Author Michael Crichton and director Philip Kaufman had a falling-out over the script for Rising Sun, based on Crichton's best-selling novel (which was controversial for its take on the Japanese invasion of American business in the early 1990s). Kaufman ultimately won, doing an above-average job creating a murder-mystery based on the culture clash between Los Angeles cops and Japanese multinational business interests. When a prostitute is murdered at the opening of a new LA headquarters for a Japanese company, detective Wesley Snipes is forced to call upon retired cop (and Japanophile) Sean Connery to help solve the murder. But he runs into obstruction from the Japanese, as well as a high-tech cover-up, while having to deal with anti-Japanese sentiments from people on his own team. Rising Sun is intriguing, if overlong. --Marshall Fine, Amazon.com
Following a massive heart attack, Randal enlists his friends and fellow clerks Dante, Elias, Jay, and Silent Bob to make a movie immortalising his life at the convenience store that started it all.
Is it time, after the anonymous disaster of Mission to Mars, to give Brian De Palma's famously doomed film of Tom Wolfe's bulky novel Bonfire of the Vanities another chance? The uproarious ins and outs of the film's troubled production have become well-known via Julie Salamon's account of its making, The Devil's Candy, and fans of that might want to flick between page and screen to see just when Melanie Griffith caused untold continuity problems by having her breasts inflated. Techno buffs will surely appreciate the pointless but somehow wonderful trickery of an extended tracking shot at the outset that exists only to last a few seconds longer than the one in Orson Welles Touch of Evil (1958). Tom Hanks was rather better cast than was generally allowed, as "master of the universe" Sherman McCoy, who comes a cropper after a hit-and-run accident, since his nice-guy act shows intriguing cracks. And even Bruce Willis does his best on a hiding to nothing as the drunken writer. It is funny in parts, agonising in others, and misses Wolfe's tone--but somehow its failures might make it as symptomatic of the long-gone excesses of the early 90s as the novel was of the 80s. --Kim Newman
The MummyIf you're expecting bandaged-wrapped corpses and a lurching Boris Karloff-type villain, then you've come to the wrong movie. But if outrageous effects, a hunky hero, and some hearty laughs are what you're looking for, the 1999 version of The Mummy is spectacularly good fun. Yes, the critics called it "hokey," "cheesy," and "pallid." Well, the critics are unjust. Granted, the plot tends to stray, the acting is a bit of a stretch, and the characters occasionally slip into cliché, but who cares? When that action gets going, hold tight--those two hours just fly by. The premise of the movie isn't that far off from the original. Egyptologist and general mess Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) discovers a map to the lost city of Hamunaptra, and so she hires rogue Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) to lead her there. Once there, Evelyn accidentally unlocks the tomb of Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), a man who had been buried alive a couple of millennia ago with flesh-eating bugs as punishment for sleeping with the pharaoh's girlfriend. The ancient mummy is revived, and he is determined to bring his old love back to life, which of course means much mayhem (including the unleashing of the 10 plagues) and human sacrifice. Despite the rather gory premise, this movie is fairly tame in terms of violence; most of the magic and surprise come from the special effects, which are glorious to watch, although Imhotep, before being fully reconstituted, is, as one explorer puts it, rather "juicy." Keep in mind this film is as much comedy as it is adventure--those looking for a straightforward horror pic will be disappointed. But for those who want good old-fashioned eye-candy kind of fun, The Mummy ranks as one of choicest flicks of 1999. --Jenny BrownThe Mummy Returns Proving that bigger is rarely better, The Mummy Returns serves up so much action and so many computer-generated effects that it quickly grows exhausting. In his zeal to establish a lucrative franchise, writer-director Stephen Sommers dispenses with such trivial matters as character development and plot logic, and charges headlong into an almost random buffet of minimum story and maximum mayhem, beginning with a prologue establishing the ominous fate of the Scorpion King (played by World Wrestling Federation star the Rock, in a cameo teaser for his later starring role in--you guessed it--The Scorpion King). Dormant for 5,000 years, under control of the Egyptian god Anubis, the Scorpion King will rise again in 1933, which is where we find The Mummy's returning heroes Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, now married and scouring Egyptian ruins with their 8-year-old son, Alex (Freddie Boath). John Hannah (as Weisz's brother) and Oded Fehr (as mystical warrior Ardeth Bay) also return from The Mummy, and trouble begins when Alex dons the Scorpion King's ancient bracelet, coveted by the evil mummy Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), who's been revived by... oh, but does any of this matter? With a plot so disposable that it's impossible to care about anything that happens, The Mummy Returns is best enjoyed as an intermittently amusing and physically impressive monument of Hollywood machinery, with gorgeous sets that scream for a better showcase, and digital trickery that tops its predecessor in ambition, if not in payoff. By the time our heroes encounter a hoard of ravenous pygmy mummies, you'll probably enjoy this movie in spite of itself. --Jeff ShannonThe Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor The third film in the The Mummy series freshens the franchise up by setting the action in China. There, the discovery of an ancient emperor's elaborate tomb proves a feather in the cap of Alex O'Connell (Luke Ford), a young archaeologist and son of Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) and his wife Evelyn (Maria Bello, taking over the role from Rachel Weisz). Unfortunately, a curse that turned the emperor (Jet Li) and his army into terra cotta warriors buried for centuries is lifted, and the old guy prepares for world domination by seeking immortality at Shangri La. The O'Connells barely stay a step ahead of him (climbing through the Himalaya mountains with apparent ease), but the action inevitably leads to a showdown between two armies of mummies in a Chinese desert. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor has a lot to offer: a supporting cast that includes the elegant Michelle Yeoh, Russell Wong, and Liam Cunningham, the unexpected appearance of several Yeti, and a climactic battle sequence that is nightmarishly weird but compelling. On the downside, the charm so desperately sought in romantic relationships, as well as comic turns by John Hannah (as Evelyn's rascal brother), is not only absent but often annoying. Rarely have witty asides in the thick of battle been more unwelcome in a movie. Rob Cohen's direction is largely crisp if sometimes curious (a fight between Fraser and Jet Li keeps varying in speed for some reason), but his vision of Shangri La, in the Hollywood tradition, is certainly attractive. --Tom Keogh
Rob Reiner directs this drama starring Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson. Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee (Cruise) is a Navy lawyer assigned to defend two men who accidentally killed a soldier by strangling him with a towel. Initially working out a quick and easy plea bargain with the prosecuting lawyer (Kevin Bacon), Kaffee is persuaded to investigate the case further by a determined colleague (Demi Moore). Together they take on the might of the army establishment, as the trail of evidence leads to the accused's commanding officer (Nicholson).
Disney sets a record for bringing out a direct-to-video sequel after the initial film. Stitch: The Movie arrives only a year after the enjoyable Lilo & Stitch and reunites the title character (otherwise known as Experiment 626) with his earth-bound family in the warm Hawaiian sun. The story has a nice set-up: since Stitch is Experiment 626, where are the first 625 invented by Dr Jumba Jookiba? Odds are the island paradise will soon be spaceport central for many more aliens. As with other made-for-video Disney titles, the animation is not as complex or rich. This hurts this sequel even more since the original film had such a unique, pastel beauty. Unfortunately, the other elements of the film are just as flat. Even though most of the original voice cast returns, the entire production lacks the same spirit and charm, and the story's theme is recycled (get ready for more "Ohana means family"). On the plus side, the film starts with an Elvis Presley song ("Slicin' Sand") and is only 64 minutes long. The movie sets up the Disney TV series The Adventures of Lilo & Stitch. --Doug Thomas
Titles Comprise: Dave: Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver star in this box office winner about an uncanny Presidential look-alike recruited as a momentary stand-in for America's Chief Executive. However things don't turn out exactly as planned and Dave finds himself continuing the masquerade indefinitely. Real life Washington politicos and pundits join the fun as Dave uses ordinary-guy savvy to deal with the extraordinary responsibilities of the Oval Office. Mickey Blue Eyes: Hugh Grant plays dapper Manhattan art auctioneer Michael Felgate in this lively fish-out-of-water comedy romp. Eager to marry Gina (Jeanne Tripplehorn) the lovely teacher he's been dating for three months Michael feels it's time he met her family. What he meets is the family. Gina's father Frank (James Caan) is a gangster a 'juicer' who extracts money for the mob. Now the squeeze is on Michael to use the auction house as a money laundering scam for dubious artwork plunging fumbling bumbling Michael into a world where he must pose as a notorious wise guy called Mickey Blue Eyes. You'll call him hilarious. Sandra Bullock stars as a bumbling female FBI agent assigned to go undercover as a participant in the Miss United States beauty pageant when it is discovered that one of the contestants is being targeted for murder. Benjamin Bratt leads the undercover team while also playing the reluctant love interest. Candice Bergen and William Shatner manage the pageant and hire Michael Caine to turn Bullock from rough and tumble agent to stunning beauty queen. The physical transformation is impressive although the klutzy personality remains. Everything seems to be fine once the killer is suddenly caught but Bullock suspects there is more to this story and the truth eventually unfolds with an unexpected twist. Doc Hollywood: A brash young medical resident is driving across the country to begin a career in Beverly Hills as a cosmetic surgeon to the stars. But an accident of fate strands him in a small southern town. There his outlook on life - and love - gets a down-home twist that changes him forever.
Ride Along: Ice Cube and Kevin Hart lead the lineup in Ride Along. When a fast-talking guy joins his girlfriend's brother-a hot-tempered cop-to patrol the streets of Atlanta, he gets entangled in the officer's latest case. Now, in order to prove that he deserves his future bride, he must survive the most insane 24 hours of his life. Ride Along 2: As his wedding day approaches, Ben heads to Miami with his soon-to-be brother-in-law James to bring down a drug dealer who's supplying the dealers of Atlanta with product.
Three skiers are stranded on a chairlift and forced to make life-or-death choices that prove more perilous than staying put and freezing to death.
Based on a true story, The Conspirator tells the powerful story of a woman who would do anything to protect her family, and the man who risked everything to save her.In the wake of Abraham Lincoln's assassination, seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, Vice President, and Secretary of State.The lone woman charged, Mary Surratt (Wright) owns a boarding house where John Wilkes Booth (Toby Kebbell) and others met and planned the simultaneous attacks. Against the ominous back-drop of post-Civil War Washington, newly-minted lawyer, Frederick Aiken (McAvoy), a 28-year-old Union war-hero, reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal.Aiken realizes his client may be innocent and that she is being used as bait and hostage in order to capture the only conspirator to have escaped a massive manhunt, her own son, John (Johnny Simmons). As the nation turns against her, Surratt is forced to rely on Aiken to uncover the truth and save her life.
One man is dead. Two men are accused of his murder. The entire Marines Corps is on trial. And 'A Few Good Men' are about to ignite the most explosive episode in US military history. Universally acclaimed A Few Good Men unites the big screen's biggest stars as Hollywood heavyweights Jack Nicholson Tom Cruise and Demi Moore lead an all star cast in director Rob Reiner's powerful account of corruption cover-up and a relentless quest for justice within the sacred corridors of the US Navy. With powerful performances from Kevin Bacon and Kiefer Sutherland A Few Good Men makes its mark as the major movie triumph of the decade.
Falling from the Oscar-winning glory of Dances with Wolves to the opposite end of the critical and box-office scale, Kevin Costner must have been deeply humbled when this three-hour postapocalyptic tale--his sophomore effort as a director--was greeted with a critical thrashing and tepid audience response. One of the most conspicuous flops of its decade, the 1997 release must have seemed like a sure thing on paper: a kind of futurist Western starring Costner as a charismatic drifter-turned-hero who leads the resistance against a military tyrant (Will Patton) by reviving the long-dormant postal system to reunite isolated communities in their fight for freedom. The movie bombed, but, like many audacious failures, it's got qualities that make it at least partially endearing, and its earnestness (although bordering on corny) keeps it from being entirely silly. Faint praise, perhaps, but Costner's ode to patriotism is occasionally stirring and visually impressive. --Jeff Shannon
The film that effectively launched the star careers of Robert Carlyle, Ewan McGregor and Jonny Lee Miller is a hard, barbed picaresque, culled from the bestseller by Irvine Welsh and thrown down against the heroin hinterlands of Edinburgh. Directed with abandon by Danny Boyle, Trainspotting conspires to be at once a hip youth flick and a grim cautionary fable. Released on an unsuspecting public in 1996, the picture struck a chord with audiences worldwide and became adopted as an instant symbol of a booming British rave culture (an irony, given the characters' main drug of choice is heroin not ecstasy).McGregor, Lee Miller and Ewen Bremner play a slouching trio of Scottish junkies; Carlyle their narcotic-eschewing but hard-drinking and generally psychotic mate Begbie. In Boyle's hands, their lives unfold in a rush of euphoric highs, blow-out overdoses and agonising withdrawals (all cued to a vogueish pop soundtrack). Throughout it all, John Hodge's screenplay strikes a delicate balance between acknowledging the inherent pleasures of drug use and spotlighting its eventual consequences. In Trainspotting's world view, it all comes down to a question of choices--between the dangerous Day-Glo highs of the addict and the grey, grinding consumerism of the everyday Joe. "Choose life", quips the film's narrator (McGregor) in a monologue that was to become a mantra. "Choose a job, choose a starter home... But why would anyone want to do a thing like that?" Ultimately, Trainspotting's wised-up, dead-beat inhabitants reject mainstream society in favour of a headlong rush to destruction. It makes for an exhilarating, energised and frequently terrifying trip that blazes with more energy and passion than a thousand more ostensibly life-embracing movies. --Xan Brooks
Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep turns her hand to action films in this white-water knuckle-biter. Having decided to heal some family rifts, expert rafter Gail (Streep) takes her husband and their young son for a day out on the river. But the pleasant family adventure takes a turn for the worse when they encounter a couple of armed bank robbers (Kevin Bacon and John C. Reilly) who hijack the raft and take them into seemingly impassable rapids. It's now up to Gail to save the day and return them to safer waters.
Created by JJ Abrams, Alias plays like a cross between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and James Bond. Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) is a super (and super-sexy) spy, fighting nefarious villains and working for the good guys--or so she thinks. Recruited as a college freshman for espionage work, Sydney found her true calling with SD-6, a secret division of the CIA. When her hunky doctor-boyfriend proposes to her, she decides to let him in on the truth she's not supposed to tell anyone: she's not a grad student with a demanding job for an international bank, but a secret agent who constantly puts her life on the line for the free world. But when SD-6 discovers her security breach, her fiancé is brutally assassinated, and Sydney suddenly finds herself face-to-face with the truth: she's been working for the bad guys. Deciding to become a double agent for the CIA and bring down the evildoers, Sydney gets one more surprise--her estranged father (Victor Garber) is also working for SD-6, and the CIA as well. Welcome to the family, Syd! Confused? This is all just the first episode. With its double-edged tension (how long can Syd play double agent?) and one heck of a MacGuffin (the dreaded Rambaldi device, the mythic creation of a Renaissance genius), the show leads its viewers from episode to episode with visceral, compelling action, not to mention the nascent romance between Syd and her CIA handler, Vaughn (Michael Vartan), and her clashes with her heretofore distant father. Sharp, smart and always suspenseful, Alias' centre was held by the gorgeous Garner, a stellar action heroine and an even better actress who could pull off Sydney's exotic undercover missions and conflicted emotions with equal dexterity. By the end of this first series, which concludes with a breathtaking cliffhanger, you'll be seduced into Alias' world with, happily, no desire to escape. --Mark Englehart
A few years after the events in Scream 2, Gale Weathers has continued the horror franchise called Stab.
Three skiers are stranded on a chairlift and forced to make life-or-death choices that prove more perilous than staying put and freezing to death.
Available for the first time as a Complete Series on Blu-ray! Filming at Hollywood locations, Entourage tells the story of four longtime buddies from Queens who share the highs and lows of life in the fast lane of Hollywood, where the stakes are higher, and the money and temptations greater than ever before. Adrian Grenier stars as Vince, a sexy young movie star whose career is just taking off. Slipping easily into stardom, Vince looks to his friends from the neighbourhood to share the fun of the ride and keep him grounded. Special Features: Audio Commentaries Behind the Scenes Panel Discussions with Cast and Crew A Series Retrospective featuring Exlcusive Footage, Candid Interviews and much more
Written by accomplished writer Peter Bowker Blackpool is a drama a thriller and a musical all in one. This story of the bright lights and faded grandeur of Britain's famous seaside resort is at once an entertaining musical and a thrilling murder mystery. A darkly comic look at greed love and family the story follows the rise and fall of local arcade owner Ripley Holden a charismatic family man with a dark past who is now poised to make top dollar - if the city can successfully reinvent itself as the Las Vegas of the Lancashire coast. As Ripley struggles to keep his chaotic family in check he hangs on to one hope: that the good life is just around the corner. But he soon finds himself under suspicion and out of control when the a young man is found dead in his showpiece arcade. Investigating officer Carlisle is determined to get to the truth no matter what it takes...
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