Gordon Hessler directs this 1960s horror starring Vincent Price. Lord of the manor Julian Markham (Price) is ashamed of his mutilated brother Edward (Alistair Williamson) and keeps him hidden away from public view in the tower of his vast house. However, when Edward escapes he attempts to get his revenge on his overbearing brother. The cast also includes Christopher Lee, Rupert Davies and Sally Geeson.
Joe Ross (Campbell Scott) is a man on the brink of something big. He has designed a process that will make his company millions and him a very wealthy man. Unnerved by a lack of commitment from his boss a chance meeting with a weathly jetsetter Dell (Steve Martin) causes him to further suspect the true intentions of his colleagues. But with such a money-spinning opportunity at stake is there anyone he can trust? Writer/director David Mamet's 'The Spanish Prisoner' is a film that
The Karate Kid (Dir. John G. Avildsen 1984): Daniel (Ralph Macchio) arrives in Los Angeles from the East Coast and faces the difficult task of making new friends. However he becomes the object of bullying by the Cobras a menacing gang of karate students when he strikes up a relationship with Ali (Elisabeth Shue) the Cobra leader's ex-girlfriend. Eager to fight back and impress his new girlfriend but afraid to confront the dangerous gang Daniel asks his handyman Miyagi (Noriyuki Pat Morita) whom he learns is a master of the martial arts to teach him karate. Miyagi teaches Daniel that karate is a mastery over the self - mind and body - and that fighting is always the last answer to a problem. Under Miyagi's guidance Daniel develops not only physical skills but also the faith and self-confidence to compete despite tremendous odds as he encounters the fight of his life in the exciting finale to this entertaining film. The Karate Kid 2 (Dir. John G. Avildsen): Karate student Daniel Larusso (Macchio) accompanies his wise and whimsical teacher Mr. Miyagi (Morita) to his ancestral home in Okinawa. For the boy it's a journey to an exotic new world offering new clues to his mentor's secret past. For Miyagi it's an opportunity to see his father one last time and to rekindle a romance with his childhood sweetheart (Nobu McCarthy). But Miyagi's return also re-ignites a bitter feud with long-time enemy Sato (Danny Kamekona) - a feud that involves young Daniel in a brilliant collision of cultures and combat. Now far away from the tournaments the cheering crowds and the safety of home Daniel will face his greatest challenge ever when the teacher becomes student and the price of honour is life itself. The Karate Kid 3 (Dir. John G. Avildsen 1989): When Daniel (Macchio) decides not to compete in the upcoming karate championship he becomes the target vicious Cobra Kai student Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan) who is determined to win the title back. Standing firm Daniel's mentor and trainer Mr. Miyagi (Morita) instructs him to ignore Mike's threats - and stay away from the tournament. But when Mike's relentless abuse escalates into blackmail Daniel finds himself forced into competition - and at serious odds with Miyagi the one person he cherishes most. Desperate Daniel turns to another karate instructor Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) whose violent combat techniques are directly opposed to Miyagi's wise instruction. But when Daniel realises that Terry and Mike are allied with Mr Miyagi's old nemesis Kreese (Martin Kove) in an elaborate set-up for revenge he also knows he has alienated the only person who can help him. The Next Karate Kid (Dir. Christopher Cain 1994): Noriyuki Pat Morita and Oscar-winner Hilary Swank co-star in The Next Karate Kid the story of a rebellious teenager Julie who blossoms with a little help from her friends - in this case the wise Mr. Miyagi and a trio of Buddhist monks! The action kicks into overdrive when Julie is pitted against a posse of paramilitary students who rule her high school. And while their leader teaches them to fight to kill Julie and Miyagi teach them the secret of fighting to live.
Conviction is the inspirational true story of a sister's unwavering devotion to her brother.
Mrs Doubtfire: How far would an ordinary father go to spend more time with his children? Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams) is no ordinary father so when he learns his ex-wife (Sally Field) needs a housekeeper he applies for the job. With the perfect wig a little makeup and a dress for all occasions he becomes Mrs Doubtfire a devoted British housekeeper who is hired on the spot. Free to be the 'woman' he never knew he could be the disguised Daniel creates a whole new life with his entire family. Outrageous hilarious and often touching Robin Williams makes this box-office hit a film to be watched again and again. Cheaper By The Dozen: Tom and Kate Baker lead a suprisingly idyllic life but when they get the chance to pursue their dream jobs and move the super-sized clan to the big city the zany chaos begins as the dozen siblings revolt turning house and home upside down! Cheaper By The Dozen 2Steve Martin is funnier than ever in this hilarious sequel! Tom Baker (Steve Martin) and wife Kate (Bonnie Hunt) bring their clan together for a memorable summer getaway. But their dream vacation turns into an outrageous competition with the overachieving overzealous family of Tom's long-time rival Jimmy Murtaugh (Eugene Levy). Featuring all the original Baker kids including Hilary Duff Tom Welling and Piper Perabo this super-sized comedy is fun for the whole family!
Spark: a wisecracking, teenage monkey, lives on an abandoned planet with his friends Chunk the pig, a fox called Vix, and lots of tiny bugs. Thirteen years ago, power-hungry Zhong seized control of their planet Bana, wiping out Spark s family and sending him into hiding. Now, Zhong plans to use the deadly space Kraken to destroy the entire universe, and only Spark and his ragtag gang can stop him. Now, Spark must journey across the universe, in order to defeat the evil emperor Zhong and save the galaxy once and for all! From the makers of Coraline and The Nut Job, and featuring the voices of Patrick Stewart (X-Men, Star Trek: The Next Generation) Jessica Biel (Family Guy, Planet 51) Academy Award Winners, Susan Sarandon (Cloud Atlas, Thelma & Louise) and Hilary Swank (P.S, I Love You, Million Dollar Baby), animals assemble in this intergalactic adventure that kid will go ape for!
Titles Comprise:Dr Dolittle: Treat yourself to a healthy dose of Eddie Murphy's untamed animal magnetism in the smash hit comedy that'll make you 'roar, howl and hoot with laughter!' A successful physician and devoted family man, John Dolittle (Murphy) seems to have the world by the tail, until a long-suppressed talent he possessed as a child - the ability to communicate with animals - is suddenly reawakened... with a vengeance! Now every creature within squawking distance wants the good doctor's advice, unleashing an outrageous chain of events that turns his world upside down! Featuring an all-star menagerie of voice talent (including Chris Rock, John Leguizamo, Norm MacDonald, Albert Brooks, Garry Shandling and Ellen DeGeneres), this wild and wooly free-for-all is your prescription for hilarious hijinks and mischievous fun!Dr Dolittle 2: Eddie Murphy returns as the doctor, who has now garnered some measure of fame for his communication abilities, at least among the animal kingdom. Dolittle is also dealing with his rebellious teenage daughter (Raven Symone). But he drops everything when he's summoned by 'The Beaver,' the Godfather figure of the local forest, to help the animals preserve their home by stopping an overly aggressive lumber company. To save the forest, Dolittle has to take a trained performing bear (also an endangered species, who is endearingly voiced by Steve Zahn)--and introduce him to the wild to find a mate.Cheaper By The Dozen: Tom Baker (Steve Martin) and his wife Kate (Bonnie Hunt) lead a suprisingly idyllic life but when they get the chance to pursue their dream jobs and move the super-sized clan to the big city. The zany chaos begins as the dozen siblings revolt, turning house and home upside down!Cheaper By The Dozen 2: Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt return as heads of the Baker family who, while on holiday, find themselves in competition with a rival family of eight children, headed by Jimmy Murtaugh (Eugene Levy)...
War Inc stars John Cusack Joan Cusack Ben Kingsley Marisa Tomei and Hilary Duff! War Inc is a political satire set in Turaqistan a country occupied by an American private corporation run by a former US Vice-President (Dan Aykroyd). In an effort to monopolize the opportunities the war-torn nation offers the corporation's CEO hires Brand Hauser (John Cusack) - a hit man - to kill a Middle East oil minister. Now struggling with his own growing demons Brand must pose as the corporation's Trade Show Producer in order to pull off this latest hit while maintaining his cover by organizing the high-profile wedding of Yonica Babyyeah (Hilary Duff) an outrageous Middle Eastern pop star and keeping a sexy left wing reporter (Marisa Tomei) in check.
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.
The Good Life has proved an enduring jewel in the BBC's mainstream comedy archive. More than 25 years after it first appeared in our living rooms, nostalgia must be a major reason for its appeal. A whole generation of young men--and their fathers--found the weekly sight of Felicity Kendal as Barbara Good, pert in denim dungarees, irresistible. But it's the quality of the playing that has really stood the test of time and triumphs over a premise--self-sufficiency in Surbiton--that now seems naïve. Even in 1975, a Tom Good (a masterpiece of comic eccentricity from Richard Briers) quitting the rat race would probably have sold up his semi and chanced his luck as a small holder somewhere more remote than suburban Surrey. Comic tensions arise not just from the Goods' daily struggle to beat the system on their own terms, but also from the relationship with their incredulous, often horrified, but usually supportive neighbours. Penelope Keith's Margo Leadbetter remains one of the great comic creations in British sitcom history--a simmering volcano of conservatism waging her own battle against creeping mediocrity in all aspects of life, whose human frailty somehow keeps her loveable. Paul Eddington as Jerry, her long-suffering husband, spars splendidly. These are happy memories indeed. --Piers Ford
Britten: Gloriana (Elder ENO Orchestra/Chorus Walker Johnson)
The kids TV cult classic Maid Marian finally makes it's way to DVD jam-packed with a plethora of extras and plenty of involvement from series writer and star Tony Robinson. It's a little known fact that Robin Hood was a complete wimp who took all the credit for the grit in Maid Marian's guts. It was in fact she who assembled and fought oppression with a bunch of prats known as the 'Merry Men'; a dwarf called little Ron a Rastafarian an ugly dolt by the name of 'Rabies' and
ConvictionHilary Swank gives another tremendous performance--steely, determined, vulnerable--in the courtroom/family drama Conviction. The film is based on a real case, of Betty Anne Waters (Swank), who as a last resort puts herself through law school to take on the case of her brother, Kenny (Sam Rockwell, also outstanding). Kenny is convicted of murder, despite a weak prosecution case, but Betty Anne can't get any lawyer to explore a retrial or appeal. Director Tony Goldwyn (Dexter, Damages) keeps the action moving along crisply and believably, even during the almost interminable stretches of Kenny's imprisonment. The terrific script by Pamela Gray (Music of the Heart) weaves in occasional shadows of doubt about whether Kenny is actually innocent, so that a story that could be formulaic is anything but. The viewer isn't sure most of the way through Conviction if Kenny is guilty or not--but is completely swept up in Swank's incredible performance depicting Betty Anne's own conviction--that "you do anything for your family. Period." As she did in Boys Don't Cry, Swank puts her own gritty spin on a real-life character, whom she inhabits like a second skin. Her Betty Anne is a blue-collar pit bull, and her sheer determination is itself a force of nature. The supporting cast of Conviction also shines, including Minnie Driver as Betty Anne's law school pal, and an especially effective Juliette Lewis playing Kenny's broken-down ex-girlfriend, who's buried some secrets of her own. Also a standout is Melissa Leo as the policewoman whose initial arrest of Kenny might have been loaded with her own agenda. The chemistry, especially between Rockwell, a man very nearly defeated after years behind bars, and Swank, is palpable and will capture the viewer in intense dramatic territory that won't be soon forgotten. --A.T. Hurley Never Let Me GoIn adapting Kazuo Ishiguro's celebrated novel, director Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo) and screenwriter Alex Garland (Sunshine) transform dystopian fiction into period drama by presenting an alternate past in which people routinely live beyond 100--at a cost to those who make it possible. In the 1970s, Kathy (Isobel Meikle-Small) and Ruth (Ella Purnell) attend Hailsham, a British boarding school where Miss Emily (Charlotte Rampling) holds sway--and no one ever mentions their parents. When new teacher Miss Lucy (Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky) arrives, she reaches out to the awkward Tommy (Charlie Rowe), with whom Kathy becomes close--until jealous Ruth steals him away. Then Lucy reveals what will happen when they leave. By the 1980s, Kathy (a poignant Carey Mulligan), Ruth (Keira Knightley), and Tommy (Andrew Garfield) live in the country until they're ready to fulfill their purpose. With Ruth and Tommy an item, Kathy becomes a carer, a sort of social worker. Over the years, the three go their separate ways until the 1990s, by which point their time will run out unless they can arrange for a deferral. Throughout, Romanek never presents alternate points of view; the audience experiences this brave new world only through the eyes of its sheltered protagonists. If the story raises issues that recall Orwell, the unhurried pace echoes The Remains of the Day, Merchant Ivory's Ishiguro adaptation. Similarly, Never Let Me Go is a work of great skill and compassion, but make no mistake: it's also very, very depressing. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Charlie Sheen, Hilary Duff, Eva Longoria and Christopher Lloyd lend their unmistakable voices to this computer-animated tale of a supermarket that springs to life after the doors have been locked and the workers have all gone home. When the lights are turned out chaos reigns for the products in this grocery store. The grocery store transforms into a city, and from every door of this city comes two types of characters: well-known marketing icons and new characters. This full-length CGI Movie f...
Victim of Rage (AKA Cries Unheard:The Donna Yaklich Story) [DVD]
Written by Richard Curtis and directed by Phillip Noyce Mary and Martha stars Hilary Swank as Mary and Brenda Blethyn as Martha an American and an Englishwoman who have little in common apart from a tragedy that unexpectedly brings them together. Empowered by their friendship they form an alliance that takes them from their meeting in a remote part of Mozambique all the way to Washington - two ordinary mothers doing something extraordinary.
The most popular and well-loved of all Handel's great oratorios, The Messiah here receives warm if not exactly passionate treatment under the direction of Stephen Cleobury. This is a period-instrument performance featuring Roy Goodman and his Brandenburg Consort, although not one that aims at any inflexible authenticism. The four soloists are all of the first rank, as are, of course, the choristers of King's College, Cambridge. So, musically the concert's credentials are impeccable. The setting is the Pieterskerk, Leiden, which at least boasts a sympathetic acoustic even though its visual beauties are hidden in candlelit gloom. It must have been a charming evening for the audience, but the film version doesn't really have anything more to offer the home viewer than a few close-ups of the soloists and the occasional cutaway shot of an appropriate painting. Hence, this disc will be of interest if you want to see musicians giving a delightful performance instead of just listening to them; but it's no substitute for a good audio recording. On the DVD: This is a non-anamorphic widescreen picture, not the 4:3 ratio claimed on the back cover. The sound is only PCM stereo, there are no extra features, and the disc only has the most basic of menus. Chapter access is restricted to just three points. If you wish to select a specific aria or chorus you have to refer to the inside of the booklet and work out which track you need to jump to. And would it be asking too much for the libretto, either on screen or in the booklet? Overall, a very disappointing DVD presentation of an otherwise enjoyable concert performance. --Mark Walker
An author who returns to his hometown to deliver a commencement address to a class of graduating high school students has to deal with his feelings for an old flame as well as the advances of a student who has the hots for him.
The events leading up to an 11:14 PM car crash, from five very different perspectives.
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