The first of what would be a series, 1985's American Ninja is a martial-arts thriller. Michael Dudikoff plays Joe, a sullen young GI who turns up at American airbase Fort Sonora and immediately makes himself unpopular. Even when he single-handedly saves the Commanding Officer's daughter (Judie Aronson, whose function is to scream a lot and get her clothes very wet), from a ninja ambush, he's still ostracised. It turns out that Joe is actually a highly skilled ninja warrior, but he's an amnesiac with no idea how he acquired his abilities. Eventually, having bonded with fellow GI Steve James, he helps foil criminal arms-dealer Ortega, whose morals are as dubious as his accent, which veers from French to Hispanic. American Ninja is essentially an excuse for a series of martial arts set pieces, though these seem a little lumbering by the standards later set by Jackie Chan and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The soundtrack and overall feel is clearly influenced by the classic A-Team. The plot is well signposted at every turn and the dialogue makes you think of an American film that has been badly dubbed. However, the film will work as kitsch, for idle comfort-viewing or for small boys. On the DVD: The cheapness of the original has been immaculately preserved--however, the only extra is the original trailer.--David Stubbs
As Ugandan dictator Idi Amin Forest Whitaker gives 'one of the great performances of modern movie history' (The Wall Street Journal) one that the Associated Press calls 'nothing short of Oscar - worthy.' This is Amin's incredible story as seen through the eyes of Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) a young Scotsman who becomes the volatile leader's personal physician due in part to Amin's unexpected passion for Scottish culture - Amin even proclaims himself 'The Last King of Scotland.' Seduced by Amin's charisma and blinded by decadence Garrigan's dream life becomes a waking nightmare of betrayal and madness from which there is no escape. Inspired by real people and events this gripping suspenseful stunner is filled with performances you will never forget.
A complete collection of the best of British war movies! Films comprise: 1. The Colditz Story (Dir. Guy Hamilton 1955) 2. The Cruel Sea (Dir. Charles Frend 1953) 3. The Dam Busters (Dir. Michael Anderson 1954) 4. I Was Monty's Double (Dir. John Guillermin 1958) 5. Ice Cold In Alex (Dir. J. Lee Thompson 1958) 6. Went The Day Well? (Dir. Alberto Cavalcanti 1942) 7. The Wooden Horse (Dir. Jack Lee 1950) 8. They Who Dare (Dir. Lewis Milestone 1954) 9. Cross Of Iron (Dir. Sam Peckinpah 1977) 10. The Way Ahead (Dir. Carol Reed 1944) 11. In Which We Serve (Dir. Noel Coward/David Lean 1942) 12. The Battle Of The River Plate (Dir. Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger 1956)
Sean Bean is swashbuckling British officer Richard Sharpe in the visually stunning film Sharpe's Revenge.After the last battle has been fought the Peninsula war is finally over for Britain and its allies but the action does not end here for Sharpe. He is set up once again by his long-time enemy the French spy Ducos and finds himself accused of stealing Napoleon's treasures.Having been abandoned by his beautiful wife Jane who returns to England and persecuted by both the British and French Sharpe boldly goes in search of both truth and revenge embarking on a perilous journey across post-war France with the help of his loyal friends Frederickson and Harper.
Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to M.J. (Kirsten Dunst) and his duties as a superhero. But when his suit suddenly changes, turning jetblack and enhancing his powers, it transforms Peter, bringing out a dark vengeful side that he struggles to control. He must now battle his inner demons as two of the mostfeared villains yet, Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) and Venom (Topher Grace), gather unparalleled power and a thirst for revenge which threatens Peter and everyone he loves.
Following the 1942 Bataan Death March thousands of U.S. and Filipino soldiers were imprisoned by the Japanese in a POW camp in Cabantauan in the Philippines. Brutalized starved and tortured the prisoners languished in the camp for nearly three years. But in January 1945 an American battalion with the help of Filipino guerrillas planned a daring mission - some called it suicide - to rescue the five hundred U.S. soldiers still alive there. This film tells that story in glorious de
James Cagney and Sylvia Sidney take on the menacing government of Tokyo in the fast-paced 1945 action thriller packed with intrigue and romance. Nick Condon (James Cagney) is the brash managing editor of Tokyo's English language newspaper when it breaks the startling news that Japan is planning to conquer China. After the double-murder of his ace reporter (Wallace Ford) and the reporter's wife (Rosemary De Camp) Condon realizes his own life is in danger. When the Japanese try to stop him from revealing an even deadlier plot he enlists the help of a beautiful secret agent (Sylvia Sidney) before the country's Premier and secret police can stop him... permanently.
Features three John Wayne classics 'Blue Steel' 'Winds of the Wasteland' and 'The Trail Beyond'.
More comical situations at St. Swithins Hospital when Dr. Grimsdyke returns for a course and develops a rejuvenating drug...
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 storylines 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 Whately'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 said he finally had to kill Morse off because he was giving Oxford a bad reputation as a dangerous place! --Piers Ford
Featuring the films: 'Hoffman' 'The Smallest Show On Earth' 'Carlton-Browne Of The F.O.' and 'Two Way Stretch'. Hoffman *(WS 1.85:1 Anamorphic 1970 1 hour and 47 Minutes Colour): Peter Sellers is Hoffman a middle aged misfit who blackmails his young attractive secretary into spending a week with him. Although he behaves like a creep throughout the weekend he actually emerges as a sympathetic character in the end. Two Way Stretch *(FS 1960 1 hour and 23 minutes B&W):
Tracklist: 1. Intermission 2. Can't Explain 3. There's No Other Way 4. Luminous 5. She's So High 6. Colin Zeal 7. Pop Scene 8. When Will We Be Married 9. Sunday Sunday 10. Wassailing Song 11. Coping 12. Day Upon Day 13. For Tomorrow 14. Postman Pat Theme 15. Chemical World 16. Advert 17. Commercial Break 18. Sunday Sunday
Wade Whitehouse is frightened to death of following in his father's footsteps. Wade Whitehouse (Nick Nolte) is at a turning point in his life. People order him around everywhere he turns from his demanding boss to his ex-wife who won't let him see his daughter to his ageing violent alcoholic father (Academy Award winner James Coburn). For Wade the future looks bleak until his quiet New Hampshire town is shattered by the death of a Boston union official in a deer hunt led by Wade's friend Jack. The incident is written off as an accident but Wade suspects that Jack is guilty of murder. Solving the crime becomes Wade's obsession and his last opportunity to redeem himself in the eyes of the town his ex-wife his father and - most of all - himself. Featuring an impressive star cast 'Affliction' is a tense and compelling psycho-drama from Paul Schrader screenwriter of 'Taxi Driver' and 'Raging Bull' and director of 'American Gigolo'.
Zulu The year: 1879. The place: Natal Africa. One British garrison has already fallen to a huge army of Zulu tribesmen. The fearless native warriors are now heading for the isolated colonial outpost of Rorke's Drift which is manned by no more than a hundred South Wales Borderers. Alfie Alfie is a good-looking charmer who finds that the Swinging Sixties are a great time to be around in. He's always able to sweet-talk women into bed and he just doesn't care about t
Robin And Marian (Dir. Richard Lester 1976): Robin Hood (Connery) is an old man when he returns with his best friend Little John to England after the Crusades. Maid Marian (Hepburn) has entered a nunnery King Richard is a raving lunatic his Brother John a moron and the age of great adventure has seemed to have passed Robin by. But when The Sheriff of Nottingham (Shaw) once again threatens Sherwood Robin gathers his faithful men and band of peasants to fight oppression in
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 sixth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer followed the logic of plot and character development into some gloomy places. The year begins with Buffy being raised from the dead by the friends who miss her, but who fail to understand that a sacrifice taken back is a sacrifice negated. Dragged out of what she believes to have been heavenly bliss, she finds herself "going through the motions" and entering into a relationship with the evil, besotted vampire Spike just to force her emotions. Willow becomes ever more caught up in the temptations of magic; Xander and Anya move towards marriage without ever discussing their reservations; Giles feels he is standing in the way of Buffy's adult independence; Dawn feels neglected. What none of them need is a menace that is, at this point, simply annoying--three high school contemporaries who have turned their hand to magical and high-tech villainy. Added to this is a hungry ghost, an invisibility ray, an amnesia spell and a song-and-dance demon (who acts as rationale for the incomparable musical episode "Once More, with Feeling"). This is a year in which chickens come home to roost: everything from the villainy of the three geeks to Xander's doubts about marriage come to a head, often--as in the case of the impressive wedding episode--through wildly dark humour. The estrangement of the characters from each other--a well-observed portrait of what happens to college pals in their early 20s--comes to a shocking head with the death of a major character and that death's apocalyptic consequences. The series ends on a consoling note which it has, by that point and in spite of imperfections, entirely earned. --Roz Kaveney
The Nerds are Back... and They're Taking a Trip to Paradise! Everyone's favourite nerds are back! This time the gang is off to the United Fraternity Conference in Ft. Lauderdale but thanks to the Alpha Betas the Tri-Lambs are forced to endure Florida's most dismal accommodations. Although the boys are misled mistreated and misused they once again strike back proving the importance of self-respect in a wild and wacky lesson you'll never forget.
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