The Pixar-like roll of Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad) continues with another sure-fire hit. In charting the meteoric rise, catastrophic fall and Lazarus-like comeback of rocker Dewey Cox, Walk Hard parodies the classic Hollywood bio-pic, cashing in mostly on Walk the Line. John C. Reilly, one of Hollywood's most solid character actors, makes the most of his Golden Globe-nominated star turn as Dewey, whose road to stardom is paved with a childhood tragedy that claims the life of his prodigiously talented brother ("The wrong kid died," is his father's mantra), instant stardom (his first record is a hit just 35 minutes after it was recorded), sex and drugs, and the inevitable "dark (effen) period" that leads him to rehab. Reilly gets solid back-up from current and former Saturday Night Live alumni, including Kirsten Wiig as his incredibly fertile first wife who has no faith in his musical aspirations ("You're never going to make it," she cheerily ends one phone call); Tim Meadows (never better) as Dewey's drummer, who, in one of the film's best scenes, does a poor job of dissuading him from trying marijuana); and Chris Parnell as his bass player. Jenna Fischer leaves Pam back at The Office as Darlene, Dewey's virtuous duet partner. Hilarious cameos give Walk Hard a great "Hey!" factor: Hey, that's Frankie Muniz as Buddy Holly. Hey, that's "Kenneth" from 30 Rock. Hey, there's Jack Black and Paul Rudd as--no kidding--Paul McCartney and John Lennon revealing "a rift in the Beatles." Some of the jokes are obvious (come on; the guy's last name is Cox), others inspired. But the decades-spanning music, echoing the styles of gritty Johnny Cash, romantic Roy Orbison, obtuse Bob Dylan, trippy Brian Wilson, and even a bit of anachronistic punk rock, is as pitch perfect and affectionately observed as in The Rutles, This Is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind. Walk Hard earns its R-rating, particularly for a sure-to-be-talked-about scene of hotel-room debauchery. But: Hilarious? Outrageous? Twisted? To quote the title of one of Dewey's hit songs, "Guilty as Charged." --Donald Liebenson
Mystery buffs will find Hetty Wainthropp to be delightful and uniquely entertaining company. Hetty has just turned 60, but she is not about to "ride serene into the evening tide," as her doting husband so poetically puts it. "I'm not 60 and I never will be," Hetty proclaims. "I'm not a senior citizen." Hetty wants to matter, so she gets a job at her local Lancashire post office. But that wouldn't make for much of a miniseries. Before you can say "cheeky monkey," she has involved herself in a deadly case of pension-fund fraud, and made a splash on the front pages as a "Super Gran Sleuth." The redoubtable Patricia Routledge, best known as Hyacinth Bucket on the beloved Keeping Up Appearances), does lovely work as Hetty, who first appeared in David Cook's 1986 novel, Missing Persons (Cook co-wrote the six first-season episodes contained here). Hetty is not as quaint as Miss Marple, nor her cases as seamy as Jane Tennison's Prime Suspect mysteries. She is a formidable character in her own right, opening her own private detective agency, and recruiting a 17-year-old shoplifter (Dominic Monaghan from the Lord of the Rings trilogy) to be her "devoted sidekick." A rogue cop, a roving arsonist, and other unsavory characters are no match for the woman who won't rest until things add up. As one police inspector grudgingly admits, "She's an extraordinary woman. She's no Miss Marple, but..." But, indeed. --Donald Liebenson
The complete second series of this hugely successful television series starring John Thaw as the legendary Jack Regan and Dennis Waterman as sidekick George Carter. Episodes comprise: 1. Chalk and Cheese 2. Faces 3. Supersnout 4. Big Brother 5. Hit and Run 6. Trap 7. Golden Fleece 8. Poppy 9. Stay Lucky Eh? 10. Trojan Bus 11. I Want The Man 12. Country Boy 13. Thou Shalt Not Kill
Vin Diesel creates a cult icon as Riddick in this epic sci-fi adventure. The new Special Edition DVD comes complete with a range of exclusive extra features.
Sweeney! Hard-bitten Flying Squad officer Jack Regan (Thaw) gets embroiled in a deadly political plot when an old friend asks him to investigate the death of his girlfriend. Framed on a drink-driving charge and suspended from the force with his partner and best mate George Carter (Waterman) unable to help Jack must rely on his wits to evade deadly government hitmen and expose the real villain... Sweeney 2 Regan and Carter head a n investigation into a series of British bank raids by a team of well-armed villains who are flying in from the continent.
This classic Western adapted from the novel by Harold Robbins and starring STEVE MCQUEEN in the title role is an edgy and gripping story of revenge that interweaves a number of different stories together in one mans quest to track down the killers of his parents. NEVADA SMITH sees a return to form for McQueen in a genre that he excelled in and with a supporting cast including Karl Malden Martin Landau and Arthur Kennedy the film sparkles with great performances and breathtaking s
A year after the disappearance of his son, Thomas Matthews, an investigative journalist, still has no information and so begins his own obsessive investigation. His search takes him to Brazil where he investigates close encounter sightings that have taken place in a region known as Area Q, a place where he will face the biggest discovery of his life and may uncover the mystery surrounding his sons disappearance.
America's favourite dysfunctional family - Roseanne Conner (Roseanne Barr) husband Dan (John Goodman) her sister Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) and kids Becky (Lecy Goranson) Darlene (Sara Gilbert) and D.J. (Michael Fishman) - is back! An unforgettable season of odd jobs and bathtub dreams broken romance and Halloween pranks weight-loss programs and school assembly humiliations the arrival of Arnie Thomas and the reunion with Ziggy Dan's dad hooking up with Crystal Jackie joining
Animal House (1978): One of the most popular movie comedies of all time is also the film that made food fights an art form and John Belushi a star. This raunchy screwball comedy directed with madcap zest by John Landis (The Blues Brothers An American Werewolf In London) offers a relentless spoof of 1960s college life by following the hilarious adventures of the Delta fraternity. There's nothing this motley collection of students won't do to get the best of Dean Wormer who secretly conspires to revoke Delta's charter. In addition to Belushi as the guitar bashing beer can smashing garbage eating Bluto Blutarsky the outstanding cast includes head skirt-chaser Tim Matheson innocent freshman Tom Hulce and Stephen ""Flounder"" Furst along with Otis Day and the Knights with their showstopping performance of 'Shout'. Toga! Toga! Toga! The Blues Brothers (1980): They'll never get caught. They're on a mission from God. After the release of Jake Blues (John Belushi) from prison he and brother Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) go to visit the orphanage where they were raised by nuns. They learn that the church stopped its support and will sell the place unless the tax on the property is paid within 11 days. The brothers decide to raise the money by putting their blues band back together and staging a big gig. They may be on a ""mission from God"" but they're making enemies everywhere they go. Featuring performances by some of blues finest James Brown Cab Calloway Ray Charles Aretha Franklin and co-starring John Candy Carrie Fisher Henry Gibson and Steve Lawrence.
When British jocky Bob Champion is struck down with cancer in the prime of his career his desire to live is determined by a single promise; on successful recovery he will ride jump prospect Aldaniti in the 1981 Grand National... John Hurt gives a truly stunning performance as Bob Champion in this true story of courage dedication and the strength of the human spirit.
The second series of The West Wing takes up literally where the first series left off and, after a few moments of slightly toe-curling patriotic sentimentalism, maintains the series' astonishingly high standards in depicting the everyday life of the White House staff of a Democratic administration. The two-part opener covers the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt on President Bartlet (Martin Sheen), switching between the anxious wait on the injured and flashbacks to Bartlet's campaign for the Presidency. Other peaks in a series exceedingly short on troughs include "Noel", the episode in which Alan Arkin's psychiatrist forces Josh Lynam to confront his post-traumatic stress disorder and the concluding episodes in which President Bartlet, having lost his secretary Mrs Landingham in a tragic car accident, rails angrily against God in Latin. Other new features of this series include the introduction of Ainsley Hayes, a young Republican counsel hired after she beats communications deputy Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) in a TV debate ("Sam's getting his ass kicked by a girl!" crow his colleagues), as well as the revelation (to us first, then later his staff) that the President has been suffering from multiple sclerosis. Meanwhile, the White House must move heaven and earth to make incremental political gains as well as deal with a host difficulties abroad, demonstrating, some might argue, more compassion, skill and restraint than that exercised by the real-life US administration. With Aaron Sorkin's dialogue ranging as ever from dry, staccato mirth to almost biblical gravitas, an ensemble of overworked (and curiously undersexed) characters and an overall depiction of the workings of government that's both gratifyingly idealised yet chasteningly realistic, The West Wing is one of the all-time great American TV dramas. --David Stubbs
Sort of comedy, sort of not, Mo' Money--cowritten, coproduced and costarring Damon Wayans--concerns a loser who takes an entry-level job at a credit company to impress a girl and soon gets caught up in fraud and blackmail. Marlon Wayans, Damon's brother, costars as a confederate in the chicanery. The film is meant to be both a jokefest and an edgy drama--the criminal activity is treated as a dark and serious matter--but the end result is that Mo' Money succeeds on neither level. --Tom Keogh
Based on the novels by Bernard Cornwell, Sharpe (1993-7) ran to 14 full-length television films that follow the adventures of the titular soldier through the later years of the Napoleonic Wars. The programmes are an outstanding achievement for the small screen, dominated by Sean Bean's central performance as the heroic, troubled outsider who turns out to be a resourceful and loyal leader. Bolstered by a strong supporting cast, particularly Daragh O'Malley as Harper and (in later episodes) Abigail Cruttenden as Jane, Sharpe is often visually striking, the action tense and gripping. Consistency is maintained by all 14 episodes being directed by Tom Clegg. On the DVD: Sharpe on DVD's sound is full-bodied stereo while the very "sharp" (pun intended) picture has been transferred slightly letterboxed at 14:9. Though looking much better than the original TV transmissions the occasionally cropped framing makes it apparent the films were shot in 16:9 widescreen, so it is regrettable they have not been transferred to DVD in that format. Otherwise these are first-rate releases. --Gary S Dalkin
A collection of films celebrating the outstanding iconic collaboration of actor John Wayne and director John Ford. Films comprise: 1. Stagecoach (1939) 2. The Long Voyage Home (1940) 3. Fort Apache (1948) 4. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) 5. Rio Grande (1951) 6. The Quiet Man (1952)
Master filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci applies his considerable talent to this haunting adaptation of the Paul Bowles novel. John Malkovich and Debra Winger play Port and Kit Moresby, characters loosely based on Bowles and his wife Jane, who flee New York for North Africa, where they hope to find mystical truths that will reignite the spark of their marriage. But instead they lose their moral bearings (with help from a friend, played by Campbell Scott, who has an affair with Kit) while travelling deeper and deeper into the Sahara. Before long, what started as a vacation at exotic lodgings has descended into a tour of hell, as they stumble farther and farther into an unknowable spiritual territory. Though long and at times slow-moving, The Sheltering Sky features marvellously nuanced acting by Malkovich and Winger and visionary filmmaking that makes the landscape at once picturesque and threatening. --Marshall Fine
Three Faces Of The West (Dir. Bernard Vorhaus 1940): A refugee physician and his daughter find themselves part of a group of townspeople who are trying to relocate out of the dust bowl region of the South Central U.S. John Wayne stars the group's tireless leader. Shepherd Of The Hills (Dir. Henry Hathaway 1941): When a stranger comes to an isolated mountain village and tempers the rough rage of its inhabitants one of the mountaineers (""The Duke"") is still suspicious of this mysterious interloper--and not incidentally still bitter over being deserted by his father as an infant.
The Blues Brothers (Dir. John Landis 1980): They'll never get caught. They're on a mission from God. After the release of Jake Blues (John Belushi) from prison he and brother Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) go to visit the orphanage where they were raised by nuns. They learn that the church stopped its support and will sell the place unless the tax on the property is paid within 11 days. The brothers decide to raise the money by putting their blues band back together and stagin
The Classic TV Sitcom Series
Four classic Gregory Peck films are featured on this fantastic box set. Gentleman's Agreement: Director Elia Kazan and producer Darryl F. Zanuck caused a sensation with ""the most spellbinding story ever put on celluloid"" (Hollywood Reporter) recipient of three Academy Awards including Best Picture. One of the first films to directly tackle racial prejudice this acclaimed adaptation of Laura Z. Hobson's bestseller stars Gregory Peck as a journalist assigned to write a series
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