - that is the astonishing possibility presented by Professor George Edward Challenger (Patrick Bergin) to the Royal Geographic Society of London England. A gruff impossible man Challenger calls for an expedition to prove - or disprove - this incredible claim first presented by Professor White who died on a prior expedition to this supposed lost world. Joined by the effervescent reporter Edward D. Malon the dashing big game hunter Peter Roxton Challenger's nemesis and Professor White's vivacious daughter Amanda (Jayne Heitmeyer) Challenger sets off on a journey to the edge of the earth. The explorers find a land-locked island that time and evolution forgot. By creating a primitive hot-air balloon the hardy adventurers manage to enter this dark cauldron of humanity's infancy venturing on to explore a world of stegosaurs and t-rex brontosaurs and raptors and finally make contact with a race of humanity's ancestors who make human sacrifices to their dinosaur gods. Beaten battered but triumphant Challenger and Amanda White return to England - but report their expedition as a failure. Humanity they have decided is not yet ready for the wonders they have seen.
Bradley Hardacre owner of the brass factory as well as everything else in the town is the most ruthless of men and enjoys a life of luxury much to the disgust of Agnes Fairchild. However her plans to overthrow the Hardacre Empire are thwarted by her husband George who is ever the unswervingly loyal employee. Meanwhile to complicate matters further the loves and passions of the Hardacre girls and the Fairchild sons are heating up with some truly hilarious consequences for everyone concerned.
OK, brace yourself--this could get messy. Craig Burton (Arnold Vosloo, the eponymous vengeful goon in The Mummy) stars here as a dedicated, overworked hospital doctor whose sterling abilities in the emergency room are sadly unparalleled in the bedroom given that he still can't father a child with his spouse Sherry (Jillian McWhirter). Until, that is, he finds himself undergoing a dizzying--and inordinately lengthy--out-of-body experience in the middle of the night. Subsequently troubled by grotesque paranormal visions, Craig is distressed to discover Sherry is pregnant. Convinced his unborn child is, in fact, the product of his wife's abduction by aliens, he's not a happy man. In his fevered state, he first dispatches Sherry to alarming gynaecologist David Weatherly (Wilford Brimley), before visiting both shrink Susan Lamarche (Lindsay Crouse) and alien abduction expert Bert Clavell (Brad Dourif). And from here on in, it gets really dumb. Adorned with the kind of icky, low-rent effects and weird fixation with medical procedure that anyone acquainted with the work of director Brian Yuzna (Society) and scriptwriter Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator) will no doubt already be familiar with, Progeny is a boon for the connoisseur of straight-to-tape nonsense. Just check out that cast-can't you hear the deep, gravelly voice on the trailer now ("Together at last--Crouse. Brimley. Dourif. Vosloo!")? Obviously, anyone after plausible moments of human drama is in entirely the wrong place and, yes, both the direction and performances are erratic to put it politely (Vosloo appears in a state of near-catatonia throughout), but, in its own, stomach-turning, sub-Rosemary's Baby kind of way, Progeny is a prime example of sci-fi/horror nonsense at its best (and most nonsensical). --Danny Leigh
Like its predecessor, Once Upon a Time in China 2 stars Jet Li as Wong Fei Hung, this time pitched against the xenophobic White Lotus cult, which is violently trying to rid China of foreigners (the period is the early 20th century). To complicate matters, he also finds himself fighting against the reactionary Chinese government. The martial arts battles, in particular one against co-star Donnie Yen as the government's strongman, are everything connoisseurs could wish for. Jet Li is not only acrobatic; he has a powerful screen presence that makes him a convincing hero. Production values, including sets and costumes, are excellent. The only flaw, at least to Western eyes, is the comedy, which has corny jokes about eating dog meat and so forth. On the DVD: the DVD is in widescreen format, with high-quality picture and sound and well-produced subtitles. The extras are well worth having, and include a lengthy scroll-down text biography of Jet Li, interviews with the star and with Donnie Yen, and a very informative audio commentary by Hong Kong cinema expert Bey Logan. --Ed Buscombe
Titles Comprise: Bonnie Prince Charlie The Love Lottery Happy Ever After Eternally Yours Happy Go Lovely
Used Cars, the 1980 film by director Robert Zemeckis, gives no indication of things to come in his career (Back to the Future, Contact, Forrest Gump), but it is representative of a certain cynical humour he shared early on with writer-partner Bob Gale. Kurt Russell and Jack Warden star in a sketchy comedy about competing used-car salesmen who resort to outrageous tactics to lure customers away from each other. The jokes, like the characters, are intentionally recycled, self-conscious comic fodder from a baby-boomer's lifetime (such as Gale's or Zemeckis') of immersion in pop culture. That makes Used Cars more pastiche than original (the film's title itself suggests that), but as such it has some good, if vaguely familiar, laughs in it. Russell, particularly, is very funny as a practiced con man. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
Ride Rise Roar is a David Byrne concert film that blends riveting onstage performances with intimate details of the creative collaborations that make the music and performance happen. Shot with multiple cameras over several concerts during the 'Songs of David Byrne & Brian Eno Tour' the film blends the energy and charisma of classic Talking Heads with the heartfelt pathos of David Byrne and Brian Eno's most recent collaboration. Between the songs the film achieves an unprecedented intimacy with David Byrne and the band documenting behind-the-scenes auditions rehearsals and interviews with key players while revealing the creative process that led to the show's unique fusion of pop music and modern dance. Ride Rise Roar is a celebration of Byrne's extensive career as a musician and testifies to the creativity that keeps him going today.
Across the planet sudden increases in earthquake activity is causing massive damage and worldwide panic. Mason Rand (David Keith) a young nuclear weapons expert is recruited by the President's science advisor to investigate some additional strange activity over the giant Himalayan mountains. With the Earth's life support system in the balance Rand and his team fly to Bhutan to join a top secret U.S. task force. What they discover will change man's view of history forever...
Headbangers Terry and Dean explore the depths of friendship, not to mention the art and science of drinking beer like a man!
After half a million dollars is stolen from a small-town bank the get-away car is spotted by the police as the robbers make their escape. So begins a dangerous game of cat and mouse between robber and a small-town police officer determined to catch him.
Eddy Kay is wired to explode! Director Avi Nesher (Turn Left At The End Of The World The Taxman) demonstrates his flair for suspense and adrenaline-pumping spectacle in this gripping story of one man's quest for the truth. When watchmaker Eddie Kaye played by action veteran Michael Biehn survives a mysterious attempt on his life he begins to suffer flashbacks to a violent past he can't remember. Fearing for his sanity he turns to psychiatrist Dr Anna Nolmar (Patsy Ken
Comprises the Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense volumes : Czech Mate The Sweet Scent Of Death A Distant Scream The Late Nancy Irving In Possession and Black Carrion.
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