Prince Alexei heir to the last Tsar is a hemophiliac. The Tsarina is persuaded to allow a mysterious monk Rasputin to use his powers of healing on the Prince. Against the wishes of the Tsar Rasputin tends to the young Prince - with frighteningly successful results. So begins a relationship which ended in Rasputin's murder and the eventual downfall of Imperial Russia...
Based on the Joseph Conrad story "Amy Foster", Swept From the Sea, a swirlingly romantic melodrama, tells the story of a Polish sailor (Vincent Perez) shipwrecked and washed ashore on the English coast in the 19th century. Found by a servant girl, Amy (Rachel Weisz), who is a village outcast, he is considered retarded because no one can understand what he says. But slowly, through Amy's love and the doctor's tutelage, the sailor learns enough English to decide he wants to make an honest woman out of Amy, which doesn't sit well with the disapproving villagers, who don't like Amy. Even the doctor, who has a fondness for the sailor, has a blind spot when it comes to the servant girl. Strong performances and gritty period settings lift this film above bodice-ripper status to something richer. --Marshall Fine
In the second part of the fantasy trilogy Frodo and Sam continue on to Mordor in their mission to destroy the One Ring, whilst their former companions make new allies and launch an assault on Isengard.
Critics and controversy aside, The Da Vinci Code is a verifiable blockbuster. Combine the film's huge worldwide box-office take with over 100 million copies of Dan Brown's book sold, and The Da Vinci Code has clearly made the leap from pop-culture hit to a certifiable franchise (games and action figures are sure to follow). The leap for any story making the move from book to big screen, however, is always more perilous. In the case of The Da Vinci Code, the story is concocted of such a preposterous formula of elements that you wouldn't envy Akiva Goldsman, the screenwriter who was handed a potentially unfilmable book and asked to make a filmable script out of it. Goldsman's solution was to have the screenplay follow the book as closely as possible, with a few needed changes, including a better ending. The result is a film that actually makes slightly better entertainment than the book. So if you're like most of the world, by now you've read the book and know that it starts out as a murder mystery. While lecturing in Paris, noted Harvard Professor of Symbology Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is summoned to the Louvre by French police help decipher a bizarre series of clues left at the scene of the murder of the chief curator, Jacques Sauniere. Enter Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), gifted cryptologist and Sauniere's granddaughter. Neveu and Langdon are forced to team up to solve the mystery, and from there the story is propelled across Europe as it balloons into a modern-day mini-quest for the Holy Grail, complete with alternative theories about the life of Christ, ancient secret societies headed by historical figures like Leonardo Da Vinci, secret codes, conniving bishops, daring escapes, car chases, and, of course, a murderous albino monk controlled by a secret master who calls himself "The Teacher." Taken solely as a mystery thriller, the movie almost works--despite some gaping holes--mostly just because it keeps moving forward at the breakneck pace set in the book. Brown's greatest trick might have been to have the entire story take place in a day so that the action is forced to keep going, despite some necessary pauses for exposition. Hanks and Tautou are just fine together but not exactly a memorable screen pair; meanwhile, Sir Ian McKellen's scenery-chewing as pivotal character Sir Leigh Teabing is just what the film needs to keep it from taking itself too seriously. In the end, this hit movie is just like a good roller-coaster ride: try not to think too much about it--just sit back and enjoy the trip. --Daniel Vancini, Amazon.com
In the second part of the fantasy trilogy Frodo and Sam continue on to Mordor in their mission to destroy the One Ring, whilst their former companions make new allies and launch an assault on Isengard.
With the help of a courageous fellowship of friends and allies Frodo embarks on a perilous mission to destroy the legendary One Ring Hunting Frodo are servants of the Dark Lord Sauron reclaims the Ring Middle earth is doomed. Winner of four Academy Awards this epic tale of good versus evil friendship and sacrifice will transport you to a world beyond imagination. Special Features: The Director and Writers: Part 1 The Design Team: Part 1 The Production and Post Production Team: Part 1 The Cast: Part 1 Easter Egg - MTV Movie Award Spoof The Director and Writers: Part 2 The Design Team: Part 2 The Production and Design Team: Part 2 The Cast: Part 2 Easter Egg - Two Towers Sneak Peek Peter Jackson Introduction JRR Tolkien Creator of Middle Earth From Book to Script Storyboards and Pre-Vis: Making Words into Images The Prologue Orc Pursuit into Lothlorien Sarn Gebir Rapids Chase Gandalf Rides to Orthanc The Stairs of Khazad-Dum Storyboard to Film Comparison: Nazgul Attack at Bree Bridge of Khazad Dum Bag End Set Test Designing Middle-Earth Weta Workshop Costume Design Design Galleries with selected Audio Commentary Middle-Earth Atlas Interactive New Zealand as Middle-Earth Interactive Elijah Wood Introduction The Fellowship Cast A Day in the Life of a Hobbit Cameras in Middle Earth Scale Big-atures Weta Digital Editorial: Assembling an Epic Digital Grading The Soundscapes of Middle-Earth Music for Middle-Earth The Road Goes Ever On... Behind the Scenes
Although the superhero comic book has been a duopoly since the early 1960s, only DC's flagship characters, Superman and Batman (who originated in the late 1930s), have established themselves as big-screen franchises. Until now--this is the first runaway hit film version of the alternative superhero X-Men universe created for Marvel Comics by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and others. It's a rare comic-book movie that doesn't fall over its cape introducing all the characters, and this is the exception. X-Men drops us into a world that is closer to our own than Batman's Gotham City, but it's still home to super-powered goodies and baddies. Opening in high seriousness with paranormal activity in a WW2 concentration camp and a senatorial inquiry into the growing "mutant problem", Bryan Singer's film sets up a complex background with economy and establishes vivid, strange characters well before we get to the fun. There's Halle Berry flying and summoning snowstorms, James Marsden zapping people with his "optic beams", Rebecca Romijn-Stamos shape-shifting her blue naked form and Ray Park lashing out with his Toad-tongue. The big conflict is between Patrick Stewart's Professor X and Ian McKellen's Magneto, super-powerful mutants who disagree about their relationship with ordinary humans, but the characters we're meant to identify with are Hugh Jackman's Wolverine and Anna Paquin's Rogue. There are in-jokes enough to keep comics fans engaged, but it feels more like a science-fiction movie than a superhero picture. --Kim Newman On the DVD: X-Men 1.5's two-disc set offers little more than the original X-Men release. The six extended scenes which can be incorporated into the feature on Disc 1 were already available on the initial DVD version (though they're cleaned up a bit here), and when played within the film's original cut they seem disjointed and tacked on, adding very little to the overall story. Disc 2, meanwhile, will have little appeal to any but the most diehard of fans. The X-Men 2 Sneak Peak, the X-Men 2 trailer, the Daredevil trailer and the Activision Wolverine's Revenge trailer are little more than adverts. The four-part documentary, meanwhile, is impressively interactive (with multi-angle segments and two play modes), but unfortunately it's also a bit dull and self-congratulatory. --Robert Burrow
The X-Men face their most potent threat to date when a vaccine to 'cure' mutants is discovered.
Although the superhero comic book has been a duopoly since the early 1960s, only DC's flagship characters, Superman and Batman (who originated in the late 1930s) have established themselves as big-screen franchises. Until now--this is the first runaway hit film version of the alternative superhero X-Men universe created for Marvel Comics by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and others. It's a rare comic-book movie that doesn't fall over its cape introducing all the characters, and this is the exception. X-Men drops us into a world that is closer to our own than Batman's Gotham City, but it's still home to super-powered goodies and baddies. Opening in high seriousness with paranormal activity in a WW2 concentration camp and a senatorial inquiry into the growing "mutant problem", Bryan Singer's film sets up a complex background with economy and establishes vivid, strange characters well before we get to the fun. There's Halle Berry flying and summoning snowstorms, James Marsden zapping people with his "optic beams", Rebecca Romijn-Stamos shape-shifting her blue naked form, and Ray Park lashing out with his Toad-tongue. The big conflict is between Patrick Stewart's Professor X and Ian McKellen's Magneto, super-powerful mutants who disagree about their relationship with ordinary humans, but the characters we're meant to identify with are Hugh Jackman's Wolverine (who has retractable claws and amnesia), and Anna Paquin's Rogue (who sucks the life and superpowers out of anyone she touches). The plot has to do with a big gizmo that will wreak havoc at a gathering of world leaders, but the film is more interested in setting up a tangle of bizarre relationships between even more bizarre people, with solid pros such as Stewart and McKellen relishing their sly dialogue and the newcomers strutting their stuff in cool leather outfits. There are in-jokes enough to keep comics' fans engaged, but it feels more like a science fiction movie than a superhero picture. --Kim Newman
Tom Hanks headlines this big screen adaptation of Dan Brown's global hit novel.
Born into a world filled with prejudice are children who possess extraordinary powers - the result of unique genetic mutations. Under the tutelage of Professor X (Patrick Stewart) the outcasts learn to harness their powers and must now protect mankind from the evil Magneto (Ian McKellen). This first chapter of the X-Men saga features an all-star cast including Hugh Jackman Halle Berry Anna Paquin and Rebecca Romijn. Including all new DVD artwork bonus features include Deleted Scenes Charlie Rose/Bryan Singer Interview Clips TV Spots Trailers 2 Featurettes Hugh Jackman Screen Test Storyboard Animatics and Still Galleries.
The final battle for Middle-earth begins. Frodo and Sam, led by Gollum, continue their dangerous mission toward the fires of Mount Doom in order to destroy the One Ring. Aragorn struggles to fulfill his legacy as he leads his outnumbered followers against the growing power of the Dark Lord Sauron, so that the Ring-bearer may complete his quest.
After a controversial cure is discovered mutants can choose to give up their unique gifts and become normal. But when peaceful mutant leader Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) clashes with his militant counterpart Magneto (Ian McKellen) their opposing viewpoints trigger the war to end all wars! Hugh Jackman Halle Berry Ellen Page and Anna Paquin co-star in the third chapter of the legendary X-Men saga. Including all new DVD artwork bonus features include Audio Commentary by Brett Ratner Zak Penn and Simon Kinberg Audio Commentary by Avi Arad Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter 22 Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary 3 Alternate Endings with Optional Commentary Easter Eggs plus a Sneak Preview of 'The Simpsons Movie'.
In the second part of the fantasy trilogy Frodo and Sam continue on to Mordor in their mission to destroy the One Ring, whilst their former companions make new allies and launch an assault on Isengard.
Born into a world filled with prejudice are children who possess extraordinary and dangerous powers the result of unique genetic mutations.
After a controversial 'cure' is discovered mutants can choose to give up their unique gifts and become 'normal.' But when peaceful mutant leader Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) clashes with his militant counterpart Magneto (Ian McKellen) their opposing viewpoints trigger the war to end all wars! Hugh Jackman Halle Berry Ellen Page and Anna Paquin co-star in the third chapter of the legendary X-Men saga.
Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship continue their quest to destroy the One Ring and stand against the evil of the dark lord Sauron. The Fellowship has divided and now find themselves taking different paths to defeating Sauron and his allies. Their destinies now lie at two towers - Orthanc Tower in Isengard where the corrupted wizard Saruman waits and Sauron's fortress at Baraddur deep within the dark lands of Mordor.
Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship continue their quest to destroy the One Ring and stand against the evil of the dark lord Sauron. The Fellowship has divided and now find themselves taking different paths to defeating Sauron and his allies. Their destinies now lie at two towers - Orthanc Tower in Isengard where the corrupted wizard Saruman waits and Sauron's fortress at Baraddur deep within the dark lands of Mordor.
An Anglia Television classic: the story of how ordinary people lived through an extraordinary time. Blackouts, bombing raids and rationing become part of life on the Home Front as the young men from the region fight in the most infamous battles of the Second World War
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