"Actor: Kevin Bacon"

• Balto Triple Pack | DVD | (02/10/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Balto: Based on a true story Balto will touch your heart. Part husky/part wolf Balto doesn't know where he belongs. He's an outcast in Alaska except to his true friends - Boris the Russian snow goose; polar bear cubs Muk and Luk; and the beautiful husky Jenna. Even though he's different all of Balto's friends recognise what he still can't see himself: his noble spirit. One day a serious diphtheria epidemic spreads fast among the children of Nome. When a fierce bizarre blizzard closes all routes of transport there's no way to obtain life-saving medicine... unless a team of sled dogs can race six-hundred miles through the blinding Arctic storm and bring back antitoxin. But the dogs are lost in the frozen wilderness. Now only Balto can rescue the team and save the children. Starring the voices of Kevin Bacon Bridget Fonda Bob Hoskins and Phil Collins Balto is the remarkable tale of a hero who inspired a nation - and became a legend! (Dir. Simon Wells 1995) Balto 2 - Wolf Quest: BALTO II picks up where the first ended. After settling down with Jenna and having 6 pups it soon becomes time for Balto to give his children up for adoption to human families. However no one wants Aleu his daughter because she looks so much like a wolf. When Aleu figures this out she runs away forcing Balto to go after her and sending her on a journey that reveals quite a bit about herself. (Dir. Phil Weinstein 2001) Balto 3 - Wings Of Change: Your favourite is back in an all-new adventure! Balto and his son Kodi (voiced by Sean Astin) find that technology is threatening the sled dog team's future as the airplane becomes a faster choice for bringing mail and supplies to Nome. Amidst the controversy a race to deliver the mail is arranged between a sled team led by Balto and a bush pilot who flies a plane that truly fascinates Balto. When Duke the pilot never makes it to his destination some of the dogs are jubilant that they've proven their superiority but Balto knows something has gone amiss. Balto with help from Muc and Luc go on a search and rescue operation to rescue Duke and Boris in the downed plane. Join Balto and all his friends on an amazing journey that will make your spirit soar. (Dir. Phil Weinstein 2004)

• Trapped | DVD | (06/04/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  When their daughter is kidnapped by a pair of experienced nappers (Kevin Bacon and Courtney Love), the Jennings Charlize Theron and Stuart Townsend) turn the tables on their seemingly foolproof plan.

• The Woodsman | DVD | (06/06/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £66.99

  With a 12-year prison stretch reaching an end, convicted paedophile Walter (Kevin Bacon) faces an uncertain walk back into the free world in THE WOODSMAN. Attempting to keep his previous indiscretions sheltered from prying eyes, Walter tries to piece together his shattered life by finding a job and an apartment. The first task is relatively simple, with the ex-con finding employment at a lumberyard thanks to his natural talent for woodcraft. An apartment comes less easily, but Walter manages to secure a roof over his head in a building, which--in a cruel twist of irony--is located opposite an elementary school. Walter's brother-in-law Carlos (Benjamin Bratt) remains the only member of his family willing to keep in contact with him; his sister refuses all communication. Meanwhile, Sgt. Lucas (Mos Def) keeps a watchful eye over Walter's activities, while Walter makes faltering strides towards romance with his tough-as-nails co-worker, Vickie (Kyra Sedgwick). But as wary neighbours steel worried glances and make small-town gossip about him, Walter finds it inordinately difficult to keep his past life a secret. For this reformed character, the path to redemption comes strewn with cracked paving stones, which need to be carefully navigated with every tentative step he takes. The sensitivity with which the material in THE WOODSMAN is executed derives from a potent mix of intelligently written source material, wonderful performances (with Bacon in particular putting in a career-defining turn), and an authoritative vision from director Nicole Kassell (THE GREEN HOUR). At the heart of the movie lies a desolate character, guilty of a crime shrouded in taboo, but hoping against all reason that society will accord him a modicum of absolution. A fascinating portrait of a life caught in a state of perpetual turmoil, this is an audacious second feature from Kassell.

• Stir of Echoes | DVD | (03/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The only real problem with Stir of Echoes has nothing to do with the movie itself, but with unlucky coincidence. Adapted from a Richard Matheson novel, this film arrived around the same time as The Sixth Sense. Surface similarities made it suffer by cursory comparison and the competing film's phenomenal success. It's a pity, because this one features one of Kevin Bacon's best performances, in a psychological thriller that makes a lot more right moves than wrong ones. Bacon plays a blue-collar guy who laments his ordinary life, only to learn, when his sister-in-law (Ileanna Douglas) hypnotizes him, that he is a "receiver" capable of seeing spirits and split-second glimpses of past and future events. It's a torturous gift to have--especially since his friendly Chicago neighbourhood possesses a dark secret--and Bacon plays the role with an appropriate mixture of obsession and internalised torment. Similarity to The Sixth Sense applies only to the basic premise and the character of Bacon's young son. Otherwise, this is more of a hard-edged journey of self-discovery, marital crisis, and recovery, with Bacon's wife (played by the highly underrated Kathryn Erbe) involved in an underdeveloped sub-plot about a group of people who share Bacon's gift as paranormal "receivers". Furthering his career as a writer-director of intelligent thrillers, David Koepp makes a few mis-steps in pacing and thematic overkill, but overall Stir of Echoes is a sharp, sensitive thriller that unfolds to reveal a dramatically satisfying solution to its mystery. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com